Los Angeles – Yesterday, as a result of the enactment of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, the USPTO began accepting requests for prioritized examination of patent applications.

The PTO’s goal of prioritized examination is to provide a final disposition on a patent application within twelve months of prioritized status being granted.  The associated non-refundable fee is $4,800 which is in addition to all other pre-existing fees.  This program is the latest in the PTO’s efforts to reduce the application backlog.   Currently, the patent application process can take 3 years or more.  The PTO is limited to accepting only 10,000 applications per year for prioritized examination.  For more information click here: Prioritized Examination of Patents Begins at the USPTO.