You are counsel for a company that desires to apply for a patent at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) covering its newest invention. You may have heard that the USPTO usually takes more than a year and a half to issue even the first official communication on a merits, such as an Office Action, due to a backlog of over several hundred thousand unexamined patent applications. So, what can be done when your company cannot wait that long due to, for example, an imminent product launch or a short useful life of the invention (e.g., 1-3 years)?

Do not fear, as the USPTO offers a number of tools to help your company prosecute patent applications and obtain issued patents expeditiously. These tools and their associated requirements are summarized below.

Track One Prioritized Patent Examination