The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s new “Track I” program will be available starting May 4, 2011, and patent applicants that use the program can expect their applications to be examined on a priority basis—often years ahead of schedule. Unlike the existing Accelerated Examination option, Track I has the significant advantage of not requiring a detailed “Accelerated Examination Support Document.”
For a fee of $4,000, the USPTO will include Track I applications on the Examiner’s “special docket,” with the goal of reaching a final disposition (for example, an allowance or final office action) within 12 months. Track I examination is not limited to any particular technology area or art unit.
Track I has the following costs, benefits, and rules1:
Costs
- $4,000 fee for both small and large entities, in addition to existing filing fees.
- Total USPTO filing fees of $5,520 for a large entity, $4,892 for a small entity.2
- Attorney fees to prepare for filing much less than for Accelerated Examination.
Benefits
- Application will be prioritized, included on Examiner’s “special docket”
- USPTO aggregate goal of “final disposition” within twelve months of the application receiving Track I status.
- Final disposition is indicated, for example, by: Notice of Allowance; Final Office Action; Notice of Appeal; or Request for Continued Examination.
- To reach any of these, the Examiner will have performed a substantive examination during the first year—much better than the current average of 3 years before any examiner action.
- No submission of “Accelerated Examination Support Document” required.
Rules/Eligibility
- Eligible: regular applications, including continuations
- Not eligible: international, design, reissue, or provisional applications
- Application must be filed on or after May 4, 2011
- Complete application required on filing date (fees, inventorship declaration, claims)
- Electronic filing required (except for plant applications)
- Application must not include more than 4 independent or 30 total claims
- Prompt responses to office actions are required or priority status will be lost
Although it may be extended later, from May 4 to September 30, 2011 the USPTO “Track I” program is limited to only 10,000 applications. Accordingly, if you are interested in exploring this option for upcoming high-priority patent applications, please contact us soon.
1. Source for this summary: 76 Fed. Reg. 64:18399–18407. For now, the USPTO is only implementing the Track I procedure, but it plans to potentially introduce a Track III (delayed examination) option as well, with Track II representing current examination procedures.
2. If the “America Invents Act” passed by the U.S. Senate on March 8, 2011 becomes law, a two-tiered fee would be implemented: $4,800 for large entities, and $2,400 for small entities. (Total USPTO filing fees in this case would be $6,320 for a large entity, $3,292 for a small entity).
