“Our studies show even a one-week reduction in pendency increases a U.S. company’s value by approximately $35,000 on average.”
John A. Squires
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office …on how reduced patent application wait time means money
Readers of Dallas Innovates’ patent roundup know North Texas companies and inventors file a lot of patents. Now there’s news that could speed up the path from filing to commercialization.
For the first time in nearly a decade, the USPTO says its examiners are processing first office actions faster than new applications are coming in. The agency’s inventory of unexamined applications dropped to 776,995 as of April 6 — down from 837,928 in January — and is expected to keep falling. The office is on track to virtually eliminate applications that have sat unexamined for more than 36 months, ahead of schedule.
Squires, who calls the USPTO “America’s Innovation Agency,” says the office has hit “the tipping point of momentum now in favor of the applicant.” The agency said it is also deploying AI tools for examiners and is about halfway to its new hiring goal.
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