In a Federal Register Notice published on May 17, 2013, the USPTO announced After Final Consideration Pilot Program 2.0 (AFCP 2.0) as part of its ongoing efforts to “reduce pendency by reducing the number of Requests for Continued Examination (RCE) and encouraging increased collaboration between the applicant and the examiner to effectively advance the prosecution of the application.” The program is ommenced May 19, 2013 .

As explained by the USPTO, requiring applicants to make a formal request for consideration under AFCP 2.0 will help focus the program on applications most likely to benefit from the program (assuming that applicants are selective when making such requests!) and permit better tracking and data collection under the program. Further, the specific process steps outlined in the Federal Register Notice lend more transparency and clarity to the program.