[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 130 (Monday, July 12, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36530-36531]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14615]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No.: PTO-P-2020-0027]
Extension of the Fast-Track Appeals 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) 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.
DATES:
Applicable Date: July 12, 2021.
Duration: The Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program will run until July
2, 2022. The USPTO may extend the Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program
(with or without modification) on either a temporary or a permanent
basis, or may discontinue the program after that date.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Bartlett, PTAB, by telephone at
571-272-9797 or by email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Appeals to the Board are normally taken up
for decision in the order in which they are docketed. See USPTO
Standard Operating Procedure 1, Assignment of judges to panels (Sept.
20, 2018), available at www.uspto.gov/patents/ptab/resources.
Currently, the average appeal pendency is about 13 months, down from 15
months in 2020, and from 30 months in 2015. See the PTAB statistics
available at www.uspto.gov/patents/ptab/statistics. However, a small
number of appeals are advanced out of turn due to a special status
reflecting, for example, that the appealed case is a reissue
application or a reexamination proceeding, or in light of an inventor's
advanced age or poor health.
On July 2, 2020, the PTAB adopted, on a temporary basis, the Fast-
Track Appeals Pilot Program, under which an appellant may have an ex
parte appeal to the Board advanced out of turn by filing a petition
under 37 CFR 41.3, accompanied by the petition fee set forth in 37 CFR
41.20(a). See Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program, 85 FR 39888 (July 2,
2020) (Fast-Track Notice). The Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program permits
an appellant to accelerate the Board's decision on an ex parte appeal,
hastening the pace at which patentability determinations are made and
products or services embodying those patented inventions are brought to
the marketplace, and thus spurring follow-on innovation, economic
growth, and job creation. The USPTO provides a form for the Fast-Track
petition, Form PTO/SB/451, which is available on the USPTO's website at
www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/forms/forms-patent-applications-filed-or-after-september-16-2012.
The Fast-Track Notice required, inter alia, that a petition be
filed before July 2, 2021, to participate in the program. The Fast-
Track Notice also set a maximum number of 500 appeals that may be
advanced through Fast-Track petitions.
The Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program is hereby extended to accept
petitions for advancing out of turn (according ``Fast-Track status''
to) ex parte appeals through July 2, 2022. The requirements for the
program remain the same as those set forth in the original notice (see
Fast-Track Notice, 85 FR 39888), with the following modification
regarding the petition limit.
The upper limit of 500 total granted Fast-Track petitions, as set
forth in the Fast-Track Notice, is no longer applicable. To maintain
the Board's ability to provide a faster appeal option while timely
resolving other appeals, however, the number of granted petitions in
the Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program remains limited to 125 granted
petitions per quarter. If a quarterly limit
[[Page 36531]]
is reached, the PTAB retains the flexibility to accept additional
petitions, either for consideration in that quarter or to be held in
abeyance for consideration in the next quarter.
The USPTO tracks the number of granted petitions, the average time
to answer petitions, and the average time to render a Board decision on
the merits of the ex parte appeal after a petition grant. Current
information and statistics may be viewed on the PTAB website at
www.uspto.gov/PTABFastTrack.
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. 2021-14615 Filed 7-9-21; 8:45 am]
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