Sponsors (2)
The bill accelerates and subsidizes patent examination for select AI/semiconductor/quantum inventions and increases transparency, but it excludes applicants with certain foreign ties, restricts common filing strategies, and may slow examination for other fields — trading broader, equal access for targeted speed and oversight.
Inventors of eligible AI, semiconductor, or quantum technologies will get faster USPTO examination, reducing time to patent grant and enabling quicker commercialization and investment.
Inventors and small-business applicants seeking prioritized review will have petition fees waived, lowering upfront costs to pursue accelerated examination.
The public and state governments will receive public reporting and post-termination assessments, increasing transparency about program uptake and patenting outcomes in critical technologies.
Applicants with ties to designated foreign 'entities of concern' will be excluded from faster examination, restricting access for some innovators and potentially disadvantaging foreign-owned U.S. subsidiaries and immigrant inventors.
Inventors who file continuing or provisional applications, or who are prolific filers, will be ineligible for the program, limiting common patenting strategies and potentially penalizing active innovators and businesses that rely on multi-stage filings.
Patent applicants working in non-covered fields may face slower examination if USPTO resources are reallocated to prioritized technologies, delaying protection for a broader set of inventions.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced May 21, 2025 by Lance Gooden · Last progress May 21, 2025
Creates a USPTO pilot program to speed up patent examination for certain patent applications that claim inventions in defined critical and emerging technologies (including specified areas of AI, semiconductor design/Electronic Design Automation, and quantum information science). The Director of the USPTO must set up the program within one year, publish rules for eligibility and processing, permit certain fee waivers, and exclude applicants who are identified as a "foreign entity of concern." The goal is to encourage U.S. innovation and faster patent decisions for prioritized technologies.
Requires the USPTO to create a pilot program to expedite examination of certain patent applications in defined critical and emerging technologies, with eligibility limits and procedural rules.