Key Points

• New pilot program. The USPTO has introduced the Streamlined Claim Set Pilot Program, offering expedited examination for applications with no more than one independent claim and ten claims total.
• Low-cost and fast. The initiative provides a solid alternative to Track One prioritized examination, but with stricter claim limitations and no option to exit once accepted.
• Plan ahead. Applicants seeking quicker examination should carefully plan claim strategy for both the streamlined application and any future related filings.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has launched a new expedited examination pilot program: the “Streamlined Claim Set Pilot Program.” It is for certain patent applications with no more than one independent claim and 10 total claims.

According to USPTO patent pendency data for September 2025, the average number of months from application filing date to issuance of a first Office Action is 22.6 months. By focusing on already filed, unexamined applications, the Streamlined Claim Set Pilot Program is designed to reduce the USPTO’s backlog.

Requirements

Original, noncontinuing, utility applications, including bypass continuation applications filed under 35 U.S.C §111(a), having a filing date before October 27, 2025, are eligible to participate in the pilot program. The pilot program is not available for national stage applications filed under 35 U.S.C. §371, continuation applications, divisional applications, continuation-in-part applications and reissue applications. If there is a non-publication request for the application, it must be rescinded.

Under this pilot program, an application must contain no more than one independent claim, no multiple dependent claims and no more than ten claims total. A preliminary amendment may be filed before or with the petition to make special to comply with the claim requirements.

The applicant must also certify that no inventor or joint inventor has been named as an inventor or a joint inventor on more than three other nonprovisional applications in which a petition to make special under this program has been filed.

Applicants must pay a non-refundable petition fee of $150, or $60 for small entities. They also must file petition form PTO/SB/472 before issuance of a first Office Action, including a written restriction requirement, and before docketing of the application to an examiner.

Compliance with the above-stated requirements does not guarantee acceptance into the pilot program. For example, the USPTO will generally dismiss a timely filed petition under the pilot program if the application has already been docketed to an examiner in a technology center at the time the petition is picked up for consideration.

Examination

Applications accepted into the pilot program will be given special status (expedited examination) until issuance of the first Office Action. After issuance of the first Office Action, the application will lose its special status and be placed onto the examiner’s regular docket.

Even after the loss of special status, the application must still comply with the claim requirements of the pilot program for the entire duration of examination. An amendment that does not comply with the pilot program’s claim requirements will be treated as not fully responsive.

There is no provision for withdrawal from the Streamlined Claim Set Pilot Program. If the applicant wishes to file claim amendments that do not conform with the pilot program’s requirements, the application in the pilot program may be abandoned in favor of a continuation application.

Duration

The USPTO will accept petitions for the Streamlined Claim Set Pilot Program beginning on October 27, 2025, until the earlier of October 27, 2026, or until each Technology Center has docketed approximately 200 applications accepted into the pilot program. The USPTO website will publish a count of the total number of petitions filed and the number of applications accepted into the pilot program for each Technology Center.

Considerations

This new pilot program offers a low-cost option for prioritized examination. Interested applicants may want to act quickly. Careful consideration should be given to the claims pursued in the streamlined claim set and in subsequent related applications. Unlike the USPTO’s Track One prioritized examination program, the Streamlined Claim Set Pilot Program does not offer the flexibility to break from the program’s claim requirements after termination of expedited examination status. Also, fewer Restriction Requirements are expected for applications under this pilot program. Therefore, claim strategy in subsequent related applications should be carefully considered, as the safe harbor provisions of 35 U.S.C. §121 against obviousness-type double patenting rejections may not be available.

Additional information about the pilot program may be found in the Federal Register.

For more information, please contact Eileen S. Sun at esun@foxrothschild.com.

This information is intended to inform firm clients and friends about legal developments, including the decisions of courts and administrative bodies. Nothing in this alert should be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion. Readers should not act upon the information contained in this alert without seeking the advice of legal counsel. Views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily this law firm or its clients. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.