USPTO's COPA: “Clearing the Oldest Patent Applications”

From a USPTO press release on 2 Feb. 2011:

The USPTO also announced today a new effort to eliminate the “tail” of backlog applications that were more than 16 months old at the beginning of the fiscal year and had not yet received a first Office Action, known as “Clearing the Oldest Patent Applications” (or COPA). This initiative is a critical first step in reaching the agency’s strategic goal of providing first Office Actions on all new applications in an average of 10 months from their date of filing by 2014.

The goal for fiscal year 2011 is to have a first Office Action completed on nearly all of the 313,000 oldest backlog applications. Reaching this goal, however, is highly dependent on the passage of a fiscal year 2011 budget that would provide sufficient resources for hiring and examiner overtime.

“In the long run, COPA will result in lower overall patent pendency – particularly in light of applicants using the Track One option when it becomes available in the coming months,” Kappos said. “Together, these efforts will make a real difference in the speed at which applicants will be able to get a decision on their patent applications.”