Streamlined Claim Set Pilot Program

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The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is implementing the Streamlined Claim Set Pilot Program to evaluate how having a limited number of claims under examination impacts pendency and examination quality. Under the pilot program, certain pending utility patent applications that have no more than one independent claim and no more than ten total claims may be eligible for expedited examination, if the requirements specified in this notice are met. An applicant may comply with the claim requirements of the pilot program by filing a preliminary amendment before or with a petition to make special under the pilot program. Applications accepted into the pilot program will be advanced out of turn (i.e., accorded special status) for examination until a first Office action is issued. This notice sets forth the requirements of the pilot program and describes how the pilot program will be administered. The USPTO anticipates that focusing examination resources on already-filed, unexamined applications that have a streamlined claim set will enhance efforts to reduce the USPTO's inventory and pendency, and that the data gathered from this pilot program will support designing future