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ARTICLE · 19 OCTOBER 2021

AFCP 2.0 Extended: Your Mileage May Vary

Squire Patton Boggs LLP
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On October 12, 2021, the USPTO extended its program for after-final patent prosecution practice, AFCP 2.0, to September 30, 2022. The USPTO initiated the "pilot" program in 2013, ...

United StatesIntellectual Property
Frank Bernstein
Frank Bernstein

On October 12, 2021, the USPTO extended its program for after-final patent prosecution practice, AFCP 2.0, to September 30, 2022. The USPTO initiated the "pilot" program in 2013, to speed up prosecution and to increase contact between Examiners and applicants. Although the USPTO has not issued statistics about the results of the program, applicants still invoke AFCP 2.0 with some frequency. The USPTO has renewed the program each year since inception.

This renewal provides a timely opportunity to discuss briefly what might make participation in the AFCP 2.0 program worthwhile.

AFCP 2.0 Requirements

For an applicant, the two elements of a grantable AFCP 2.0 request are:

  • A narrowing amendment to at least one independent claim; and

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