The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will pilot an AI-powered system to automatically surface potential prior art for new utility patent applications, aiming to alert applicants earlier and improve examination quality. In a Federal Register notice, the agency said it will accept petitions starting Oct. 20 for up to 1,600 applications in the “Automated Search Pilot Program,” which generates and mails an Automated Search Result Notice before substantive review. The tool, trained on publicly available data and designed to exclude applicant, inventor and assignee information to reduce bias, scans multiple databases for similar disclosures. USPTO, which has been investing in AI to cut administrative burdens, said the trial will test scalability and inform next steps after seeking public input earlier this year on automated prior art discovery.
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