USPTO announces End of AFCP 2.0
Patent – Patently-O 2024-10-01
Summary:
by Dennis Crouch
Termination of AFCP 2.0 Program: The USPTO has announced that the After Final Consideration Pilot (AFCP) 2.0 program will expire on December 14, 2024. This decision comes after the Office proposed implementing a new fee for AFCP 2.0 requests earlier this year, which received significant pushback.
Take-Home Points for Patent Practitioners:
- AFCP 2.0 has been popular with over 60,000 requests filed annually for the past 8 years.
- Last day for AFCP 2.0 requests: December 14, 2024
- Reason for termination: Program is costly and applicants do not provide any direct fee recovery.
- Proposed fee ($500 for large entities) was met with significant push-back.
As the USPTO bids farewell to this popular program, patent practitioners are focusing on reshuffling their after-final strategies.
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