Sunset of the Patent Application Backlog Reduction Stimulus Plan and a Limited Extension of the Green Technology Pilot Program
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) has provided two procedures under which an applicant may have an application accorded special status for examination. The Patent Application Backlog Reduction Stimulus Plan is available if the applicant expressly abandons another copending unexamined application. The Green Technology Pilot Program is available to patent applications pertaining to environmental quality, energy conservation, development of renewable energy resources, and greenhouse gas emission reduction. In view of the trend in filings under the Patent Application Backlog Reduction Stimulus Plan, this plan has fulfilled its purpose and will not be extended. In view of the success of the Green Technology Pilot Program, this plan will be extended until 500 additional applications have been accorded special status under this program or until March 30, 2012, whichever occurs earlier. Following the expiration of this extension, the program will be eliminated, and applicants may instead use the newly enacted Prioritized Examination (Track I) program. The Track I program not only provides advancement of examination, but sets a target of reaching final disposition within 12 months from the time advancement is initiated. Furthermore, the advancement in the Track I program is available to all technologies and is not restricted to certain categories of invention as in the Pilot Program.
- Task
- Read the news
- Patent or trademark
- both
- Legacy system
- —
- Current entry point
- www.federalregister.gov/documents/2011/12/15/2011-32115/sunset-of-the-patent-application-backlog-reduction-stimulus-plan-and-a-limited-extension-of-the (permanent link in the Federal Register, verified 2026-09-30)
- Legacy system and where it moved
- No legacy system name mention in title or summary )
- Fee
- No fee mention in title or summary )
- What you need (account or API key)
- No account or key mention in title or summary )
- Published
- 2011-12-15
- Document type
- Notice
- Source
- USPTO documents published in the Federal Register (Federal Register API)(retrieved 2026-10-06)
Everything in the same category
Read the news (all 1988) · both (all 2333)
Related entry points
- Expansion and Extension of the Green Technology Pilot Program
- Expansion and Extension of the Patent Application Backlog Reduction Stimulus Plan
- Elimination of Classification Requirement in the Green Technology Pilot Program
- Pilot Program for Green Technologies Including Greenhouse Gas Reduction
- Extension of the Patent Application Backlog Reduction Stimulus Plan
- Extension of the Patent Application Backlog Reduction Stimulus Plan
- Patent Application Backlog Reduction Stimulus Plan
- Changes To Practice for Continuing Applications, Requests for Continued Examination Practice, and Applications Containing Patentably Indistinct Claims
- Standards Participation and Representation Kudos (SPARK) Pilot Program
- Streamlined Claim Set Pilot Program
- Pilot Program for Extended Time Period To Reply to a Notice To File Missing Parts of Nonprovisional Application
- COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program
- Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program
- Extension of the First-Time Filer Expedited Examination Pilot Program
- Expansion and Extension of the Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program
- Changes To Implement the Prioritized Examination Track (Track I) of the Enhanced Examination Timing Control Procedures