By Michael Borella — On January 6, 2022, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced a new program with the goal of increasing examiner efficiency. The Deferred Subject Matter Eligibility Response (DSMER) Pilot Program will launch on February 1, 2022 and end on July 30, 2022, unless extended.[1] The Program allows applicants to, in certain circumstances, not include a substantive reply to a 35 U.S.C. § 101 rejection in an Office action response. The USPTO initiated the Program at the suggestion of Senators Thom Tillis and Tom Cotton (see "Senators Tillis and Cotton Propose Sequenced Examination Approach"). In order for…
