The USPTO just kicked off a new pilot program: the Automated Pre-Examination Search, or ASRN. The idea is simple—before a human examiner ever looks at your application, an AI combs through U.S. and foreign patent databases and gives you up to ten relevant prior art references. Right now, it’s limited to 1,600 original utility applications over six months, but if it works, expect this to become part of standard practice.
To get in on it, you file electronically, pay a $450 petition fee, and meet eligibility rules. Yes, the fee is steep for a simple list of references, but the PTO has thrown in a few sweeteners to make it worthwhile:
- Quick abandonment: Hit by dead-center prior art? Abandon and get your search fee—and any excess claim fees—back.
- Preliminary amendments: Tweak claims before examiner review, potentially moving things along faster.
- Examiner reliance: If examiners actually use the ASRN (and the PTO hints they will), it could shortcut a lot of duplicate searching.
- International filing prep: You get prior art intelligence before the 12-month Paris Convention deadline, making foreign filing decisions smarter.
A note on IDS: the ASRN is part of your prosecution history, but not technically an IDS. Practically speaking, you’ll probably want to submit it anyway.
Here’s the bottom line: this program’s value depends on two things—how good the AI search is, and whether examiners actually rely on it. If both go well, you get early insights, faster prosecution, and fewer wasted office actions. If not, that $450 fee might sting a little. Either way, this is the PTO dipping its toes into AI-driven examination, and a successful pilot could lead to bigger changes down the road.