Elimination of Publication Requirement in the Collaborative Search Pilot Program Between the Japan Patent Office and the United States Patent and Trademark Office, 43591-43592 [2016-15850]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 128 / Tuesday, July 5, 2016 / Notices Street, Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901; telephone: (302) 674–2331 or on their Web site at www.mafmc.org. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher M. Moore, Ph.D., Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, telephone: (302) 526–5255. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committee will meet from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. to review and discuss previously implemented 2017 commercial and recreational Annual Catch Limits (ACLs) and Annual Catch Targets (ACTs) for these three species. The Monitoring Committee may consider recommending changes to the implemented 2017 ACLs and ACTs and other management measures as necessary. Meeting materials will be posted to https://www.mafmc.org/ prior to the meeting. Special Accommodations The meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. 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DATES: The meeting will be held on Thursday and Friday, July 21–22, 2016, beginning at 1:30 p.m. on July 21 and conclude by 2 p.m. on July 22. For agenda details, see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. sradovich on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: The meeting will at the Royal Sonesta Harbor Court, 550 Light 17:27 Jul 01, 2016 Jkt 238001 Jennifer Skidmore or Amy Hapeman, (301) 427–8401. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 13, 2016, notice was published in the Federal Register (81 FR 29846) that a request for a permit to conduct commercial or educational photography on bottlenose dolphins in the Florida Bay had been submitted by the abovenamed applicant. The requested permit has been issued under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) and the regulations governing the taking and importing of marine mammals (50 CFR part 216). The permit authorizes filming and photography of the Florida Bay stock of bottlenose dolphins for purposes of a documentary film. Dolphins may be harassed during aerial and vessel-based filming activities. Filming may take place for approximately 30 days over two field seasons. The permit is valid through July 31, 2017. In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), a final determination has been made that the activity proposed is categorically excluded from the requirement to prepare an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement. Dated: June 28, 2016. Julia Harrison, Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2016–15775 Filed 7–1–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit. AGENCY: ADDRESSES: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: RIN 0648–XE615 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration VerDate Sep<11>2014 BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 43591 Notice is hereby given that a permit has been issued to Living Planet Productions/Silverback Films, 1 St Augustines Yard, Gaunts Lane, Bristol, BS1 5DE, United Kingdom [Responsible Party: Emily Lascelles], to conduct commercial or educational photography on bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). SUMMARY: The permit and related documents are available for review upon written request or by appointment in the Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone (301) 427–8401; fax (301) 713–0376. ADDRESSES: PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Patent and Trademark Office [Docket No. PTO–P–2016–0013] Elimination of Publication Requirement in the Collaborative Search Pilot Program Between the Japan Patent Office and the United States Patent and Trademark Office United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) implemented a Collaborative Search Pilot Program with the Japan Patent Office (JPO) on August 1, 2015, to study whether the exchange of search results between offices for corresponding counterpart applications improves patent quality and facilitates the examination of patent applications in SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\05JYN1.SGM 05JYN1 43592 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 128 / Tuesday, July 5, 2016 / Notices both offices. Based upon feedback from the public, the USPTO is modifying the Collaborative Search Pilot Program between JPO and USPTO (JPO–CSP) by removing the requirement that the applications must be published in order to participate in the pilot program. The JPO and USPTO have determined that publication of the applications is unnecessary for participation in the pilot program and that unpublished applications can participate in the pilot program as long as applicants grant access to the unpublished application and provide a translated copy of the currently pending claims from the corresponding counterpart application(s). Accordingly, publication of an application will no longer be a prerequisite for participation in the JPO–CSP as of the effective date of this notice. Instead, if unpublished, applicant must provide an authorization of access to the unpublished application and submit a translation of the currently pending claims from the corresponding counterpart application(s). These modifications should permit more applications to qualify for the program, supporting the program’s study of the efficacy of exchanging search results between corresponding counterpart applications to improve patent quality and facilitate examination. Effective Date: August 1, 2016. Duration: Under this pilot program, the USPTO and JPO will continue to accept petitions to participate until August 1, 2017, two years from the original effective date of the program (August 1, 2015). During each year, the pilot program will be limited to 400 granted petitions, 200 granted petitions where USPTO performs the first search and JPO performs the second search, and 200 granted petitions where JPO performs the first search and USPTO performs the second search. The offices may extend the pilot program (with or without modification) for an additional amount of time, if necessary. The offices reserve the right to terminate the pilot program at any time. DATES: sradovich on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Hunter, Director of International Work Sharing, Planning and Implementation, Office of International Patent Cooperation by telephone at (571) 272–8050 regarding the handling of any specific application participating in the pilot. Any questions concerning this notice may be directed to Joseph Weiss, Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Patent Legal Administration by telephone at (571) 272–7759. Any inquiries regarding this pilot program can be emailed to wspilots@uspto.gov. VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:27 Jul 01, 2016 Jkt 238001 The USPTO published a notice to implement a joint work sharing initiative, a Collaborative Search Pilot Program, between JPO and USPTO on July 10, 2015. See United States Patent and Trademark Office and Japan Patent Office Collaborative Search Pilot Program, 80 FR 39752 (July 10, 2015), 1417 Off. Gaz. Pat. Office 68 (August 4, 2015) (JPO–CSP Notice). The JPO–CSP Notice indicated that an applicant can request, via petition to make special, to have an application advanced out of turn (accorded special status) for examination, if the application was published and satisfied other requirements specified in the JPO–CSP Notice. The pilot program is designed to ensure the applications are contemporaneously examined so that examiners from both offices have a more comprehensive set of references along with corresponding claim sets before them when making initial patentability determinations. The USPTO has received feedback and suggestions from stakeholders regarding the pilot program’s design. Under the JPO–CSP as originally implemented, each office conducted a prior art search for its corresponding counterpart application and then exchanged the search results with the other office before either office issued a communication to the applicant regarding patentability. As a result of this exchange of search results, the examiners in both offices had a more comprehensive set of references before them when making their initial patentability determinations. As only published applications were permitted, examiners also had access to the currently pending claims of both applications. The USPTO and JPO have determined that the publication requirement in the JPO–CSP Notice is unnecessary as long as the petition authorizes access to the unpublished application and includes a translation of the currently pending claims from the corresponding counterpart application(s). Accordingly, the USPTO is modifying the JPO–CSP to remove the publication requirement and instead require the applicant to authorize access to the application and at least a machine translation of the currently pending claims from the corresponding counterpart application(s). To participate in the pilot program, applicants should now use Form PTO/ SB/437JP–U, which is available at https://www.uspto.gov/patent/patentsforms, when filing a petition to make special under this pilot program satisfying all other requirements set SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 9990 forth in the JPO–CSP Notice. Requirements (1)–(3) set forth in Part III of the original JPO–CSP Notice of August 1, 2015, are modified by this notice to reflect the modifications discussed above. They are now as follows: (1) The application must be a nonreissue, non-provisional utility application filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a), or an international application that has entered the national stage in compliance with 35 U.S.C. 371(c) with an effective filing date no earlier than March 16, 2013. The U.S. application and the corresponding JPO counterpart application must have a common earliest priority date that is no earlier than March 16, 2013. (2) A completed petition form PTO/ SB/437JP–U must be filed in the application via EFS-web. Form PTO/SB/ 437JP–U is available at https:// www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. If the application is unpublished the petition must include a translated copy of the currently pending claims from the corresponding counterpart application(s). A machine translation is acceptable. (3) The petition submission must include an express written consent under 35 U.S.C. 122(c) for the USPTO to receive prior art references and comments from the JPO that will be considered during the examination of the U.S. application participating in this JPO Work Sharing Pilot Program. The petition also must provide written authorization for the USPTO to provide JPO access to the participating U.S. application’s bibliographic data and search reports in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 122(a) and 37 CFR 1.14(c). Form PTO/SB/437JP–U includes language compliant with the consent requirement(s) for this pilot program. All other requirements and provisions set forth in the JPO–CSP Notice remain unchanged. Please see the JPO–CSP Notice for more information on the program. Dated: June 28, 2016. Michelle K. Lee, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. [FR Doc. 2016–15850 Filed 7–1–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–16–P E:\FR\FM\05JYN1.SGM 05JYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 5, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43591-43592]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-15850]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

 Patent and Trademark Office

[Docket No. PTO-P-2016-0013]


Elimination of Publication Requirement in the Collaborative 
Search Pilot Program Between the Japan Patent Office and the United 
States Patent and Trademark Office

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) 
implemented a Collaborative Search Pilot Program with the Japan Patent 
Office (JPO) on August 1, 2015, to study whether the exchange of search 
results between offices for corresponding counterpart applications 
improves patent quality and facilitates the examination of patent 
applications in

[[Page 43592]]

both offices. Based upon feedback from the public, the USPTO is 
modifying the Collaborative Search Pilot Program between JPO and USPTO 
(JPO-CSP) by removing the requirement that the applications must be 
published in order to participate in the pilot program. The JPO and 
USPTO have determined that publication of the applications is 
unnecessary for participation in the pilot program and that unpublished 
applications can participate in the pilot program as long as applicants 
grant access to the unpublished application and provide a translated 
copy of the currently pending claims from the corresponding counterpart 
application(s). Accordingly, publication of an application will no 
longer be a prerequisite for participation in the JPO-CSP as of the 
effective date of this notice. Instead, if unpublished, applicant must 
provide an authorization of access to the unpublished application and 
submit a translation of the currently pending claims from the 
corresponding counterpart application(s). These modifications should 
permit more applications to qualify for the program, supporting the 
program's study of the efficacy of exchanging search results between 
corresponding counterpart applications to improve patent quality and 
facilitate examination.

DATES: Effective Date: August 1, 2016.
    Duration: Under this pilot program, the USPTO and JPO will continue 
to accept petitions to participate until August 1, 2017, two years from 
the original effective date of the program (August 1, 2015). During 
each year, the pilot program will be limited to 400 granted petitions, 
200 granted petitions where USPTO performs the first search and JPO 
performs the second search, and 200 granted petitions where JPO 
performs the first search and USPTO performs the second search. The 
offices may extend the pilot program (with or without modification) for 
an additional amount of time, if necessary. The offices reserve the 
right to terminate the pilot program at any time.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Hunter, Director of 
International Work Sharing, Planning and Implementation, Office of 
International Patent Cooperation by telephone at (571) 272-8050 
regarding the handling of any specific application participating in the 
pilot. Any questions concerning this notice may be directed to Joseph 
Weiss, Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Patent Legal Administration by 
telephone at (571) 272-7759. Any inquiries regarding this pilot program 
can be emailed to wspilots@uspto.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The USPTO published a notice to implement a 
joint work sharing initiative, a Collaborative Search Pilot Program, 
between JPO and USPTO on July 10, 2015. See United States Patent and 
Trademark Office and Japan Patent Office Collaborative Search Pilot 
Program, 80 FR 39752 (July 10, 2015), 1417 Off. Gaz. Pat. Office 68 
(August 4, 2015) (JPO-CSP Notice). The JPO-CSP Notice indicated that an 
applicant can request, via petition to make special, to have an 
application advanced out of turn (accorded special status) for 
examination, if the application was published and satisfied other 
requirements specified in the JPO-CSP Notice. The pilot program is 
designed to ensure the applications are contemporaneously examined so 
that examiners from both offices have a more comprehensive set of 
references along with corresponding claim sets before them when making 
initial patentability determinations. The USPTO has received feedback 
and suggestions from stakeholders regarding the pilot program's design.
    Under the JPO-CSP as originally implemented, each office conducted 
a prior art search for its corresponding counterpart application and 
then exchanged the search results with the other office before either 
office issued a communication to the applicant regarding patentability. 
As a result of this exchange of search results, the examiners in both 
offices had a more comprehensive set of references before them when 
making their initial patentability determinations. As only published 
applications were permitted, examiners also had access to the currently 
pending claims of both applications.
    The USPTO and JPO have determined that the publication requirement 
in the JPO-CSP Notice is unnecessary as long as the petition authorizes 
access to the unpublished application and includes a translation of the 
currently pending claims from the corresponding counterpart 
application(s). Accordingly, the USPTO is modifying the JPO-CSP to 
remove the publication requirement and instead require the applicant to 
authorize access to the application and at least a machine translation 
of the currently pending claims from the corresponding counterpart 
application(s).
    To participate in the pilot program, applicants should now use Form 
PTO/SB/437JP-U, which is available at https://www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms, when filing a petition to make special under this pilot 
program satisfying all other requirements set forth in the JPO-CSP 
Notice. Requirements (1)-(3) set forth in Part III of the original JPO-
CSP Notice of August 1, 2015, are modified by this notice to reflect 
the modifications discussed above. They are now as follows:
    (1) The application must be a non-reissue, non-provisional utility 
application filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a), or an international 
application that has entered the national stage in compliance with 35 
U.S.C. 371(c) with an effective filing date no earlier than March 16, 
2013. The U.S. application and the corresponding JPO counterpart 
application must have a common earliest priority date that is no 
earlier than March 16, 2013.
    (2) A completed petition form PTO/SB/437JP-U must be filed in the 
application via EFS-web. Form PTO/SB/437JP-U is available at https://www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. If the application is unpublished 
the petition must include a translated copy of the currently pending 
claims from the corresponding counterpart application(s). A machine 
translation is acceptable.
    (3) The petition submission must include an express written consent 
under 35 U.S.C. 122(c) for the USPTO to receive prior art references 
and comments from the JPO that will be considered during the 
examination of the U.S. application participating in this JPO Work 
Sharing Pilot Program. The petition also must provide written 
authorization for the USPTO to provide JPO access to the participating 
U.S. application's bibliographic data and search reports in accordance 
with 35 U.S.C. 122(a) and 37 CFR 1.14(c). Form PTO/SB/437JP-U includes 
language compliant with the consent requirement(s) for this pilot 
program.
    All other requirements and provisions set forth in the JPO-CSP 
Notice remain unchanged. Please see the JPO-CSP Notice for more 
information on the program.

    Dated: June 28, 2016.
Michelle K. Lee,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2016-15850 Filed 7-1-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-16-P
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