In a digital article on posted Feb. 27, 2015, corporatecounsel.com cited attorney Marty Miller’s recent Porter Wright blog post on programs that may speed up the patent approval process. “Though the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has reduced patent prosecution time a bit during the past five years, it still takes on average at least 18 months before the patent examiner acts upon an application,” Miller says. “Throw in two or more office actions, and the average pendency of a patent application is more than three years from the filing date to either issuance or abandonment. However, a number of programs are available that can significantly reduce prosecution time.”