USPTO REDUCES BACKLOG:

The good news is that patent activity is seemingly always surging at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The better news is that the USPTO is getting a better handle on it of late.

The USPTO announced in early April that its inventory of unexamined patent applications dropped to the lowest level in two years to 776,995, down from a high of 837,928 in January 2025. “The inventory is anticipated to continue to decline steadily through the third and fourth fiscal year quarters, historically our most productive half of the year,” the agency said in a written statement. This reduction was achieved while exceeding all fiscal year patent quality statutory compliance targets, the USPTO added.

The announcement is significant, USPTO Director John Squires said, because it represents “the tipping point of momentum now in favor of the [patent] applicant.”