Extension of the Modified COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program
| Published date | 30 December 2021 |
| Citation | 86 FR 74406 |
| Record Number | 2021-28359 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Patent And Trademark Office |
Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 248 (Thursday, December 30, 2021)
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 248 (Thursday, December 30, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 74406]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-28359]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No.: PTO-P-2021-0037]
Extension of the Modified COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot
Program
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or
Office) is extending the modified COVID-19 Prioritized Examination
Pilot Program. Requests that are compliant with the pilot program's
requirements and are filed on or before March 31, 2022, will be
accepted. The USPTO will evaluate whether to terminate or further
extend the program during this extension period.
DATES: The COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program is extended
as of December 30, 2021, to run until March 31, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert A. Clarke, Editor of the Manual
of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) (571-272-7735;
[email protected]).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 14, 2020, the USPTO published a
notice on the implementation of the COVID-19 Prioritized Examination
Pilot Program. See COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program, 85
FR 28932 (May 14, 2020) (COVID-19 Track One Notice). On September 3,
2021, the USPTO published a notice extending the program to December
31, 2021, and modifying it by removing the limit on the number of
applications that could receive prioritized examination. See
Modification of COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program, 86 FR
49522 (September 3, 2021) (Modifying Notice).
The COVID-19 Track One Notice indicated that an applicant may
request prioritized examination without payment of the prioritized
examination fee and associated processing fee if: (1) The application's
claim(s) covered a product or process related to COVID-19, (2) the
product or process was subject to an applicable Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) approval for COVID-19 use, and (3) the applicant
met other requirements noted in the COVID-19 Track One Notice. As of
November 29, 2021, 180 patents had issued from applications granted
prioritized status under the pilot program. The average total pendency,
including time consumed by continued examination, from filing date to
issue date for those applications was 276 days. The shortest pendency
from filing date to issue date for those applications was 75 days.
The Modifying Notice indicated that the pilot program would expire
on December 31, 2021. In this notice, the Office is extending the pilot
program by setting the expiration date as March 31, 2022. The Office
will evaluate whether to terminate or further extend the program during
this extension period. If the USPTO determines that a further extension
of the pilot program is appropriate, the agency will publish a
subsequent notice to the public further extending the program.
Unless the pilot program is further extended by a subsequent
notice, following the expiration of this extension, the pilot program
will be terminated, and applicants may instead seek to use the
Prioritized Examination (Track One) Program. Applications accorded
prioritized examination under the pilot program will not lose that
status merely because the application is still pending after the date
the pilot program is terminated. In other words, applications accepted
into the pilot program will continue to be examined under prioritized
examination status until that status is terminated for one or more
reasons, as described in the COVID-19 Track One Notice.
The Track One Program permits an applicant to have an application
advanced out of turn (accorded special status) for examination under 37
CFR 1.102(e) if the applicant timely files a request for prioritized
(Track One) examination accompanied by the appropriate fees and meets
the other conditions of 37 CFR 1.102(e). See MPEP 708.02(b)(2). The
current fee schedule is available at www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/fees-and-payment/uspto-fee-schedule.
The Track One Program does not have the restrictions of the COVID-
19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program on the types of inventions for
which special status may be sought, as the Track One Program does not
require a connection to any particular technology. Moreover, delays
associated with the determination of whether an application presents a
claim that covers a product or process related to COVID-19 and whether
the product or process was subject to an applicable FDA approval for
COVID-19 use may be avoided under the Track One Program.
Andrew Hirshfeld,
Commissioner for Patents, Performing the Functions and Duties of the
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2021-28359 Filed 12-29-21; 8:45 am]
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