2020 is not exactly what we expected, was it? Business has felt anything but usual. Now, at the end of the year, we have time to reflect, consider new best practices and areas of improvement, and keep our fingers crossed that 2021 will be at least a tiny bit less surprising.

Technology Center 3700 is somewhat of a “catch-all” technology center, handling technologies as diverse as medical instruments, shoes and apparel, machine and hand tools, thermal and combustion technology, and refrigeration.

In 2019, the USPTO released a report surveying the participation of female inventor-patentees in the U.S. patent system. The main discovery: women are still underrepresented in the patent system, but their participation rate is slowly improving.

Inspired by our recent ranking of the top growing patent firms, we set out to find the top 25 emerging patent firms of the last decade. 

Due to the success of Track One, the USPTO has created the Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program to carry the benefits of prioritized examination through to appeals.

The new program aims to review eligible appeals and issue a decision within six months from the date a petition is granted. The average pendency for a standard appeal is currently about 14 months — down from a high of 30 months in 2015. Given its low petition fee and promise to cut disposition time by more than half, the Program is likely to be popular among patent applicants — despite one key limitation.

What is the Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program?
The Program is essentially an extension of the Track One prioritized examination program, which allows applicants to obtain a final disposition on a patent application within 12 months of the application’s filing date. The Track One program is both popular and successful, but prioritized examination under that program does not carry through to appeals from a final rejection — meaning that applicants could lose the benefit of prioritized examination should they decide to appeal. Due to the success of Track One, the USPTO created the new program to carry the benefits of prioritized examination through to appeals. 

The eligibility requirements for the Program are fairly straightforward. To qualify for fast-track status, the following four conditions must be met: 

To succeed in any industry, a certain amount of foresight and planning is key. For patent attorneys, identifying and taking action on high-cost prosecution can lessen the usual timeline and save money in the long term.

Technology Center 1600 is the home for life science patent applications at the USPTO. This includes applications related to organic compounds, organic chemistry, molecular biology, immunology, fermentation, and plants.

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that in order for a firm to succeed, it must be able to withstand whatever storms come its way and come out even stronger. Here, we recognize the patent firms that have done just that – the firms that have grown the most in the last decade.

Patent prosecution can be frustratingly complicated, and the USPTO has created special programs to reign in the usual chaos. Knowing these programs, their purpose, and their success rate can hugely benefit your patent practice.

Technology Center 2400 handles data processing and telecommunications technologies, including multiplex and VoIP, cable and television, recording and compression, cryptography and security, and computer networks.