First U.S. Patent Issued Under USPTO Accelerated U.S. Patent Review Program !!

Hello Inventors:

Lately many Inventors have been asking questions about the U.S. Patent Office's Accelerated Patent Application Review program. The program allows for a quick determination regarding the patentability of an invention (in about 12 months). This is a vast improvement over the USPTO's usual schedule, which is often years.

Well, the first patent has issued under the procedure! But to be fair, I should also mention that I did not see how many patent applications were rejected.

The procedure is a bit more complex than a regular patent application submission. In essence:

• the Inventor has a thorough patent search conducted including citations to particular classes of inventions;
  
• the Inventor is required to explain the difference between the references and the invention;
• the patent application is limited to a single invention;
• the patent application is limited to 3 independent and 20 total claims;
• a fee is required;
• support for all claims must be shown; and
  
• a few more requirements
  

Inventors may want to consider the accelerated review program if the invention is quite different from other references. If the Inventor is preparing a patent application that is in a crowded art, it may not be such a great idea because of the ease of issuing rejections.

More information about the patent process can be found by visiting our patent and trademark law firm web site.

Keep Inventing!

Raymond