The U.S. Patent Office has a newly expanded program for interviewing patent applicants before an office action issues. This program can result in faster allowance of applications. In an implemented pilot program before the recent expansion, the Patent Office found about one third of the applications were allowed in the first Office Action.
To be eligible, a patent application must have no more than three independent claims and twenty total claims, all directed to a single invention. To participate, the applicant electronically files a request for first action interview before any Office Action is issued. An application that does not qualify can be amended to qualify by preliminary amendment.
There is no fee associated with the program.
