USPTO Budget Reductions Halt Fee-Based Prioritized Examination (Track I) And Other Programs

On April 22, 2011, USPTO Director David J. Kappos announced the impact of the budget reductions embodied in the fiscal year 2011 budget that finally was enacted on April 15, 2011. (Fiscal year 2011 runs through September 30, 2011.) The budget gives the USPTO the authority to spend only $2.09 billion, which is about $100 million less than its projected fee collections.

As a result of this significant fee diversion, the USPTO has decided not to implement fee-based prioritized examination (Track I), which was going to be available as of May 4, 2011.

Applicants interested in prioritized examination should consider whether their applications qualify for other programs, such as the Accelerated Examination, Patent Prosecution Highway, or Green Technology programs. An overview of these programs can be found on Foley's PharmaPatentsBlog (http://tinyurl.com/3wxvdgb).