How to Quickly Obtain U.S. Design Patent Protection Using the “Rocket Docket”

Over the past several years, design patents have become much more popular than they previously were. This is at least partially because they have proven to be effective in large-scale litigations such as the famous Apple v. Samsung patent infringement cases, where Apple was awarded hundreds of millions in design patent infringement damages. Design patents have also proven to be especially useful in having competing product listings removed from online marketplaces, such as Amazon.com.

Unfortunately, the increased popularity of design patents has resulted in backlogs at the U.S. Patent Office. The most recently available statistics show that it currently takes the U.S. Patent Office an average of about 17 months to initially review a design patent application, and about 23 months for a typical design application to issue as a patent. During this time, there is often no way to stop competitors from copying the design at issue.

Fortunately, businesses that need to move more quickly than the patent office’s typical two-year review cycle have the option of pursuing expedited review of their design patent applications under the Patent Office’s “Rocket Docket” program. Under this program, the average time between the grant of the applicant’s Rocket Docket request and the patent office’s initial review of the application is currently 1.4 months. So using the Rocket Docket program often results in design patents issuing in as little as 3-4 months.

Here are the requirements for pursuing expedited design protection under the Rocket Docket Program:

• Prepare and file a full design patent application that includes a complete set of formal drawings and the applicable basic filing fees.
• Provide a statement confirming that a patentability search has been conducted and provide a description of the field of the search.
• Disclose the results of the search to the patent office (e.g., in an “Information Disclosure Statement”).
• Pay the applicable expedited examination fee (currently $640 for a small entity).

We note that a request for expediting a design application can be filed after a design patent application is filed, which is unlike the corresponding “Track 1” process for utility patent applications.

Ready to protect your design quickly?

Expedited design patent protection can be crucial for staying ahead in today’s fast-paced market. If you’re ready to move quickly on safeguarding your design or need guidance on the ‘Rocket Docket’ process, feel free to reach out. I am available at (678) 218-5067 to discuss your design protection needs.