In an effort to offer customers better service, the United States Patent and Trademark Office has been modernizing various aspects of their operations. One result of the modernization and efficiency efforts relates to expedited patent issue dates. On April 15th, the Patent Office announced that ― starting on May 13th, 2025 ― it will be accelerating the issue dates for patents, reducing the time between receiving an issue notification and issue date to approximately two weeks. For applicants navigating the patent process, these changes come with both new considerations and opportunities.

Background

Once a patent is allowed, the applicant must pay a fee to have the patent “issue” ― i.e., to officially publish and go into effect. Once the fee is paid, the Patent Office sends an issue notification that informs the applicant of the patent number and the date that it will issue. On average, the time between an issue notification and issue date is currently several weeks. Going forward, patents will issue about two weeks after the issue notification.

With the shortened time between the issue notification and issue date, applicants need to adjust their strategies accordingly. We recommend the following strategies for continuing applications and final steps before paying the issue fee.

When to File a Continuing Application

In order to maintain co-pendency, a continuing application must be filed “before” the patent to which it claims priority, issues. A continuing application can claim the same filing date as an earlier filed application when the continuing application is filed on the day the earlier one issues (Immersion Corporation v. HTC Corporation). But waiting this late to file is not best practice. With patents now issuing faster, we recommend filing a continuing application before or simultaneously with paying the issue fee.

What to do Before You Pay the Issue Fee

With the shortened wait time between the issue notification and issue date, there will be less time for applicants to review and correct any issues. Therefore, before paying the issue fee, applicants should:

• Ensure that the list of inventors is correct;
• Review for whether there are additional references to cite;
• Review whether the entity size status has changed; and
• Review allowed claims carefully for any corrections needed.

Taking care of these matters before paying the issue fee helps to avoid post issuance corrections and issues, such as:

• Increased difficulty when correcting inventorship of an issued patent under 37 CFR § 1.324, compared to a pending application under 37 CFR 1.48(a);
• Potential invalidity if not all material prior art was cited and/or the associated cost and uncertainty of post issuance corrective proceedings;
• Corrective action to pay the higher large entity issue fee if a company has erroneously paid the lower small entity issue fee amount; and
• Waiting years for USPTO to issue a Certificate of Correction when an applicant requests corrections to issued patents and the corrections are due to applicant error.

Takeaways

USPTO’s modernization efforts are bringing about significant changes to the status quo. It is important for applicants and practitioners to stay ahead of these changes and be ready to change standard practices when necessary. As the USPTO continues to evolve, staying informed and prepared will be essential to protecting your intellectual property efficiently and effectively.