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Does fast tracking change the "first to file" order?

• monochromatic 14y ago
  If you mean "does it allow your application to be examined before earlier-filed applications" then the answer is yes. ("First to file" is a term that has a lot of baggage, so I wanted to be clear.)
  • thwarted 14y ago
    Well, yeah it changes the order they are examined in, but does it allow one to pay to beat someone else who may have a competing patent in such a way that the payer can be the originator of the invention in question? Agreed, there is a lot of baggage around this, making it hard to talk about. Does "first to file" really mean "first to have examined"?