Patent Applicants: Decide Fast or Lose Your Invention Rights!
Published Date: 4/9/2026
Notice
Summary
Starting April 9, 2026, the USPTO will test a new program where some patent applicants must decide early if they want to move forward, delay, or drop their patent based on international review results. This helps speed up patent processing and cut down on waiting times. If you’re picked, you’ll need to respond quickly or risk losing your application.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 3 costs, 0 mixed.
Reply Fast or Your Application Is Abandoned
If your application is selected, the USPTO will issue a requirement for information that sets a two-month reply period; you may extend that reply for up to six months under 37 CFR 1.136(a). Failure to submit a complete, timely, and properly signed reply using form PTO/SB/478 will result in abandonment of the application.
Option to Delay Examination 12 Months Free
If selected, you can choose to delay examination for a non-terminable 12-month period from the date the USPTO receives your request to delay, and this delay is available at no processing fee. If you request the delay, the application will be placed on an examiner's docket after the 12-month delay ends.
Strict Form and Signature Rules Affect Outcomes
You must reply using form PTO/SB/478, sign it properly, and select only one checkbox (proceed, delay, or expressly abandon). A registered practitioner generally may not sign an express abandonment except when filing a continuing application, and to avoid publication you must file a separate petition (e.g., form PTO/AIA/24A) that is usually recognized more than four weeks before the projected publication date.
Only PCT 35 U.S.C. 371 Applications Selected
You can be picked for this pilot only if your international (PCT) application entered the U.S. national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371. Applications filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) — including plant, design, and reissue applications — will not be selected.
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Key Dates
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