Editing Petition to make special

In [[United States patent law]], a '''petition to make special''' (PTMS) is a formal request submitted to the [[United States Patent and Trademark Office]] (USPTO) asking that a [[patent application]] be examined ahead of the other pending applications in the same technological art.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1710    Petition to Make Special |url=https://tmep.uspto.gov/RDMS/TMEP/current#/current/TMEP-1700d1e385.html |access-date=1 April 2023}}</ref>

== Background and rationale ==

Normally patent applications in a given technological art are examined in the order that they are filed in under the "first come, first served" principle. The patent office has realized, however, that some [[invention]]s deserve special attention and that patent applications covering these inventions should be examined as quickly as possible. If an invention falls into one of the special categories, the applicant (e.g. [[inventor]]) can petition to have it examined early.

A petition to make special can be granted because:<ref>[http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/documents/0700_708_02.htm "708.02 Petition To Make Special"], ''Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP)'', Eighth Edition, August 2001, Latest Revision August 2006</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=What is a Petition to Make Special Infringement? |url=https://www.upcounsel.com/petition-to-make-special-infringement |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=UpCounsel |language=en}}</ref>

* one of the inventors is over the age of 65 or is ill to the point where they may not be available to assist in the prosecution of the patent,
* the head of a government agency requests that the application be made special,
* the patent relates to certain areas including: quality of the environment, development of energy resources, or terrorism,
* the applicant wishes to take part in accelerated examination as described below, or
* the applicant has received a positive indication of allowability in another jurisdiction and is participating in the [[Patent Prosecution Highway]].

== Accelerated examination ==

Effective in August 2006, the USPTO introduced an accelerated patent examination procedure in an effort to allow inventors a speedy evaluation of an application with a final disposition within 12 months. The procedure requires additional information to be submitted with the application and also includes an interview with the examiner.<ref>[http://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/accelerated/ USPTO Accelerated Patent Examination]</ref> The first accelerated patent was granted on March 15, 2007, with a 6-month issuance time.<ref>[http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/speeches/07-13.htm Press Release:] USPTO GRANTS FIRST PATENT UNDER NEW ACCELERATED REVIEW OPTION</ref>

== Petitions to make special and business methods==

Petitions to make special are particularly important for timely examination of [[business method patent]]s.  Projected delays in examination of business method patents range from 4 to 14 years.<ref>[http://weblog.ipcentral.info/archives/2006/06/rip_van_winkle.html http://weblog.ipcentral.info/archives/2006/06/rip_van_winkle.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060620030707/http://weblog.ipcentral.info/archives/2006/06/rip_van_winkle.html |date=2006-06-20 }}</ref>  This is primarily due to the step change in business method filings after the 1998 ''[[State Street Bank v. Signature Financial Group|State Street Bank decision]]'' combined with the difficulty in hiring and training qualified patent examiners in the financial services arts (e.g. [[insurance]] and [[banking]]).

It is reported <ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060709123520/http://www.marketsandpatents.com/IPB-06152006.html http://www.marketsandpatents.com/IPB-06152006.html]}}</ref> that a PTMS for Accelerated Examination can cut the time to get a patent to issue in the business method area from more than five years to less than two.  First office actions can issue in as little as six months from the filing date of the application and notices of allowable subject matter have issued in just over a year.

== References ==
<!--This article uses the Cite.php citation mechanism. If you would like more information on how to add references to this article, please see http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cite/Cite.php --> 
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110719194836/http://just-n-examiner.livejournal.com/11318.html Order of examination at USPTO]
* [http://patentlaw.typepad.com/patent/2005/01/how_to_jumpstar_1.html Patently-O: Jump start business method patents]

[[Category:United States patent law]]