VIRGINIA - Effective May 13, 2025, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will be accelerating the Issue Dates for patents. Previously, the time between Issue Notification and Issue Date averaged around three weeks. The USPTO is reducing that time to approximately two weeks, allowing patent holders to bring their investments to the market earlier, according to the official website of USPTO. 

Publishing electronic grants (eGrants) via our online platform, Patent Center, and eliminating redundancies in the process has reduced the time between grant notification and the issuance date. 

Furthermore, by shortening the wait time between the Issue Notification and the Issue Date, patent applicants may avoid the need to file a Quick Path Information Disclosure Statement. Additionally, prompter patent issuance will provide earlier protection for inventions. 

Continuing applications should be filed before the payment of the issue fee to ensure copendency, per the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) 211.01(b), subsection I. Issuance may occur before the Issue Notification is received for applicants choosing not to participate in the e-Office Action program.