Announced in January, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Standard-Essential Patent (SEP) Working Group plans to launch a new pilot program to, “incentivize meaningful participation by U.S. small and medium-sized businesses, universities, and non-profits in standards development organizations (SDOs).”
The pilot program, named the Standards Participation and Representation Kudos (SPARK) Pilot Program, aims to address resource constraints smaller U.S. entities face when participating in industry-wide technical development of industry standards by SDOs.
A limited number of acceleration certificates will be eligible to U.S. entities that make technical contributions or significant participation in SDO activities. These certificates serve to incentivize smaller U.S. entities by offering expedited examination of patent applications with the USPTO or expedited appealing to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.[1]
[1] “USPTO to launch SPARK Pilot Program to strengthen U.S. standards development leadership,” United States Patent and Trademark Office, Press Release 26-01, (Jan. 13, 2026) (https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/news-updates/uspto-launch-spark-pilot-program)