If an applicant wishes to have an application published earlier than the date that is eighteen months after the earliest filing date for which benefit is claimed, applicant may submit a request in compliance with 37 CFR § 1.219 and the publication fee set forth in 37 CFR § 1.18(d). The USPTO will publish the application as soon as possible, if the application is otherwise ready for publication. The publication process takes approximately 14 weeks and does not begin until the application is complete and ready for publication. See MPEP § 1120. The USPTO will not give any consideration to requests for publication on a certain date. Note that if early publication is requested, and the publication fee paid, applicant will not be required to pay the publication fee at allowance.
