摘要 :
 USPTO宣布了”三軌法案”草案之相關細節，使申請人有較迅速之專利申請程序可資選擇。
 2011年2月4日，美國專利商標局將於聯邦公報公告系爭法案方案一之立法草案，申請者將有機會於支付美金4000元後，獲得12個月內之優先審查。聯邦公報將對方案一徵求各方公開意見，包含:
   (a)各申請者之4000元費用(為避免其他主張優先審查者之遲延所需的必要費用)；
   (b)申請範圍限於四項獨立項及30項之總申請專利範圍；  
   (C)申請者應透過電子申請系統申請，及其他要求；徵求公開意見期間為公告後30日。
在施行此一計畫的第一年，美國商標專利局計畫將申請數限制在10,000件之內，以確保USPTO可達到12個月內完成審查的目標。

USPTO to Issue Proposal for “Track One” Accelerated Patent Examination in Flexible “Three Track” Patent Processing Program Agency also announces plan to clear backlog of oldest unexamined applications by the end of FY 2011 Washington – The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today announced new details on its “Three-Track” program designed to enable applicants to choose the speed with which their patent application is processed.
 
On February 4, 2011, the USPTO will publish in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking on “Track One” of the program, which will give applicants the opportunity for prioritized examination of a patent within 12 months of its filing date for a proposed fee of $4,000. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke highlighted the “Three-Track” patent examination program, first published for public comment in June 2010, at the White House’s launch of the “Startup America” initiative earlier this week. “The Patent and Trademark Office plays a key role in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship,” Locke said. “This new system will bring the most valuable patents, as determined by inventors, to market faster and will help shrink the backlog by catering to the business needs of America’s innovators.”
 
The forthcoming Federal Register notice will request comments from the public on a number of different proposed requirements for participation in Track One, including 
  (a) the proposed fee of $4,000 for each application (to recover the full cost of resources necessary to prevent the delay of other, non-prioritized applications);
  (b) limits on the number of claims to four independent claims and 30 total claims;
  (c) application filing through the USPTO’s electronic filing system (EFS-Web); and other such requirements. The comment period will close 30 days after the notice is published.

“Since putting our ‘Three-Track’ proposal out for public comment last summer, we have received feedback from innovators across the country supporting these processing options,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO David Kappos. ”Commenters have been particularly enthusiastic about the option to seek faster examination on their most important applications.” During the program’s first year, the USPTO plans to limit the number of applications in the program to 10,000 to ensure that the USPTO can meet the 12-month goal. For smaller entities, the USPTO is working to offer a 50 percent discount on any filing fee associated with Track One, as it does with many other standard processing fees. The patent reform legislation recently introduced in the U.S. Senate would enable the USPTO to set its own fees and thereby extend this discount to small entity applicants. Agency begins effort to clear oldest unexamined patent cases The USPTO also announced today a new effort to eliminate the “tail” of backlog applications that were more than 16 months old at the beginning of the fiscal year and had not yet received a first Office Action, known as

“Clearing the Oldest Patent Applications” (or COPA).
This initiative is a critical first step in reaching the agency’s strategic goal of providing first Office Actions on all new applications in an average of 10 months from their date of filing by 2014. The goal for fiscal year 2011 is to have a first Office Action completed on nearly all of the 313,000 oldest backlog applications. Reaching this goal, however, is highly dependent on the passage of a fiscal year 2011 budget that would provide sufficient resources for hiring and examiner overtime. “In the long run, COPA will result in lower overall patent pendency – particularly in light of applicants using the Track One option when it becomes available in the coming months,” Kappos said. “Together, these efforts will make a real difference in the speed at which applicants will be able to get a decision on their patent applications.” To stay current with the USPTO, subscribe to regular e-mail updates at www.uspto.gov/subscribe. 

 資料來源 The United States Patent and Trademark Office
2011/02/02