Proposed Pilot Program Exploring an Alternative Approach to Institution Decisions in Post Grant Administrative Reviews; Reopening of Period for Comments, 67734 [2015-28107]
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67734
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 212 / Tuesday, November 3, 2015 / Notices
Dated: October 29, 2015.
Jeffrey N. Lonergan,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015–27950 Filed 11–2–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark
Office
[Docket No.: PTO–P–2015–0055]
Proposed Pilot Program Exploring an
Alternative Approach to Institution
Decisions in Post Grant Administrative
Reviews; Reopening of Period for
Comments
United States Patent and
Trademark Office, Commerce.
ACTION: Request for comments;
reopening of comment period.
AGENCY:
The United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) is requesting
comments on a proposed pilot program
pertaining to the institution and
conduct of the post grant administrative
trials provided for in the Leahy-Smith
America Invents Act (AIA), Public Law
112–29, 125 Stat. 284 (2011). The AIA
provides for the following post grant
administrative trials: Inter Partes
Review (IPR), Post-Grant Review (PGR),
and Covered Business Method Patent
Review (CBM). The USPTO currently
has a panel of three Administrative
Patent Judges (APJs) decide whether to
institute a trial, and then normally has
the same three-APJ panel conduct the
trial, if instituted. The USPTO is
considering a pilot program under
which the determination of whether to
institute an IPR will be made by a single
APJ, with two additional APJs being
assigned to the IPR if a trial is instituted.
Under this pilot program, any IPR trial
will be conducted by a panel of three
APJs, two of whom were not involved
in the determination to institute the IPR.
The USPTO published a request for
comments in the Federal Register on
August 25, 2015, seeking public
comment on a proposed pilot program
pertaining to the institution and
conduct of these post grant
administrative trial proceedings. See
Request for Comments on a Proposed
Pilot Program Exploring an Alternative
Approach to Institution Decisions in
Post Grant Administrative Reviews, 80
FR 51540 (Aug. 25, 2015). The USPTO
is now extending the period for public
comment until November 18, 2015.
DATES: Comment Deadline Date: Written
comments on the notice published
August 15, 2015 (80 FR 51540) must be
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:04 Nov 02, 2015
Jkt 238001
received on or before November 18,
2015.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be sent by
electronic mail message over the
Internet addressed to: PTABTrialPilot@
uspto.gov.
Electronic comments submitted in
plain text are preferred, but also may be
submitted in ADOBE® portable
document format or MICROSOFT
WORD® format. The comments will be
available for viewing via the USPTO’s
Internet Web site (https://www.
uspto.gov). Because comments will be
made available for public inspection,
information that the submitter does not
desire to make public, such as an
address or phone number, should not be
included in the comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Scott R. Boalick, Vice Chief
Administrative Patent Judge by
telephone at (571) 272–9797.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The first
petitions for AIA post grant
administrative trials were filed on
September 16, 2012. Since then, over
3,600 petitions have been filed, and over
1,500 trials have been instituted. The
USPTO has thus far been able to meet
the demands placed on its resources
created by the unexpectedly heavy
workload. The Patent Trial and Appeal
Board (PTAB) has issued over 2,200
decisions on institution and over 450
final written decisions. In three-plus
years, the PTAB has not missed one
statutory or regulatory deadline. At the
same time, the PTAB has reduced the
backlog of ex parte appeals.
Notwithstanding the success-to-date,
the USPTO is proactively looking for
ways to enhance its operations for the
benefit of its stakeholders and therefore
is interested in exploring alternative
approaches that might improve its
efficiency in handling AIA post grant
proceedings while being fair to both
sides and continuing to provide high
quality decisions. Based upon
comments received from the public
through public fora and formal requests,
the agency is considering a pilot
program to test changing how the
institution phase of a post grant
proceeding is handled.
Once trial is instituted, the AIA
mandates that the resulting trial be
conducted before a three-member panel
of the PTAB. Generally, under current
practice, the same panel of three APJs
decides whether to institute and, if
instituted, handles the remainder of the
proceeding, much like how federal
district court judges handle cases
through motions to dismiss, summary
judgment, and trial. But a three-judge
panel of the PTAB is not required under
PO 00000
Frm 00037
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
the statute prior to institution, and the
USPTO believes it is prudent to explore
other potentially more efficient options,
especially given that the number of
petitions filed may continue to increase.
To date and currently, the agency has
intended to meet the resource demands
on the PTAB due to both AIA post grant
proceedings and ex parte appeals by
hiring additional judges. Even with
continued hiring, however, increases in
filings and the growing number of cases
may strain the PTAB’s continuing
ability to make timely decisions and
meet statutory deadlines. Therefore, the
agency wishes to explore and gain data
on a potentially more efficient
alternative to the current three-judge
institution model. Having a single judge
decide whether to institute trial in a
post grant proceeding, instead of a panel
of three judges, would allow more
judges to be available to attend to other
matters, such as reducing the ex parte
appeal backlog and handling more post
grant proceedings. The request for
comments on the proposed pilot
indicated that written comments must
be received on or before October 26,
2015. See id. at 51540. In view of
stakeholder requests for additional time
to submit comments on the new
administrative trial proceedings, the
USPTO is now extending the period for
public comment until November 18,
2015.
Dated: October 29, 2015.
Michelle K. Lee,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual
Property and Director of the United States
Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2015–28107 Filed 11–2–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–16–P
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Notice Inviting Postsecondary
Educational Institutions To Participate
in Experiments Under the Experimental
Sites Initiative; Federal Student
Financial Assistance Programs Under
Title IV of the Higher Education Act of
1965, as Amended
Office of Postsecondary
Education, Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The Secretary invites
postsecondary institutions (institutions)
that participate in the student financial
assistance programs authorized under
title IV of the Higher Education Act of
1965, as amended (HEA), to apply to
participate in a new institution-based
experiment under the Experimental
Sites Initiative (ESI). Under the ESI, the
Secretary has authority to grant waivers
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\03NON1.SGM
03NON1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 212 (Tuesday, November 3, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 67734]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-28107]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No.: PTO-P-2015-0055]
Proposed Pilot Program Exploring an Alternative Approach to
Institution Decisions in Post Grant Administrative Reviews; Reopening
of Period for Comments
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.
ACTION: Request for comments; reopening of comment period.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is
requesting comments on a proposed pilot program pertaining to the
institution and conduct of the post grant administrative trials
provided for in the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), Public Law
112-29, 125 Stat. 284 (2011). The AIA provides for the following post
grant administrative trials: Inter Partes Review (IPR), Post-Grant
Review (PGR), and Covered Business Method Patent Review (CBM). The
USPTO currently has a panel of three Administrative Patent Judges
(APJs) decide whether to institute a trial, and then normally has the
same three-APJ panel conduct the trial, if instituted. The USPTO is
considering a pilot program under which the determination of whether to
institute an IPR will be made by a single APJ, with two additional APJs
being assigned to the IPR if a trial is instituted. Under this pilot
program, any IPR trial will be conducted by a panel of three APJs, two
of whom were not involved in the determination to institute the IPR.
The USPTO published a request for comments in the Federal Register on
August 25, 2015, seeking public comment on a proposed pilot program
pertaining to the institution and conduct of these post grant
administrative trial proceedings. See Request for Comments on a
Proposed Pilot Program Exploring an Alternative Approach to Institution
Decisions in Post Grant Administrative Reviews, 80 FR 51540 (Aug. 25,
2015). The USPTO is now extending the period for public comment until
November 18, 2015.
DATES: Comment Deadline Date: Written comments on the notice published
August 15, 2015 (80 FR 51540) must be received on or before November
18, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be sent by electronic mail message over the
Internet addressed to: PTABTrialPilot@uspto.gov.
Electronic comments submitted in plain text are preferred, but also
may be submitted in ADOBE[supreg] portable document format or MICROSOFT
WORD[supreg] format. The comments will be available for viewing via the
USPTO's Internet Web site (https://www.uspto.gov). Because comments will
be made available for public inspection, information that the submitter
does not desire to make public, such as an address or phone number,
should not be included in the comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott R. Boalick, Vice Chief
Administrative Patent Judge by telephone at (571) 272-9797.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The first petitions for AIA post grant
administrative trials were filed on September 16, 2012. Since then,
over 3,600 petitions have been filed, and over 1,500 trials have been
instituted. The USPTO has thus far been able to meet the demands placed
on its resources created by the unexpectedly heavy workload. The Patent
Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) has issued over 2,200 decisions on
institution and over 450 final written decisions. In three-plus years,
the PTAB has not missed one statutory or regulatory deadline. At the
same time, the PTAB has reduced the backlog of ex parte appeals.
Notwithstanding the success-to-date, the USPTO is proactively
looking for ways to enhance its operations for the benefit of its
stakeholders and therefore is interested in exploring alternative
approaches that might improve its efficiency in handling AIA post grant
proceedings while being fair to both sides and continuing to provide
high quality decisions. Based upon comments received from the public
through public fora and formal requests, the agency is considering a
pilot program to test changing how the institution phase of a post
grant proceeding is handled.
Once trial is instituted, the AIA mandates that the resulting trial
be conducted before a three-member panel of the PTAB. Generally, under
current practice, the same panel of three APJs decides whether to
institute and, if instituted, handles the remainder of the proceeding,
much like how federal district court judges handle cases through
motions to dismiss, summary judgment, and trial. But a three-judge
panel of the PTAB is not required under the statute prior to
institution, and the USPTO believes it is prudent to explore other
potentially more efficient options, especially given that the number of
petitions filed may continue to increase.
To date and currently, the agency has intended to meet the resource
demands on the PTAB due to both AIA post grant proceedings and ex parte
appeals by hiring additional judges. Even with continued hiring,
however, increases in filings and the growing number of cases may
strain the PTAB's continuing ability to make timely decisions and meet
statutory deadlines. Therefore, the agency wishes to explore and gain
data on a potentially more efficient alternative to the current three-
judge institution model. Having a single judge decide whether to
institute trial in a post grant proceeding, instead of a panel of three
judges, would allow more judges to be available to attend to other
matters, such as reducing the ex parte appeal backlog and handling more
post grant proceedings. The request for comments on the proposed pilot
indicated that written comments must be received on or before October
26, 2015. See id. at 51540. In view of stakeholder requests for
additional time to submit comments on the new administrative trial
proceedings, the USPTO is now extending the period for public comment
until November 18, 2015.
Dated: October 29, 2015.
Michelle K. Lee,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2015-28107 Filed 11-2-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P
