Patent Reform Update - Prioritized Patent Examination

As part of the America Invents Act, the U.S. PTO has implemented a new Prioritized Examination procedure. Prioritized Examination was made available this week for original U.S. utility or plant applications and provides for expedited review of a patent application for an additional fee. The PTO's goal for Prioritized Examination is to provide final disposition of a patent application (e.g., allowance or final rejection) within 12 months of prioritized status being granted to the application.

Unlike the Accelerated Examination program with which you may already be familiar, final disposition of the case within 12 months is achieved without requiring an extensive prior art search by the Applicant, and without the need for the Applicant to provide a written analysis of the most relevant references. However, the PTO will require payment of an additional prioritized examination fee of $4,800.00 ($2,400.00 for small entities) and processing fee ($130) to be paid at the time