AFCP 2.0 Coming to an End: USPTO Announces Termination of Free Pilot Program, Offering Last Application Window

Important Notice! The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it was officially revealed in the Federal Register on October 1, 2024 that the acceptance window for AFCP 2.0 requests will be permanently closed after December 14, 2024. The AFCP program, implemented since May 2013, aims to address the issue of final rejections in patent applications through innovative approaches, effectively reducing the number of review requests. As its upgraded version, AFCP 2.0, a pilot program that has been extended multiple times, had its latest validity period end on September 30, 2024, and has been open to the public free of charge.

However, in April this year, the USPTO issued a notice of proposed rulemaking, considering imposing fees on AFCP 2.0 requests and other patent services, specifically $500 for large entities, $200 for small entities, and $100 for micro entities. The Office pointed out that it currently handles over 60,000 AFCP 2.0 requests annually, resulting in high management costs. If the costs cannot be covered by fees, the future renewal of AFCP 2.0 will be challenged.

Notably, the announcement on October 1 clarified that AFCP 2.0 will end on December 14, which will be the last chance to submit such requests. The announcement also revealed that regarding the fee adjustment proposal put forward in April, public feedback generally