What are Track One and the Patent Prosecution Highway?
The two main routes to a faster US patent, what each requires and costs, the other petitions to make special, and how to decide whether speed is worth paying for.
Definition
Track One prioritized examination and the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) are USPTO programs that move an application ahead of the normal examination queue. Track One is purchased with a fee and targets a final disposition within 12 months; PPH is free and available when a corresponding application has already been found allowable by a partner patent office or in the PCT.
Key Facts
- Track One: Available for utility and plant applications with no more than 4 independent and 30 total claims; request must be filed with the application or with a request for continued examination; the USPTO caps the program at 15,000 grants per fiscal year
- Track One fee: A prioritized examination fee on top of normal filing fees, discounted for small and micro entities
- Track One target: Final disposition (allowance, final rejection, or abandonment) within 12 months; the first office action typically arrives in 2 to 3 months
- PPH: Requires that claims in a corresponding application were found allowable by a participating office, or that a PCT international search or preliminary examination report found them novel, inventive, and industrially applicable; US claims must sufficiently correspond
- PPH fee: None; the request is a form plus copies of the foreign office action and claims
- PPH effect: The application is advanced out of turn, with first actions commonly within a few months and allowance rates well above average
- Losing special status: Track One status ends on a request for extension of time, an RCE, or a claim amendment that exceeds the limits
Track One
The applicant pays for speed and gets it, with no requirement to conduct a pre-examination search. The tradeoffs are the fee, the claim limits, and the loss of status if the applicant needs an extension of time. Track One is most used for inventions with short commercial lives, for patents needed to support financing or licensing, and for cases where a granted claim is wanted before a competitor's launch.
The Patent Prosecution Highway
PPH is a work-sharing arrangement: if one office has done the examination and found allowable claims, the second office fast-tracks the corresponding claims. The Global PPH network includes the USPTO, EPO, JPO, KIPO, CNIPA, and dozens of others. The usual sequence for a US applicant is a favorable PCT written opinion at month 16, then a PPH request on US national phase entry with claims conformed to the PCT claims. The reverse, using an allowed US case to accelerate foreign counterparts, is equally common and is a core reason to file the first application where examination is fastest.
Other Ways to Make Special
- Age or health: An applicant aged 65 or older, or whose health would prevent them from assisting in prosecution, may petition at no fee
- First action interview program and examiner interviews shorten prosecution without formally advancing the case
- Climate change, COVID-19, and semiconductor pilot programs have periodically offered free acceleration for qualifying technologies
Deciding Whether to Pay
Speed has value when the patent will be used soon: to deter a launch, support a deal, or anchor a licensing program. It has little value for a defensive filing that will sit in a portfolio. Because PPH is free, any application with a favorable foreign or PCT result should use it. Track One is a budget question, and prosecution analytics that show the expected pendency in the relevant art unit tell you how much time the fee is buying. ArcPrime's global filing strategy tooling sequences filings so that the first examination result can accelerate the rest of the family.
Frequently Asked Questions
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How much faster is Track One?
The USPTO targets a final disposition within 12 months of granting prioritized status, compared with an average of about two to three years for ordinary examination. First office actions on Track One cases typically arrive within two to three months of filing.
What are the requirements for Track One?
A utility or plant application with no more than four independent claims, thirty total claims, and no multiple dependent claims, filed electronically with the prioritized examination fee and all other filing formalities complete. The request must accompany the original filing or a request for continued examination. Status is lost if the applicant requests an extension of time.
What is the Patent Prosecution Highway?
A network of agreements under which a patent office will fast-track an application whose corresponding claims were found allowable by another participating office or in a PCT report. The US claims must sufficiently correspond to the allowed ones. There is no fee, and PPH cases have historically had higher allowance rates and fewer office actions.
Can you use a PCT written opinion for PPH?
Yes. If the international search report or international preliminary report on patentability finds at least one claim novel, inventive, and industrially applicable, the applicant can request PCT-PPH in the US national phase for claims that correspond to those found allowable.
Is it worth paying for prioritized examination?
When the patent is needed soon, yes: to stop a competitor, support financing or a sale, or start a licensing program. For filings that will sit in a portfolio for years, the fee buys little. If a favorable PCT or foreign result exists, the free PPH route should be used first.
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