The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced this Monday, April 14, 2025, via its official website that it will suspend the expedited examination procedure for design applications (commonly known as the "rocket docket") effective April 17, 2025. This change marks one of the most significant procedural changes to the U.S. design patent system in the past decade. Our senior counsel Rose Xu and patent agent Chris Wang from the Design Patent Team at Chang Tsi & partners provides an in-depth analysis of the policy’s background, legal implications, and strategic countermeasures.

Legislative Background and Empirical Analysis of the Policy Adjustment

1. Combating Systemic Fraud

• Data shows a 560% year-on-year increase in expedited examination requests, with a significant rise in fraudulent cases involving fabricated inventor information, forged drawings, and micro entity eligibility fraud.
• Notable cases reveal that some applicants fraudulently obtained priority through fictitious foreign inventor identities and tampered priority documents, leading to a 24% increase in compliance review time for expedited procedures in 2024.

2. Optimizing Examination Resources and Alleviating Backlog Pressure

• The USPTO’s backlog of applications exceeded 800,000 cases in April 2025, with the average examination period for regular procedures extending to 17.1 months (compared to 9.8 months in 2020).
• Abuse of the expedited procedure has caused structural imbalances in examination resources: in 2024, expedited cases required 1.7 times more examiner hours than regular cases but had a 12% lower grant rate.

3. Addressing Systemic Loopholes

• Current Rule 1.155 of the U.S. Patent Law Implementing Regulations lags in substantive review standards for expedited procedures, particularly regarding micro entity certifications (37 CFR 1.29) and drawing specifications (37 CFR 1.84).
• A 2024 audit revealed that 23.7% of micro entity applications filed through the expedited procedure lacked required eligibility documentation, involving over $12 million in improperly claimed fee reductions.

Practical Challenges for Corporate IP Management

1. Prolonged Rights Acquisition Cycle and Legal Risks

• The 16.7-month examination period under regular procedures (3–8 times longer than expedited processing) will significantly impact patent portfolio timelines in fast-moving industries like consumer goods and electronics.
• Empirical studies indicate that each month of delay in patent grant after product launch increases the risk of design infringement by 19% (Source: AIPLA 2024 Annual Report).

2. Compound Cost Control Pressures

While saving the $400 expedited examination fee, companies will face additional costs:

• 35–45% increase in infringement monitoring expenses due to extended patent protection gaps.
• USPTO’s 2025 fee adjustment plan will raise the base filing fee for design patents to $2,600 (a 48% increase).
• Defensive expenditures for accelerated global multi-jurisdictional filings.

3. Substantive Compliance Review Upgrades

The USPTO will enhance substantive reviews of application documents, particularly focusing on design originality and inventor identity verification. Applicants must allocate more resources to prior art searches to avoid rejections due to fraud risks. For example, 19% of expedited applications were rejected in 2024 for non-compliant drawings, compared to only 7% of regular applications.

Legal Recommendations for Corporate Response Strategies

1. Optimizing International Filing Pathways

Prioritize Hague Agreement international applications: Simultaneously designate contracting parties (e.g., U.S., CN, EU, Japan) through WIPO submission to bypass USPTO first-stage reviews and shorten timelines. This approach reduces costs and supports multi-country protection.

2. Strengthening Compliance Management

• Prior art searches: Conduct comprehensive searches of patent and non-patent literature pre-filing. The USPTO requires expedited applicants to submit search reports covering at least 5 databases—regular applicants should adopt similar standards to minimize rejection risks.
• Inventor identity verification: Rigorously confirm inventor eligibility to avoid invalidation. In 2024, many expedited applications were rejected due to fictitious inventor claims.

3. Monitoring Policy Developments and Restoration Timelines

The USPTO will evaluate reinstating the expedited procedure based on backlog reduction progress. Stakeholders should track updates via official announcements or industry associations (e.g., AIPLA). Chang Tsi & Partners will provide real-time updates on policy changes.

4. Implementing Comprehensive Protection Strategies

Build a "patent + trademark + copyright" comprehensive protection system:

• File three-dimensional trademarks for distinctive designs and graphic trademarks for product logos.
• Secure copyright registrations for artistic designs to obtain protection within one month, bridging the 16-month patent protection gap.

Conclusion

This policy adjustment reflects the USPTO’s proactive response to systemic challenges in patent quality. Applicants must adapt by implementing short-term strategic measures and enhancing long-term strategies and compliance practices. By diversifying protection pathways, improving the quality of applications, and staying informed about policy changes, businesses can effectively safeguard their design patent rights and maintain a competitive edge.