United States Patent and Trademark Office – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) seeks public comments on a proposed Track Three Pilot Program that would permit micro entity applicants to delay payment of the search fee and the examination fee for a period of 30 months from the earliest filing date claimed, under certain conditions. By lowering a barrier to intellectual property protection, the proposed Track Three Pilot Program reinforces the USPTO's commitment to providing the best and most accessible intellectual property system in the world. Under the proposed Track Three Pilot Program, micro entity applicants would need to submit a request to participate in the program when filing a nonprovisional utility or plant application, pay the basic filing fee, and satisfy other requirements, including the requirement that the application be in condition for publication to enable it to be published after the expiration of 18 months from the earliest filing date for which a benefit is sought. The USPTO is also exploring including in the Track Three Pilot Program an option that would permit micro entity applicants, under certain conditions, to obtain a pre- examination search report prior to the deadline for payment of the examination fee. The pre-examination search report would provide applicants with additional information as they consider potential commercialization and the value of their invention.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) seeks public comments on areas related to the study of the patent pro bono programs identified in the Unleashing American Innovators Act of 2022. This study builds upon the work the USPTO has conducted for over a decade and has scaled during the Biden Administration, to bring more people in America into the innovation ecosystem to create more jobs, foster economic prosperity, and solve world problems. The USPTO is announcing two public listening sessions on June 5 and 7, 2023, titled ``Inventor Listening Session for Patent Pro Bono Programs'' and ``Patent Practitioner Listening Session for Patent Pro Bono Program,'' respectively, to provide further opportunity for the public to provide input on these subject areas.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Department of Commerce, in collaboration with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Department of Health and Human Services, is extending the written comment period for the notice titled ``Joint USPTO-FDA Collaboration Initiatives; Notice of Public Listening Session and Request for Comments'' that was published in the Federal Register on November 7, 2022, until March 10, 2023.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on the extension and revision of an existing information collection: 0651- 0033 Post Allowance and Reissue. The purpose of this notice is to allow 60 days for public comment preceding submission of the information collection to OMB.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is extending the Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program, initiated on July 2, 2020, which provides for the advancement of applications out of their turn in the ex parte appeals phase of patent prosecution before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB or Board). The Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program permits an appellant who has filed an ex parte appeal and received a notice that the appeal has been docketed to file a petition to expedite the review of the appeal. The Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program sets a target of reaching a decision on an ex parte appeal within six months from the date that the appeal is entered into the program.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on the extension and revision of an existing information collection: 0651-0062 (Third-Party Submissions and Protests). The purpose of this notice is to allow 60 days for public comment preceding submission of the information collection to OMB.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on the extension and revision of an existing information collection: 0651- 0080 (Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery). The purpose of this notice is to allow 60 days for public comment preceding submission of the information collection to OMB.

On January 24, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released its Report to the President of the United States titled ``Combating Trafficking in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods'' (DHS Report). The report was prepared in response to the April 3, 2019, Presidential Memorandum titled ``Memorandum on Combating Trafficking in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods'' (Presidential Memorandum). Among the action items identified in the DHS Report was action 11, titled ``Establish a National Consumer Awareness Campaign.'' To start implementation of this action item, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is seeking information from stakeholders, including, but not limited to, intellectual property rights holders, online third-party marketplaces, third-party intermediaries, and other private sector stakeholders, on the development of a National Consumer Awareness Campaign on Combating the Trafficking in Counterfeit and Pirated Products as a public-private partnership.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on a proposed revision and extension of an existing information collection: 0651-0082 (Pro Bono Survey).

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on this proposed extension of an existing information collection.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) implemented a pilot program (Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program) in which an applicant, under certain conditions, can request a 12-month time period to pay the search fee, the examination fee, any excess claim fees, and the surcharge (for the late submission of the search fee and the examination fee) in a nonprovisional application. Based on the limited number of grantable requests and the administrative burden on the USPTO in processing improper requests, the USPTO decided not to extend the Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program beyond January 2, 2019.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has prepared revised guidance (2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance) for use by USPTO personnel in evaluating subject matter eligibility. The 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance revises the procedures for determining whether a patent claim or patent application claim is directed to a judicial exception (laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas) under Step 2A of the USPTO's Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance in two ways. First, the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance explains that abstract ideas can be grouped as, e.g., mathematical concepts, certain methods of organizing human activity, and mental processes. Second, this guidance explains that a patent claim or patent application claim that recites a judicial exception is not ``directed to'' the judicial exception if the judicial exception is integrated into a practical application of the judicial exception. A claim that recites a judicial exception, but is not integrated into a practical application, is directed to the judicial exception under Step 2A and must then be evaluated under Step 2B (inventive concept) to determine the subject matter eligibility of the claim. The USPTO is seeking public comment on its subject matter eligibility guidance, and particularly the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance.

In conformance with the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, the United States Patent and Trademark Office announces the appointment of persons to serve as members of its Performance Review Board.

Under Section 10 of the America Invents Act (AIA), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) may set or adjust by rule any patent or trademark fee established, authorized, or charged, respectively. The USPTO currently is planning to propose to set or adjust patent fees pursuant to its Section 10 fee setting authority. As part of the rulemaking process to set or adjust patent fees, the Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC) is required under Section 10 of the AIA to hold a public hearing about any proposed patent fees, and the USPTO is required to assist PPAC in carrying out that hearing. To that end, the USPTO will make its proposed patent fees available as set forth in the Supplementary Information section of this Notice before any PPAC hearing and will help the PPAC to notify the public about the hearing. Accordingly, this document announces the dates and logistics for the PPAC public hearing regarding USPTO proposed patent fees. Interested members of the public are invited to testify at the hearing and/or submit written comments about the proposed patent fees and the questions posed on PPAC's website about the proposed fees.