The Semiconductor Technology Pilot Program is designed to support the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Act of 2022 by expediting the examination of patent applications for innovations that increase semiconductor device production, reduce semiconductor manufacturing costs, and strengthen the semiconductor supply chain. This program aligns with and supports Executive Order 14080, dated August 25, 2022, and is intended to encourage research, development, and innovation in the semiconductor manufacturing space, as well as provide equitable intellectual property protection to incentivize investments in the semiconductor manufacturing area.
Under this pilot program, qualifying applications involving technologies directed to certain processes or apparatuses for manufacturing semiconductor devices will be advanced out of turn for examination (granted special status) until a first Office action is issued. An Office action is a patent examiner’s written notice of findings for the patent application.
An applicant must file a timely petition to make special using the required petition form in order to be considered for this program. For qualifying applications, no petition fee is required for the petition to make special and the applicant is not required to satisfy the other requirements of the accelerated examination program or the prioritized examination program. The USPTO will accept petitions to make special under this program until December 2, 2024, or the date when a total of 1,000 applications have been granted special status under this program, whichever occurs earlier.
Program requirements
Eligible applications: This program is open to:
- Non-continuing original utility nonprovisional applications; and
- Original utility nonprovisional applications that claim the benefit of the filing date under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) of only one prior application that is either a nonprovisional application or an international application designating the United States.
Note: Claiming the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of one or more prior provisional applications or claiming a right of priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) or (f) to one or more foreign applications will not affect eligibility for this pilot program.
Technology requirement: Eligible patent applications must contain at least one claim that covers a process or an apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor device and that corresponds to one or more of the technical concepts within H10 (Semiconductor Devices; Electric Solid-State Devices Not Otherwise Provided For) or H01L (Semiconductor Devices Not Covered by Class H10) in the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) system. The full scheme of a class or subclass can be viewed in the CPC system under the “Classification Symbol Lookup” section, selecting the “CPC” classification system radio button, entering the class or subclass (e.g., H10) in the “Enter Classification symbol” box, selecting “scheme” in the “Select content” window, and clicking “Submit.”
Electronic filing in Patent Center and DOCX format required: The application or national stage entry must be electronically filed using Patent Center, and the specification, claims, and abstract must be submitted in DOCX format on filing of the application or on national stage entry. To learn more about filing in DOCX format, please consider attending a DOCX training webinar or visiting the DOCX information page.
Petition timing: Applicants must file the petition to make special with the application or entry into the national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371 or within 30 days of the filing date or entry date of the application. The fee for the petition to make special under 37 CFR 1.102(d) has been waived for this program.
Certifications: The petition to make special must certify that:
- The applicant has a good faith belief that the claimed invention(s) meeting the technology requirement of the pilot program improves the manufacturing of semiconductor devices;
- The process or apparatus covered by the claimed invention(s) meeting the technology requirement of the pilot program is disclosed in the specification as being primarily focused on the manufacturing of semiconductor devices;
- The applicant has a good faith belief that expediting examination of the application will have a positive impact on the semiconductor manufacturing industry, such as increasing semiconductor device production, lowering semiconductor manufacturing costs, or increasing the resilience of the semiconductor supply chain; and
- The inventor or any joint inventor has not been named as the inventor or a joint inventor on more than four other nonprovisional applications in which a petition to make special under this pilot program has been filed.
USPTO form required: Applicants must use Form PTO/SB/467—which contains the petition and requisite certifications—to request participation in this program. Form PTO/SB/467 must be filed electronically using Patent Center.
Other requirements: All other requirements and conditions of this program are provided in the 2023 Federal Register notice for this program.
How to file
- Complete and sign Form PTO/SB/467.
- Save Form PTO/SB/467 and upload via Patent Center.
Note: When uploading Form PTO/SB/467, select the document description Petition for Semiconductor Pilot (found under the Petition category) on the Patent Center screen to ensure timely and appropriate processing.
Announcements
- Federal Register notice on Semiconductor Technology Pilot Program, 88 FR 83926 (December 1, 2023)
- Press release announcing the Semiconductor Technology Pilot Program
- Petitions filed and applications granted special status for this pilot as of November 4, 2024: 227 filed/121 granted
Contact us
For questions about Patent Center, please contact the Patent Electronic Business Center at 866-217-9197 or via email to ebc@uspto.gov.
For questions regarding a particular Semiconductor Technology Pilot Program petition, please contact:
- Bumsuk Won, Management Quality Assurance Specialist, Technology Center 2800, at 571-272-2713 or Bumsuk.Won@uspto.gov; or
- William Kraig, Supervisory Patent Examiner, Technology Center 2800, at 571-272-8660 or William.Kraig@uspto.gov.
For questions about the Semiconductor Technology Pilot Program Federal Register notice, please contact the Office of Patent Legal Administration at 571-272-7704 or email PatentPractice@uspto.gov.
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