USPTO Issues Release: "Access to Relevant Prior Art Initiative"

The release states:

The Access to Relevant Prior Art (RPA) Initiative is an effort to increase patent examination quality and efficiency through the development of an automated tool for USPTO examiners. It imports relevant prior art and other pertinent information into pending U.S. patent applications as early as possible in prosecution.

Phase 1 of this initiative will begin Nov. 1 and will import information (i.e., citations on forms PTO/SB/08 and PTO-892) from the immediate parent application into the continuing application for consideration by the examiner. The initial release will be limited to select art units. For more details, please see the recently published Federal Register Notice and the RPA Initiative webpage on the USPTO website.

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