Big changes at the USPTO, which could affect 3D printing.
In a significant regulatory shift, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has suspended expedited examination for design patent applications under 37 CFR 1.155, effective April 17, 2025. This action, initiated under 37 CFR 1.183, reflects the USPTO’s strategic decision to address critical system inefficiencies and maintain the integrity of the intellectual property (IP) framework in the United States.
The decision comes as a direct response to mounting operational strain. A sharp uptick in expedited examination requests for design patents has overwhelmed the current capacity of examiners. The consequence? A rising backlog of unexamined applications causes delays that affect all applicants—including those following the rules in good faith.
The accompanying surge in erroneous claims of micro entity status is even more troubling. Under 37 CFR 1.29, applicants can qualify for substantial fee discounts. However, the USPTO has reported a 170% increase in design patent filings with micro entity claims between 2019 and 2024. Many of these filings do not meet the criteria, resulting in unpaid fees and further burdening USPTO operations.
Behind the suspension
The USPTO’s decision is grounded in practical necessity. Expedited design patent applications, also known as “rocket docket filings”, have historically represented a small fraction—less than 1%—of total filings. However, the landscape has changed dramatically.
By 2024, nearly 20% of all design applications were submitted through this fast-track system. This meteoric rise—a 560% increase—demands considerable examiner resources. With limited staff and time, the priority handling of these cases has contributed to delayed processing times for standard applications, thereby defeating the equity principle central to the patenting system.
To address this, the USPTO calculated that halting the expedited program could free up an estimated 36,000 examination hours annually. This time can then be reallocated to the backlog of unprocessed applications, thereby benefitting the broader patent community.
How erroneous micro entity claims are disrupting the system
One of the primary factors driving the recent suspension is the misuse of micro entity certifications. Designed to assist truly small inventors and organizations by offering an 80% discount on most patent-related fees, this status has unfortunately become a loophole for ineligible applicants.
A micro entity under 37 CFR 1.29 must meet specific requirements, including limitations on previous application history and income thresholds. However, the USPTO discovered that many applicants claiming this status had been named in more than four prior filings or held multiple patents—disqualifying them from this reduced-fee classification.
Between 2019 and 2024, the number of design patent applications using micro entity status and submitted for expedited processing grew by over 1,400%. These erroneous claims have deprived the USPTO of vital revenue and enabled ineligible applicants to leverage faster examination pathways—to the detriment of legitimate filers.
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