May 10, 2012
CONTACT: Paul Fucito or Patrick Ross
(571) 272-8400 or paul.fucito@uspto.gov
or patrick.ross@uspto.gov
Press Release, 12-32
USPTO to Test New Option for Information Disclosure Statements (IDS)
Pilot program will allow consideration of an IDS after payment of the issue fee without a RCE
Washington - The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today announced the start of the Quick Path Information Disclosure Statement (QPIDS) pilot program as part of its on-going efforts towards compact prosecution and pendency reduction. The program reduces the number of Requests for Continued Examination (RCEs) filed for consideration of an IDS after the issue fee is paid.
“The one point on which all voices of the IP community agree is that the most important thing USPTO can do to help is to get their new inventions to the marketplace faster and more efficiently, in turn enabling them to create new jobs and opportunity,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and USPTO Director David Kappos. “The Quick Path IDS pilot is another example of USPTO’s commitment to eliminating delays and increasing efficiency for our stakeholders.”
In the QPIDS pilot, IDS submissions will be considered by the examiner before determining whether prosecution should be reopened. Prosecution will only be reopened where the examiner determines that reopening prosecution is necessary to address an item of information in the IDS. When the items of information in the IDS do not require prosecution to be reopened, the application will return to issue, thereby eliminating the delays and costs associated with RCE practice.
In order to be eligible, an application must be an allowed utility or reissue application for which the issue fee has been paid and the patent has not yet issued. A QPIDS submission must be made via the USPTO’s online filing system, EFS-Web. The pilot will run from May 16, 2012 to September 30, 2012. To learn more about the QPIDS pilot program, please refer to the Federal Register Notice located here.
For additional information contact Remy Yucel by telephone at (571) 272-0700 or irem.yucel@uspto.gov.
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