HOWELL, MI, October 07, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ -- A U.S. Patent and Trademark Office pilot program that moves qualifying patent applications to the front of the examination line is scheduled to end on October 27, 2026. The Patent Baron, PLLC, an intellectual property firm led by a patent lawyer in Howell, MI, is reviewing pending applications for inventors and small businesses that may still qualify before the window closes.

According to the USPTO, the Streamlined Claim Set Pilot Program advances eligible applications out of turn until a first Office action is issued. The pilot closes on October 27, 2026, or earlier if a Technology Center accepts approximately 200 pilot applications. Since June 10, 2026, the agency has also waived the petition fee for requests filed under the program.

Only applications filed before October 27, 2025 are eligible, so the pilot does not apply to new filings. Applications that claim priority to another nonprovisional or international application, including national stage applications, are also excluded.

Who Qualifies for the Pilot

• The application must be an original, non-continuing utility nonprovisional application filed before October 27, 2025.
• The claims may include no more than one independent claim and ten total claims, and multiple dependent claims are not allowed.
• The USPTO must not have issued a first Office action on the application.
• The applicant must submit Form PTO/SB/472 through Patent Center, and the specification, claims, and abstract must meet DOCX format requirements.
• An applicant may file a preliminary amendment to bring a pending application within the claim limits before submitting the petition.

"Many inventors in Livingston County and across Michigan have applications sitting in the examination queue, and this pilot lets some of them move forward without a USPTO petition fee," said J. Baron Lesperance, founder of The Patent Baron, PLLC. "Fewer claims can mean narrower protection, so we walk each client through that before filing."

About the Firm

The Patent Baron, PLLC is a Michigan intellectual property firm with an office at 915 N Michigan Ave, Suite 206, in Howell. Founder J. Baron Lesperance has been a member of the State Bar of Michigan since 2002 and registered to practice before the USPTO since 2005. He holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and a master's degree in electrical and computer engineering from Lawrence Technological University, along with a law degree and a master of laws in intellectual property from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School. Before private practice, he worked in engineering for automotive companies including Lear, Robert Bosch, Hella, and Ford, and managed a global wireless charging patent portfolio at Alticor. His firm assists inventors and businesses with patents, trademarks, and copyrights. Pending-application owners can schedule a consultation with the firm to confirm eligibility before October 27.

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