"The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will launch an AI search pilot program for utility patent applications and will begin accepting petitions to participate in the program as of October 20, according to a draft Federal Register Notice (FRN) published today. The official notice will be published tomorrow, October 8. Petitions will be accepted through April 20, 2026, or the date that each tech center (TC) is docketed at least 200 applications accepted, whichever comes first."
"The "Automated Search Pilot Program" is meant to "evaluate the impact of sharing the results of an automated search prior to examination of an application." In the event a petition is granted, the Office will use an AI tool that "uses the classification of the application under the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) system, as well as the specification, including the claims and abstract, of the application as contextual information.""
"The USPTO will then send an Automated Search Results Notice (ASRN) to the applicant identifying potential prior art issues with the application (up to 10 documents identified by the tool), which the applicant will not be required to respond to, and which is not considered a notification under 35 U.S.C. 132. However, "the results of the automated search may inform a decision on how to proceed with the application,""
USPTO will run an Automated Search Pilot Program for utility patent applications with petitions accepted beginning October 20 through April 20, 2026, or until each tech center reaches 200 accepted participants. The program will use an AI tool that leverages Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) and the application specification, including claims and abstract, as contextual input. The tool will search public patent databases including U.S. Patents, U.S. Pre-Grant Publications (PG-Pubs), and Foreign Image and Text (FIT) and will rank results by relevance. The Office will send an Automated Search Results Notice (ASRN) identifying up to ten potential prior-art documents; applicants are not required to respond and the ASRN is not a 35 U.S.C. 132 notification. The ASRN may inform applicant decisions such as filing a preliminary amendment, deferring examination, or filing a petition.
Read at IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Intellectual Property Law
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