Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) was established by the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 and provides for day-for-day adjustment of patent term (i.e., the period of time a patent is in force) for certain USPTO administrative delays (“the 14-4-4-4-36 timeframes”) for certain patent applications.  The specified timeframes are to:  issue an Office Action within 14 months after application filing, respond to a reply or appeal within four months, act on the application within four months after a decision from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) or from a Federal court, and issue the patent within four months after payment of the issue fee. Additionally, a 36-month timeframe applies if the USPTO does not issue a patent within three years of the filing date or national stage commencement, with certain exceptions.  Further, time consumed by interference or derivation proceedings, delays caused by placing the application under a secrecy order under 35 U.S.C. 181, or time consumed by a successful appellate review may result in positive patent term adjustment (PTA). Any positive PTA is offset by any period that an applicant failed to engage in reasonable efforts to conclude prosecution. This measure reports the PTA for all mailed actions.

This metric measures the degree to which a patent is correctly issued in compliance with all the requirements of Title 35 as well as the relevant case law at the time of issuance. A statutorily compliant office action includes all applicable rejections and any asserted rejection is correct in that the decision to reject is based on sufficient evidence to support a conclusion of unpatentability.

This metric measures the degree to which a patent is correctly issued in compliance with all the requirements of Title 35 as well as the relevant case law at the time of issuance. A statutorily compliant office action includes all applicable rejections and any asserted rejection is correct in that the decision to reject is based on sufficient evidence to support a conclusion of unpatentability.

The Global Intellectual Property Academy (GIPA) offers training programs on protection, utilization and enforcement of IP rights, patents, trademarks, and copyrights. It is through the GIPA training programs that the USPTO is instrumental in achieving its objectives of advancing IP right policies and halting IP theft.

The Global Intellectual Property Academy (GIPA) offers training programs on protection, utilization and enforcement of IP rights, patents, trademarks, and copyrights. It is through the GIPA training programs that the USPTO is instrumental in achieving its objectives of advancing IP right policies and halting IP theft.

This measure reflects the timeliness of the disposal of a trademark application. It is measured from the date of filing to date of registration, abandonment or issuance of a notice of allowance, excluding applications that are suspended, awaiting further action, or involved in inter partes proceedings.

This metric measures the degree to which a patent is correctly issued in compliance with all the requirements of Title 35 as well as the relevant case law at the time of issuance. A statutorily compliant office action includes all applicable rejections and any asserted rejection is correct in that the decision to reject is based on sufficient evidence to support a conclusion of unpatentability.

This measure reflects the timeliness of the disposal of a trademark application. It is measured from the date of filing to date of registration, abandonment or issuance of a notice of allowance, excluding applications that are suspended, awaiting further action, or involved in inter partes proceedings.

This measure reflects the timeliness of the disposal of a trademark application. It is measured from the date of filing to date of registration, abandonment or issuance of a notice of allowance, excluding applications that are suspended, awaiting further action, or involved in inter partes proceedings.

This metric measures the degree to which a patent is correctly issued in compliance with all the requirements of Title 35 as well as the relevant case law at the time of issuance. A statutorily compliant office action includes all applicable rejections and any asserted rejection is correct in that the decision to reject is based on sufficient evidence to support a conclusion of unpatentability.