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ARTICLE · 09 APRIL 2008

USPTO Accelerated Examination: A Pre-Litigation Strategy

Dorsey & Whitney LLP
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In August 2006, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office launched an Accelerated Exam system promising significantly reduced prosecution times.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Devan Padmanabhan
Devan Padmanabhan
Alicia Mills
Alicia Mills

This article was originally published by Patent Strategy & Management, March 2008.

In August 2006, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") launched an Accelerated Exam system promising significantly reduced prosecution times. Despite the lure of expedited patents, after 18 months, the Accelerated Exam procedure has been little used while receiving criticism from patent practitioners. This article explores the advantages achieved by using the Accelerated Exam procedure as a pre-litigation strategy. By filing claims tailored to the infringing device under the Accelerated Exam procedure, an applicant can get the infringer in court more quickly, strengthen its validity position, and potentially reduce litigation costs.

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