by Christopher R. Liro
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has recently implemented several changes to the available options for expedited examination of both utility and design patent applications.
For utility patent applications, effective July 10, 2025, the USPTO is discontinuing the “Accelerated Examination” program. This program was introduced in 2006, and provided that an application would be advanced out of turn for examination if the applicant filed a petition to make special with the appropriate showing. At the time, the Accelerated Examination program proved to be relatively popular as it was one of the few options for expedited examination.
However, in 2011, the USPTO implemented the prioritized examination program (often referred to as ‘‘Track One’’), as provided in the America Invents Act (AIA), a statute passed by Congress. Track One provides the ability to advance any utility or plant application out of turn, regardless of subject matter, by paying a fee and without the applicant having to meet several of the requirements of the Accelerated Examination program, such as performing a pre-examination search and supplying an examination support document. Review of these requirements and processing of petitions to make special also created additional burdens on the USPTO.
Track One has greatly reduced participation in the Accelerated Examination program, with the USPTO noting that in each of the fiscal years 2014 to 2024, fewer than 100 applicants have taken advantage of the program. In contrast, Track One has become significantly more popular, with the annual limit on Track One requests being raised several times to the present 15,000. The USPTO anticipates further raising the annual limit on the number of Track One prioritized examination requests that may be accepted from 15,000 to 20,000 in 2025.
In order to focus resources on timely examination, the low usage of the Accelerated Examination program, the popularity of the Track One program, and the inconvenience to practitioners and the USPTO of retaining a seemingly redundant program with its own special handling procedures, the USPTO determined that the program does not provide a sufficient benefit to the public or the patent system to justify its cost, and therefore is discontinuing the Accelerated Examination program for utility applications. Further information may be found at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-06-10/pdf/2025-10498.pdf.
For design patent applications, there is no comparable Track One program, and so the USPTO will maintain the Accelerated Examination program, while suspending a different procedure for expedited examination of design patent applications—the “rocket docket” program under 37 C.F.R. § 1.155.
In contrast to the declining usage of the Expedited Examination program for utility applications, the “rocket docket” program is a victim of its own success. The USPTO noted that for the first few years following the introduction of the program, requests for expedited examination of a design application were less than 1% of total design application filings. In recent years, however, requests for expedited examination have skyrocketed. In fiscal year 2024, close to 20% of design applications were applications undergoing expedited examination under the program. This increased workload was found to negatively impact the pendency of all design applications, and improper fee calculation also is contributing to burdens and costs on the USPTO.
In light of these issues, the USPTO suspended the “rocket docket” program for design patent applications effective April 17, 2025. Further information may be found at https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/rocket-suspension-20250408.pdf.
Please contact your Andrus attorney with any questions you may have regarding these changes.
Attorney Dillon E. Durnford was recently interviewed and featured as a subject-matter expert for an article entitled AI vs. IP for The Innovation Issue of BizTimes Milwaukee. Access the article here.
Andrus litigation partner Aaron Olejniczak was part of the trial team representing client and Wisconsin manufacturing company Tomahawk Manufacturing in a federal jury trial in June 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, Portland Division. Aaron collaborated with attorneys from New York and Seattle to successfully defend against over $150 million in claims. Aaron’s focus at the trial was the defense of breach-of-contract claims involving technology ownership and the vast majority of the alleged damages. Through diligent motion practice, the Court granted judgment as a matter of law in the client’s favor on the contract claims during the trial. Aaron assisted the trial team in defending the remaining claims through the trial, and the jury delivered a unanimous verdict in favor of the client on June 25.
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