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USPTO Expands Patent Application Backlog Reduction Stimulus Plan

By Donald Zuhn, Kevin Noonan, Chris Singer, Sherri Oslick, and Jason Derry

By Sarah Fendrick -- Last fall, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office implemented a procedure that allowed small entities to have an application accorded special status examination if the applicant expressly abandoned another co-pending unexamined application (see "USPTO Implements Patent Application Backlog Reduction Stimulus Plan"). In a notice published in the Federal Register (75 Fed. Reg. 36063) earlier this summer, the backlog program was expanded by eliminating the small entity requirement and extending the program's effective date to December 31, 2010 or the date on which 10,000 applications have been accorded special status, whichever occurs first. Under the expanded program,...

Full post as published by Patent Docs on August 12, 2010 (boomark / email).