The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has published a report on the PTO's unsuccessful efforts to address the patent backlog.
"The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's patent application backlog reached 838,000 in January 2025. In September 2025, the agency announced a goal to reduce this backlog to under 599,000.
We found that patent examiner attrition may prevent the agency from meeting this goal within the next 5 years—even if examiners review more applications.
The agency has had a high examiner attrition rate since 2025. According to examiners and others we spoke to, agency efforts like requiring examiners to review more applications and decreasing training could keep attrition high and reduce examination quality."