USPTO Streamlined Claim Set Pilot Program

The USPTO launched a new Streamlined Claim Set Pilot Program on October 27, 2025, offering expedited examination for certain utility patent applications with limited claim sets. Applications accepted into the program will be advanced out of turn and placed on an examiner’s special docket until the first Office action is issued, providing a faster path to initial examination results. The program is designed to evaluate how limiting the number of claims under examination impacts both pendency and examination quality.

Eligibility and Requirements

To qualify for the program, applications must be original, noncontinuing utility applications filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) before October 27, 2025. This means the program is not available for continuation, divisional, or continuation-in-part applications, nor for national stage applications under 35 U.S.C. 371. The claim set must include no more than one independent claim and no more than ten total claims. All dependent claims must reference the previous claim in the preamble, include all limitations of the referenced claim, and be directed to the same statutory class as the independent claim. Applications can be brought into compliance by filing a preliminary amendment before or with the petition to make special.

The petition must be filed before the first Office action is issued, including any written restriction requirement, and the application must not yet be docketed to an examiner when the petition is decided. All petitions must be filed electronically via the Patent Center using Form PTO/SB/472 and must be accompanied by the petition fee under 37 CFR 1.17(h), currently $150 for large entities, $60 for small entities, and $30 for micro entities. Additionally, any nonpublication request must be rescinded. An important limitation is that no inventor or joint inventor can be named on more than three other nonprovisional applications for which a petition under this program has been filed. It’s worth noting that the petition fee will not be refunded if the application is not accepted into the program, including situations where the petition is dismissed because the application was docketed to an examiner between the time the petition was filed and when it was reviewed for decision.

The Federal Register publication is unclear on the DOCX requirement. The Notice states the following: “Thus, for an application to be eligible for the pilot program, the specification, claim(s), and abstract must comply with the USPTO requirements for submission in DOCX format at the time the application was filed. See 37 CFR 1.16(u). On its face, it sounds like the application must have been filed in DOCX format. However, the cited rule is the surcharge fee required if an application is not filed in DOCX format, which could be read to imply that the applications not filed initially in DOCX can still be considered, so long as the appropriate surcharge has been paid.

Program Duration and Capacity

The program will accept petitions until October 27, 2026, or until each Technology Center examining utility applications has approximately 200 accepted applications, whichever occurs first. The USPTO has reserved the right to terminate the program early at its discretion based on factors such as workload, resources, public feedback, and program effectiveness. The USPTO will track and publish on its website the number of petitions filed and applications accepted for each Technology Center to provide transparency regarding program capacity. Petitions filed before program termination will be considered on their merits even if the program closes before the petition is decided.

Prosecution Implications

Once an application is accepted into the program, the applicant must agree to comply with the claim requirements throughout the remainder of prosecution. Examiners may refuse entry of any amendment that would result in more than one independent claim, more than ten total claims, or dependent claims that do not comply with the specified dependency format. The special status applies only until the first Office action is issued; after that, the application returns to the examiner’s regular docket and is no longer treated as special. If a restriction requirement is necessary, the examiner will attempt to conduct a telephonic interview, but if an election is not made, a written restriction requirement will be issued and will constitute the first Office action, ending special status.

There is no provision for withdrawal from the program once an application is accepted. While an applicant may abandon an application in favor of a continuing application, the continuing application will not receive special status based on the parent’s petition, as only noncontinuing applications are eligible for the pilot program. However, filing a continuation application remains a viable strategic option if broader claim coverage or additional independent claims become necessary during prosecution of the pilot application.

Strategic Considerations for Biotech Applications

This program presents both opportunities and constraints that should be carefully evaluated for each application, with particular considerations for biotech and pharmaceutical applications. The primary advantage is expedited examination to the first Office action, which can be particularly valuable when speed to initial examiner feedback is critical, such as for informing business decisions, licensing negotiations, or investor discussions. The limited claim set may also streamline examination by focusing the examiner’s attention on a well-defined embodiment.

The program appears optimized for applications with relatively well-defined embodiments where early inputs on a core invention would be useful to guide further business decisions. This might include situations where you have a specific lead compound or formulation and need rapid feedback on patentability to inform development priorities, licensing discussions, or financing decisions. The single independent claim limitation works well when the invention has a natural focal point—a particular construct, formulation, or method—where getting the examiner’s initial assessment quickly provides meaningful strategic value even if comprehensive claim coverage requires additional applications.

The program may be less appropriate for applications covering platform technologies with multiple implementations, pioneering inventions where the full commercial scope remains uncertain, or situations where comprehensive protection across multiple statutory classes is essential from the outset. Additionally, because special status ends after the first Office action and subsequent prosecution proceeds at normal pace with the claim restrictions still in place, the program primarily accelerates your initial interaction with the examiner rather than reducing overall time to allowance.

Time is critical for interested applicants. Applications filed in recent months likely have not yet been docketed to examiners, but applications filed earlier in 2025 may already be in examination queues. The program’s 200-application-per-Technology-Center limit, combined with potentially high interest in expedited examination, suggests that capacity may fill quickly. If you’re considering participation, we need to act promptly to evaluate eligible applications and file petitions before applications are docketed or capacity is exhausted.