USPTO Releases Petition Timelines
The Office of Petitions has launched a new USPTO Patents Petitions Timeline that provides information on petition types that can be filed throughout each stage of the patent prosecution, and reexamination process. For each petition type, users can easily access information on average pendency over the past 12 months of decided petitions, the deciding office, petition grant rates, and link to specific sections of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) or other parts of the USPTO website that relate to each petition type. (here)
Given the pro forma nature of many prosecution related petitions, of most interest are the more unusual filings, such as petitions to revive abandoned applications.
Of perhaps the greatest interest is the pendency information pertaining to petitions filed during patent reexamination. I have often referred to this practice as the “black arts” as such practice is fraught with uncertainty, and pendency can be quite significant.
The statistics for both ex parte patent reexamination and inter partes patent reexamination are provided below. While the pendencies are significant for Rule 181-183 filings, keep in mind that since inter partes reexamination requests are no longer accepted. Inter Partes petition workflow (which has always been very significant) should be slowing down. Going forward, I would expect reexamination petitions under Rules 181-183 to improve in timeliness.
Reexamination Related Petitions
CRU – Central Re-Examination Unit
OPLA – Office of Patent Legal Administration
Petition Type |
Avg. Days Pending of Decided Petitions |
Grant Rate Percentage |
Deciding Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extension of time in Ex Parte reexamination under 37 CFR 1.550 | 1 | 88% | CRU |
| Extension of time in Inter Partes reexamination under 37 CFR 1.956 | 2 | 100% | CRU |
| To expunge under 1.59 | 77 | 27% | CRU OPLA |
| To review denial in Ex Parte reexamination under 1.515 | 66 | 4% | CRU |
| To the Director under 1.181 | 150 | 38% | CRU OPLA |
| Under 1.182 | 151 | 16% | CRU OPLA |
| For suspension of the rules under 1.183 | 78 | 66% | CRU OPLA |