Fast-Track Patent Processing

The new prioritized examination system known as "Track One" will began on May 4, 2011. For a $4,000.00 fee, the United State Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will expedite the handling of your patent application with a goal of reaching a final disposition within twelve (12) months. It currently takes nearly three years to process the average patent. A prioritized application is "accorded special status and placed on the examiner's special docket throughout its entire course of prosecution before the examiner until a final disposition is reached." In this case, "final disposition" means that the application is either allowed, abandoned, or is subject to a "final rejection", which is appealable).

Requests for prioritized examination will initially be limited to a maximum of 10,000 applications starting May 4, 2011 through September 30, 2011. The USPTO will revisit this limit at the end of the fiscal year to evaluate whether adjustments are needed for future years.

Qualification criteria:

• Application must be filed on or after May 4, 2011 using the USPTO's electronic filing system;
• Application must be "complete;"
• The request for prioritized application must be filed with the application itself;
• Application may contain no more than four independent and thirty total claims; and
• The $4,000 fee must be paid in addition to the normal filing fees.