On July 2, 2020, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) launched the Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program to speed up patent examination and ex parte appeals. The USPTO expects the average ex parte appeal to be decided within six months from the date a petition to request the fast-track appeal is granted.  

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the USPTO has extended certain deadlines and waived petition fees, and has established a COVID-19 Response Resource Center. The USPTO announcements with details of these actions are set forth on the USPTO website at the URL https://www.uspto.gov/coronavirus...

What happens when Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems start to ”invent”? Can companies list the AI system as an inventor in a Patent Application? The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) answered this very question with a definitive no, when it denied a Petition in April.