Patent and Trademark Office September 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a request for comments in the Federal Register on August 27, 2019, seeking public comment on the subject of patenting artificial intelligence inventions. Through this notice, the USPTO is extending the period for public comment until November 8, 2019.

The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (America Invents Act) includes provisions for prioritized examination of patent applications, which have been implemented by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) in previous rulemakings. The America Invents Act provides that the Office may not accept more than 10,000 requests for prioritization in any fiscal year (October 1 to September 30) until regulations are prescribed setting another limit. This interim rule expands the availability of prioritized examination by increasing the limit on the number of prioritized examination requests that may be accepted in a fiscal year from 10,000 to 12,000.