By Godson Umejiego, Senior Correspondent USA
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced a new Deferred Subject Matter Eligibility Response (DSMER) Pilot Programme for nonprovisional patent applications that will launch on February 1, 2022.
This pilot programme was initiated in response to a letter from Senators Thom Tillis and Tom Cotton and is designed to evaluate how deferred applicant responses to subject matter eligibility (SME) rejections could affect examination efficiency and patent quality as compared to traditional compact prosecution practice.
Participation in this programme is by invitation only. Applicants may receive invitations to participate if their applications meet certain criteria, including a requirement that the first Office action on the merits makes both SME and non-SME rejections.
