Takeaway: The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently proposed mandating patent applicants to use a standard form when submitting some statements that have implications for patent term adjustment.

According to the USPTO, using a standard form will make the parent process not only more streamlined but also more accurate. The USPTO had also said that under current rules, where the use of a form from the office is optional but not required, it has found that some statements are deficient and need to be reviewed by the agency when calculating a patent’s term. “Use of the office form will streamline certain aspects of prosecution by more accurately capturing and accounting for the patent term adjustment without unnecessary back-and-forth between the USPTO and applicant,” the office said. “It will also eliminate the need for a manual review of the patent term adjustment statement.”