Patent Office Action Timing Estimator Is Live!

Once the patent application is filed, we wait for the first office action on the merits. This is when the USPTO Examiner substantively reviews the patent application. Now, the Patent Office has updated the First Office Action Estimator. After entering the patent application serial number, the estimator will provide an estimate for a first office action to be issued (e.g., 30 months). The estimate is not guaranteed but is a good general timeframe for patent applicants to gauge expectations.

Setting expectations for first office review timing is important for the applicant. First, if the expectation is too long, there are options to accelerate the review of a patent application. The most common option is to pay an increased filing fee where the patent office will review the application approximately six months from the filing date of the application, and the target is to either grant or issue a final (second) rejection by the one year anniversary of the filing date.