Is It Time For Examination By Request At The USPTO?

When the first inventor to file (FITF) provision of the America Invents Act AIA became effective in 2013, US patent law was only in part harmonized with patent law in most other Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) countries. One important difference between the US and many other PCT countries is that US patent examination fees are due at the time of filing and US patent examination will proceed after exam fee payment absent a request to withdraw, a request to defer exam, or abandonment. In contrast, foreign patent applications will be examined in most other PCT countries only if the applicant expressly requests examination and examination fees are not due until examination is requested. For example, European patent applicants are entitled to defer payment of examination fees up to 31 months from their earliest priority filing. The net effect of this difference is that most US non-provisional patent applicants will typically proceed at least through a first office action