The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is launching the Standards Participation and Representation Kudos (SPARK) Pilot Program to incentivize meaningful participation in standards development organizations (SDOs) by U.S. small and medium-sized businesses, universities, and nonprofit organizations.
Under the pilot program, examination of certain patent applications and ex parte appeals to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) may be expedited if the U.S.-domiciled juristic applicant meaningfully participated in a voluntary consensus-based SDO and met the requirements of the program. The application or appeal being expedited does not need to be related to the SDO participation.
Applications accepted into the pilot program for expedited examination will be advanced out of turn (that is, accorded special status) for examination until a first Office action is issued, and ex parte appeals accepted into the pilot program will be advanced out of turn before the PTAB.
To participate, applicants must file a petition to expedite examination or an appeal under the program. Applicants will not incur a petition fee for the petition under the program. More details on how to participate may be found in the 2026 Federal Register notice for the program.
Read the Federal Register Notice
The USPTO will accept petitions under the program (which include both petitions to expedite examination and petitions to expedite an appeal) until the earlier of June 3, 2027, or the date when a total of 200 petitions under the program have been granted.
Additional petition grant limits are listed in the program requirements section below. Before filing a petition under the program, applicants are advised to check this webpage to see whether the applicable limits for the total number of petitions granted for the program and for a quarter (discussed below) have been reached.
The start and end dates for each quarter of the program are:
| Program quarter | Start date | End date |
|---|---|---|
| First quarter | June 3, 2026 | September 3, 2026 |
| Second quarter | September 4, 2026 | December 4, 2026 |
| Third quarter | December 5, 2026 | March 5, 2027 |
| Fourth quarter | March 6, 2027 | June 3, 2027 |
Program requirements
Applicant requirements
- The applicant must be a juristic entity and must certify that it is a small business concern or a nonprofit organization (including a university or other institution of higher education) and that it qualifies as a small entity under 37 CFR 1.27 at the time of filing the petition under the program.
- The applicant must certify that it is domiciled in the United States or its territories.
- The application for which expedited examination or appeal is sought must name a single juristic entity as the applicant.
Voluntary consensus-based SDO participation requirements
- The applicant must certify that it meaningfully participated in developing a technical standard with a voluntary consensus-based SDO on or after January 13, 2026.
- The applicant must identify the technical standard the applicant participated in developing in the petition.
Application requirements
- The application must be an original (non-reissue) nonprovisional utility application filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) or an ex parte appeal of such an application.
- The application must contain no more than three independent claims and no more than 20 total claims and must not contain any multiple dependent claims. Any amendment to the claims submitted after the filing date of the petition will not be considered in deciding the petition.
Petition filing limit and only one granted petition per technical standard
- The applicant cannot have more than one granted petition under the program based on the applicant’s participation in developing the same technical standard.
- The applicant may file no more than three petitions under the program regardless of their statuses (that is, granted, dismissed, or undecided). Each petition submitted must be based on the applicant’s meaningful participation in developing a different technical standard.
Petition filing requirements
- USPTO form required for filing the petition under the program:
- The applicant must use either Form PTO/SB/479a or Form PTO/SB/479b—which contains the petition and requisite certifications—to request participation in this program.
- Forms PTO/SB/479a and PTO/SB/479b must be filed electronically using Patent Center.
Additional petition grant limits
| Limit on number of granted petitions | Time period | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Total granted petitions (expedited examination + expedited appeal) | Per quarter | 50 |
| Granted petitions to expedite appeal (PTAB) | Duration of program | 50 |
| Granted petitions to expedite examination (per Technology Center) | Duration of program | 50 |
Other requirements
For all other requirements, please see the 2026 Federal Register notice for this program.
How to file
Expedited examination
- Complete and sign Form PTO/SB/479a.
- Save Form PTO/SB/479a and upload it via Patent Center.
Note: When uploading Form PTO/SB/479a, select the document description "Petition to make application special under the SPARK pilot" (found under the Petitions category) on the Patent Center screen to ensure timely and appropriate processing.
Expedited appeal
- Complete and sign Form PTO/SB/479b.
- Save Form PTO/SB/479b and upload it via Patent Center.
Note: When uploading Form PTO/SB/479b, select the document description "Petition to expedite an appeal under the SPARK pilot and Rule 41.3" (found under the Petitions Category) on the Patent Center screen to ensure timely and appropriate processing.
Contact us
For questions on electronic filing, please contact the Patent Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (during its operating hours of 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, Monday-Friday) or via email to ebc@uspto.gov.
For questions about the SPARK pilot program, please email SPARKprogram@uspto.gov or contact the Office of Patent Legal Administration at 571-272-7704.
For questions related to a particular petition requesting expedited examination of an application under the program, please contact the Office of Petitions at 571-272-3282.
For questions related to a particular petition requesting expedited ex parte appeal of an application under the program, please contact the Patent Trial and Appeal Board at 571-272-9797.
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