Posts Tagged: "AFCP 2.0"

After Final Consideration Pilot Program 2.0 Extended by USPTO

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has announced that the After Final Consideration Pilot 2.0 (AFCP 2.0) has been extended to September 30, 2020. AFCP 2.0 is part of our ongoing efforts towards compact prosecution. The decision to extend this popular and sensible program comes as no shock, and in fact has become a yearly ritual. 

Patent Office Extends After Final Consideration Pilot Program 2.0

Earlier today the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that the After Final Consideration Pilot Program 2.0 (AFCP 2.0) would be extended until September 30, 2019. The goal of the AFCP 2.0 is to reduce pendency by reducing the number of RCEs and encouraging increased collaboration between the applicant and the examiner to effectively advance the prosecution of the application.

An Examiner’s Tips For Speedier Patent Prosecution

Interactions between patent examiners and patent practitioners are often tense. At worst, these interactions can be an exercise in restraint with both parties thinly veiling their disdain for one another. This adversarial approach can stall prosecution and run adverse to the practitioner’s purpose – i.e., to obtain the best patent claim scope possible for his or her client. Patent practitioners thus could benefit in many instances by having a better understanding of an examiner’s expectations and approaching prosecution with a mind toward working with the examiner instead of against the examiner. A conversation with an Examiner in a mechanical art unit provided the following tips for how practitioners may expedite the examination process by working (to the extent possible) within the examiner’s expectations.

Strategic Considerations Before Filing and During Early Stages of Patent Prosecution

Under the AIA and through its own initiatives, the USPTO has developed many programs that facilitate the prosecution of applications through the Office. Applicants should consider the usefulness of these programs in any on-going and newly filed U.S. patent applications.

USPTO Modifies After Final Amendment Pilot Program

Last week the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced in the Federal Register that it would modified the After Final Consideration Pilot Program (AFCP) to create the After Final Consideration Pilot Program 2.0 (AFCP 2.0). The goal of AFCP 2.0 is much the same as it was when the USPTO initially introduced the precursor AFCP. According to the USPTO, the goal of AFCP 2.0 is to reduce pendency by reducing the number of RCEs and encouraging increased collaboration between the applicant and the examiner to effectively advance the prosecution of the application. There are, however, three differences between old and new AFCP.