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United States Patent and Trademark Office › Patent Applications

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce that serves a fundamental role in the U.S. intellectual property system by issuing patents and registering trademarks.... more +
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce that serves a fundamental role in the U.S. intellectual property system by issuing patents and registering trademarks.    less -
K&L Gates LLP

First Denial Based on USPTO’s New Discretionary Denial Factors

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Earlier this year, Chief Judge Boalick issued guidance on the USPTO’s recission of “Interim Procedure for Discretionary Denials in AIA Post-Grant Proceedings with Parallel District Court Litigation,” explaining how the Fintiv...more

Jones Day

PTAB Clarifies Interim Workload Management Process

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On April 17, 2025, following Acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart’s memorandum announcing a new interim process to manage the workload of all PTAB judges, the USPTO held a Boardside Chat outlining the new bifurcated process...more

McCarter & English, LLP

USPTO Discontinues Accelerated Examination for Utility Patent Applications, but Track 1 Remains a Good Option

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The USPTO recently announced that the Accelerated Examination program will be discontinued as of July 10, 2025. Given that the program has had limited use over the past decade, with fewer than 100 Accelerated Examination...more

Proskauer - The Patent Playbook

Discretionary Denials in Action: iRhythm Technologies Inc. v. Welch Allyn Inc.

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The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) Acting Director’s recent decision to deny institution of inter partes review (“IPR”) in iRhythm Technologies Inc. v. Welch Allyn Inc. offers valuable lessons for both patent...more

Volpe Koenig

When an IDS Comes Back to Haunt You: Lessons from iRhythm v. Welch Allyn

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Patent attorneys are well-versed in the function of the Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) during prosecution. We understand that listing prior art in an IDS satisfies the duty of candor, helps insulate patents from...more

Womble Bond Dickinson

USPTO to Discontinue Accelerated Examination Program for Utility Patents on July 10, 2025

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The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced that, as of July 10, 2025, it will discontinue accepting petitions under the Accelerated Examination (AE) program for utility patent applications. However, petitions...more

MoFo Life Sciences

USPTO Discontinues Accelerated Examination Program in Favor of Expanding Track One Program

MoFo Life Sciences on

On June 10, 2025, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that, after nearly 20 years, it will be discontinuing its Accelerated Examination Program for utility applications on July 10, 2025. The...more

Lathrop GPM

“Restoring Gold Standard Science” Executive Order - Potential Impacts for Patent Applicants and Owners

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In response to concerns about eroded public confidence in scientists and the alleged misuse of scientific information by federal agencies to justify political ends, President Trump’s “Restoring Gold Standard Science”...more

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP

Priority Denied, Patent Derailed: When One Filing Cancels Out the Other

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On April 22, 2025, the Federal Circuit issued a decision In re: Bonnie Iris McDonald Floyd that underscores a critical and often overlooked risk in design patent prosecution: relying on a utility patent application for...more

Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C.

Practical Guide to Claiming Small Molecules with Functional Language

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Patent claims reciting compounds where at least one group of a compound genus is defined by its function are common. For example, familiar claim terms such as “chelating moiety,” “linker,” and “binding moiety” describe a...more

DLA Piper

How Delayed Notice of Date Accorded Mailings May Affect Inter Partes Review

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Inter partes review (IPR) practices have seen significant changes since US Patent and Trademark Office Acting Director Coke Stewart assumed her current role in January 2025. Perhaps the most significant change has been Acting...more

Knobbe Martens

USPTO Report: Privatizing the Space Economy

Knobbe Martens on

A 2025 United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) report highlights significant growth in space technology patents, driven by private innovation and government support. According to the report, space-related goods and...more

Fish & Richardson

Navigating Change at the USPTO

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While it may seem like the only constant at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is change, that sentiment rings especially true in 2025. With a new presidential administration in the White House and numerous...more

Quarles & Brady LLP

USPTO Expediting Design Patent Issuances and De-Expediting Design Examination

Quarles & Brady LLP on

Starting May 13, 2025, the USPTO has begun accelerating the issuance of patents after the issue fee has been paid. Specifically, the duration between the Issue Notification and the Issue Date will be reduced to approximately...more

Proskauer - The Patent Playbook

Impact of the Leadership in Critical Technologies Act on U.S. Artificial Intelligence, Semiconductors and Quantum Computing

Proskauer - The Patent Playbook on

On the heels of the recent reintroduction of the PERA and PREVAIL Acts of 2025, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress has introduced the Leadership in Critical and Emerging Technologies (“CET”) Act. The goal of the...more

Maynard Nexsen

A Guide for Successful Patent Disclosures from Start-Ups to Large Companies

Maynard Nexsen on

The quality of a patent begins to take shape at the time of disclosure. An inadequate disclosure can greatly affect the quality of the patent. The level of sophistication of a client typically dictates the quality of patent...more

A&O Shearman

Court Of Appeals For The Federal Circuit Holds That Conception Does Not Require Certainty of Success

A&O Shearman on

On May 12, 2025, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated-in-part and remanded a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) decision in an interference proceeding concluding that the Broad Institute, Inc. (“Broad...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Take That Conception Out of the Oven – It’s CRISPR Even If the Cook Doesn’t Know

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Addressing the distinction between conception and reduction to practice and the requirement for written description in the unpredictable arts, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit explained that proof of conception...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

PTAB Rejects AI-Driven Medical Patent – Not for Novelty, But Eligibility

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In a recent decision with important implications for artificial intelligence (AI) driven innovation, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) denied a patent for an AI-based medical tool. The refusal was not because the...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

Discretionary Denials—Act II

Morrison & Foerster LLP on

On March 26, 2025, the Acting Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office fundamentally changed how the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) initially considers petitions in post grant proceedings under the...more

Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC

One Year of LKQ v. GM: How Much Has Really Changed?

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One year ago today, the en banc Federal Circuit decided LKQ Corporation v. GM Global Technology Operations LLC, where it overturned the decades-old Rosen-Durling test for obviousness of a design patent for being “improperly...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Federal Circuit Revives CRISPR-Cas9 Patent Priority Dispute

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The CRISPR-Cas9 patent landscape remains complex and unsettled. The Federal Circuit’s latest decision in University of California v. Broad Institute1 revived the high-stakes dispute between UC2 and Broad3 over foundational...more

Womble Bond Dickinson

USPTO Accelerates Patent Issuance Timeline - Key Impacts for Patent Applicants and Holders

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Effective May 13, 2025, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will implement a significant change to its patent issuance process, substantially reducing the time between issue notification and patent issuance....more

Bracewell LLP

Recentive v. Fox: Machine-Learning Claims Fail to Make the Grade

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The patent eligibility of claims involving the use of machine learning (ML) was recently considered by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) in Recentive Analytics, Inc. v. Fox Corp., Case No. 2023-2437 (Fed....more

BakerHostetler

US Patents Set to Issue 33 Percent Faster from the Notification Date

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Starting May 13, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will accelerate the time between issue notification and the issue date of a patent. That is, the time frame will be cut from about three weeks to two weeks –...more

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