USPTO Patent Grants Slow with Sequester

In the past 6 months, I’ve noticed in my own practice that the Patent Office has increased the speed with which a first office action is issued, compared to historical numbers.  However, the sequester has had an effect on the Office.  Dennis Crouch from Patently-O reports that patent grants have slowed.  Nevertheless, the 2013 year will still be a record one for patent grants, with an increase of about 5% expected over last year.