What are ‘special cases’ in patent examination?
‘Special cases’ in patent examination refer to applications that are advanced out of turn for examination. According to MPEP 708.01, these include:
- Applications deemed of peculiar importance to a branch of public service
- Applications made special through petitions or prioritized examination requests
- Reissue applications, especially those involved in stayed litigation
- Applications remanded by appellate tribunals
- Applications interfering with other allowable applications or patents
- Applications ready for allowance or final rejection
- Applications pending for more than 5 years
- Reexamination proceedings
The MPEP states: Subject alone to diligent prosecution by the applicant, an application for patent that has once been made special and advanced out of turn for examination by reason of a ruling made in that particular case (by the Director of the USPTO or a Commissioner) will continue to be special throughout its entire course of prosecution in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, including appeal, if any, to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
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