New USPTO Rules for “Track I” Fast-Track Patent Processing
United States patent and trademark office made changes to the rules to allow inventors to pay a fee to cut the line and get their patents examined sooner. Following passage of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act in September 2011, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) began accepting requests for prioritized examination of patent […]
Four Features of the “First to File” System

1. New System: From “first to invent system” to the “first to file system.” “The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, signed into law on September 16, 2011, profoundly changes the U.S. patent system by awarding patents to the first inventor to file an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Thus, in order to protect […]