The prosecution of patent applications can be a long, slow road, often taking well more than three years before a patent application can be found allowable (assuming an allowance is able to be obtained). Because patents typically have a term of 20 years from the filing date or effective filing date of the application, this delay can reduce the term of a patent that issues from the application.
The delays are incurred for two primary reasons. First, there is typically a backlog that prevents an application from being immediately examined by a patent office. This backlog often creates an 18-to-24-month delay from the time an application is filed to when that application first begins to be examined by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
