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ARTICLE · 11 FEBRUARY 2026

PTAB/USPTO Update - February 2026

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On January 13, USPTO announced the design of SPARK, a new pilot program to incentivize meaningful participation by U.S.

United StatesIntellectual Property
David L. Cavanaugh
David L. Cavanaugh
Heather M. Petruzzi
Heather M. Petruzzi
Brian Lambson PhD
Brian Lambson PhD
Patrick Nyman, PhD
Patrick Nyman, PhD
Jeffrey Wu
Jeffrey Wu
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USPTO News

  • On January 13, USPTO announced the design of SPARK, a new pilot program to incentivize meaningful participation by U.S. small and medium-sized businesses, universities, and non-profits in standards development organizations (SDOs) by offering a limited number of acceleration certificates that will expedite patent examinations or PTAB appeals at the USPTO.
  • On January 21, USPTO announced the extension of its Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program until January 5, 2029 with the European Patent Office, the Japan Patent Office, the Republic of Korea's Ministry of Intellectual Property, and the China National Intellectual Property Administration.

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