Prioritized Patent Examination Program

The goal of the USPTO is to provide a final disposition within twelve months, on average, of the date that prioritized status was granted.

Consult the current fee schedule, available at https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/fees-and-payment/uspto-fee…, for the correct fee amounts. The fees required to be paid upon filing for Prioritized Examination are:

i. Basic filing fee, as set forth in 37 CFR 1.16(a), or for a plant application, 37 CFR 1.16(c).
ii. Search fee, as set forth in 37 CFR 1.16(k), or for a plant application, 37 CFR 1.16(m).
iii. Examination fee, as set forth in 37 CFR 1.16(o), or for a plant application, 37 CFR 1.16(q).
iv. Publication fee, as set forth in 37 CFR 1.18(d). However, since this fee is currently set to $0, no publication fee is due at this time for a request for prioritized examination. The prioritized examination rule still contains the publication fee as a requirement in the event that changes to the publication fee are made in the future.
v. Track One processing fee, as set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(i)(1).
vi. Track One prioritized examination fee of $4,200.00 ($1,680 for small entities, or $840.00 for micro entities).

If any of the above fees are unpaid at the time of filing of the application, the Request for Prioritized Examination will be dismissed. However, if an explicit authorization to charge any of the missing fees has been provided in the papers accompanying the application and the request, those fees will be charged in accordance with the authorization, and the request will not be dismissed for nonpayment of fees. It is recommended that applicant include an authorization to charge any additional fees under 37 CFR §§ 1.16 and 1.17 to ensure that a Track One request is not dismissed for failure to pay the required fees.

Applicant can file a petition under 37 CFR 1.181 if applicant believes that a decision dismissing the request for prioritized examination is not proper. Applicant should review the reason(s) stated in the decision dismissing the request and make a determination that an error was made by the USPTO in not granting the request before filing such a petition under 37 CFR 1.181.

The Request for Prioritized Examination must be filed prior to the mailing of a first Office action after the filing of a request for continued examination, and either be filed concurrently with, or subsequently to, the filing of a request for continued examination.

Original nonprovisional utility and plant patent applications filed under 35 U.S.C. 111, or having entered the national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371, in which a proper request for continued examination (RCE) has been filed, or is concurrently being filed, are eligible for prioritized examination. A proper RCE can only be filed if prosecution in the application is closed (e.g., the last Office action is a final action, a notice of allowance, or an action that otherwise closes prosecution in the application). See 37 CFR 1.114(b). A Request for Prioritized Examination must be made before an Office action responsive to the RCE has been mailed. The application must contain, or be amended to contain, no more than 4 independent claims, 30 total claims, and no multiple dependent claims. Requests for Prioritized Examination of utility patent applications must be filed using EFS-Web. Requests for Prioritized Examination of plant patent applications must be filed in paper.

Yes, a copy of the inventor's oath or declaration from a parent application may be submitted for a continuing application, provided that the inventor's oath or declaration of the earlier-filed application is compliant with current rules for the inventor's oath or declaration. See 37 CFR 1.63(d).

Yes; however, either (1) the substitute statement and the declaration(s) from the other joint inventor(s) or (2) a signed ADS that provides each inventor's legal name, mailing address, and residence (if the inventor does not reside at the mailing address), must be submitted on the date the application is filed. If the signed ADS is not present upon filing, or the substitute statement is defective for any reason, prioritized examination status will not be granted. For guidance in filing a substitute statement, see Examples 2 and 4 in "Inventor's Oath or Declaration Examples Featuring 'Best Practices' in Use of Inventor's Oath or Declaration Forms."

Yes. An applicant may file a U.S. application under 35 U.S.C. 111(a), and in that application, claim the benefit of the earlier international application under 35 U.S.C. 365(c), or claim the right of priority of the earlier international application under 35 U.S.C. 365(a), subject to the conditions of 35 U.S.C. 365. Such an application is eligible for prioritized examination. However, an applicant may not request prioritized examination (Track One) of a national stage application (submitted under 35 U.S.C. 371) of an international application.

Only the Track One prioritized examination fee, set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(c), will be refunded upon the dismissal of the original request for prioritized examination. This fee will be refunded automatically (if paid) without the need for applicant to request such a refund. The Track One processing fee, set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(i)(1), will be retained to cover the cost of processing the request. Applicant may request a refund of the publication fee in accordance with MPEP 1126 if the application is not published under 35 U.S.C. 122(b).

Original nonprovisional utility and plant patent applications filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a), having no more than 4 independent claims, 30 total claims, and no multiple dependent claims, and filed on or after September 26, 2011, are eligible for prioritized examination (Track One). See FAQs labeled PE-Track One below for details.

Original nonprovisional utility and plant patent applications filed under 35 U.S.C. 111, or having entered the national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371, in which a proper request for continued examination (RCE) has been filed, or is concurrently being filed, are eligible for prioritized examination. A proper RCE can only be filed if prosecution in the application is closed (e.g., the last Office action is a final action, a notice of allowance, or an action that otherwise closes prosecution in the application). See 37 CFR 1.114(b). A request for prioritized examination must be made before an Office action responsive to the RCE has been mailed. See FAQs labeled PE-RCE below for details.

Prioritized examination is a procedure for expedited review of a patent application for an additional fee. The USPTO's goal for prioritized examination is to provide a final disposition within twelve months of prioritized status being granted. The rule applicable to prioritized examination is 37 C.F.R. § 1.102(e). Prioritized examination of newly filed applications is also known as "Track One" or Track I".

Contact the person who signed the decision dismissing the request if there is a question about the dismissal. In addition, the Office of Petitions may be contacted about a specific decision dismissing a request for prioritized examination at 571-272-3282. General questions about the prioritized examination program can be directed to the Office of Patent Legal Administration at (571) 272-7704 or at PatentPractice@uspto.gov.

No. The prioritized examination program permits only a single request to be granted associated with a request for continued examination under 37 C.F.R. 1.114 in that application.

Yes. The prioritized examination program permits a single request to be granted upon filing a new application under 35 U.S.C. 111(a), and a single request to be granted upon filing a request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114.

Upon filing a proper request for continued examination (which requires prosecution in the application to be closed), prioritized examination becomes available for an application filed as a national stage entry under 35 U.S.C. 371.

An information disclosure statement (IDS) filed in an application that includes a request for prioritized examination will not result in dismissal of a pending request, or termination of special status if a request has already been granted.

Requests for prioritized examination will be acted upon once the application has met all formal requirements such that it is ready for examination. A description of what it means for an application to be in condition for examination is provided at MPEP 708.02, subsection VIII.C. Any pre-examination notice from the Office of Patent Application Processing will delay a decision on the request for prioritized examination until after applicant has filed a complete and timely reply to the pre-examination notice.

A proper request for prioritized examination requires that the application include a specification as prescribed by 35 U.S.C. 112 including claim(s), any required drawings. The application must also include either an executed inventor's oath or declaration under 37 CFR 1.63 or 1.64 for each inventor, or a signed ADS that provides the legal name, mailing address, and residence (if not residing at the mailing address) for each inventor. The application must also include the filing, search, and examination fees, and the prioritized examination fee and the processing fee. Failure to submit these required items on the date of filing will cause the request to be dismissed.

Applicants may, however, receive a notice regarding informalities in their application (e.g., a notice to file corrected application papers because the application papers are not in compliance with 37 CFR 1.52, or an English-language specification, or a notice requiring an excess claims fee) that results in the application not being in condition for examination. These other informalities or deficiencies in the application will delay a decision on the request for prioritized examination, but will not cause the request to be dismissed.

Any request for an extension of time, including an extension of time for the purpose of responding to a pre-examination notice (e.g., Notice to File Missing Parts), will cause the application to be ineligible for further treatment under the prioritized examination (Track One) program. A request for an extension of time prior to the grant of prioritized examination status will prevent such status from being granted.