Request for Comments on Request for Continued Examination (RCE) Practice
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) currently has a backlog of over 90,000 patent applications that have not been examined since the filing of a Request for Continued Examination (RCE). This backlog diverts resources away from the examination of new applications. The Office is continuing its efforts to reduce the RCE backlog. For example, the Office recently implemented a pair of pilot programs--the Quick Path Information Disclosure Statement (QPIDS) pilot program and the After Final Consideration Pilot (AFCP)--designed to reduce the need to file an RCE. The Office is now soliciting public feedback in an effort to better understand the full spectrum of factors that impact the decision to file an RCE. The Office is providing three different avenues for the public to provide their feedback on RCE practice: (1) Through the submission of written comments by electronic mail message over the Internet or by postal mail; (2) through the submission of written comments using a Web-based collaboration tool called IdeaScale[supreg]; and (3) through a series of roundtables that the Office is planning to conduct. The Office plans to use the information it obtains to design additional programs and initiatives aimed at reducing RCE filings and the RCE backlog.
- Task
- Read the news
- Patent or trademark
- both
- Legacy system
- —
- Current entry point
- www.federalregister.gov/documents/2012/12/06/2012-29546/request-for-comments-on-request-for-continued-examination-rce-practice (permanent link in the Federal Register, verified 2026-09-30)
- Legacy system and where it moved
- Legacy system names mentioned in the document text (PAIR) — see /guide/legacy-migration/ for migration destinations )
- Fee
- Fee mentioned in title or summary (Confirmed in the document text)
- What you need (account or API key)
- No account or key mention in title or summary )
- Published
- 2012-12-06
- 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
- Request for Comments on Examination Time Goals
- Changes To Practice for Continuing Applications, Requests for Continued Examination Practice, and Applications Containing Patentably Indistinct Claims
- Post-Prosecution Pilot Program
- Request for Comments on Proposed Change To Missing Parts Practice
- Notice of Public Hearing and Request for Comments on Matters Related to the Harmonization of Substantive Patent Law
- Request for Comments and Notice of Roundtable Event on Leveraging Electronic Resources To Retrieve Information From Applicant's Other Applications and Streamline Patent Issuance
- Pilot Program for Extended Time Period To Reply to a Notice To File Missing Parts of Nonprovisional Application
- Quick Path Information Disclosure Statement (QPIDS) Pilot Program
- Standard ST.26-Request for Comments on the Recommended Standard for the Presentation of Nucleotide and Amino Acid Sequence Listings Using XML (eXtensible Markup Language)
- After Final Consideration Pilot Program 2.0
- Enhanced Examination Timing Control Initiative; Notice of Public Meeting
- Notice Regarding the Elimination of the Fee for Petitions To Make Special Filed Under the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Programs
- Patent Center Electronic Office Action Program
- Changes To Practice for Continued Examination Filings, Patent Applications Containing Patentably Indistinct Claims, and Examination of Claims in Patent Applications
- Expansion and Extension of the Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program
- Pilot Program for Waiver of Patent Owner's Statement in Ex Parte Reexamination Proceedings