PCT Informed Examination Request Pilot Program
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The PCT Informed Examination Request Pilot Program is initiated by the USPTO to streamline the patent application process by requiring applicants to state their desire for examination based on international phase work products. This pilot aims to assess how such a requirement affects application inventory and examination efficiency. Selected applicants will need to indicate whether they want to proceed with examination, delay it for 12 months, or abandon their application altogether, influencing how quickly applications are processed based on available data from the international phase.
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Key Changes
- Establishment of a requirement for applicants to request examination based on PCT work products.
- Options for applicants to proceed, delay, or abandon their applications.
- Assessment of impacts on patent inventory and examination efficiency.
Obligations
What this law requires
Selected national stage patent applicants must respond to the USPTO requirement for information by indicating whether they opt to: (1) proceed with examination, (2) delay examination for 12 months, or (3) expressly abandon the application, based on review of international phase work products
Selected applicants must submit a timely and complete reply to the requirement for information using the designated reply form within two months (extendable up to six months per 37 CFR 1.136(a)) to avoid abandonment
If proceeding with examination, applicants may optionally file a preliminary amendment to place the application in better condition for examination
The USPTO must issue a requirement for information to selected applications that references applicable Patent Cooperation Treaty international phase work products (ISR, Written Opinion, and/or IPRP) in the application file
The USPTO must select only unexamined national stage applications that have entered under 35 U.S.C. 371 and completed pre-examination processing for the PIER Pilot Program; applications filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a), plant applications, design applications, and reissue applications are excluded