[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 48 (Monday, March 11, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17441-17442]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05102]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No.: PTO-P-2022-0042]
Extension of the First-Time Filer Expedited Examination Pilot
Program
AGENCY: Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: On March 9, 2023, the United States Patent and Trademark
Office (USPTO) implemented the First-Time Filer Expedited Examination
Pilot Program, which permits patent applications from certain micro
entity
[[Page 17442]]
first-time filers to be advanced out of turn for examination and
reviewed earlier (accorded special status). The pilot program was
originally scheduled to end on March 11, 2024. In view of the continued
interest in the program, the USPTO is extending it until either March
11, 2025, or until the date on which the USPTO grants a total of 1,000
petitions since the start of the pilot program, whichever occurs first.
All pilot parameters will remain the same as those for the original
pilot.
DATES:
Applicable Date: March 11, 2024.
Duration: The First-Time Filer Expedited Examination Pilot Program
will continue to run until either March 11, 2025, or until the date on
which the USPTO grants a total of 1,000 petitions since the start of
the pilot program, whichever occurs first. Therefore, petitions to make
special under the First-Time Filer Expedited Examination Pilot Program
must be filed on or before March 11, 2025. The USPTO may further extend
the pilot program (with or without modifications) or terminate it
depending on factors such as workload and resources needed to
administer the program, feedback from the public, and the effectiveness
of the program. If the program is terminated, the USPTO will notify the
public. The USPTO will continue to indicate the number of applications
accepted into the program on the First-Time Filer Expedited Examination
Pilot Program web page (www.uspto.gov/FirstTimePatentFiler).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brannon Smith, Legal Advisor (571-270-
1601 or [email protected]); or Susy Tsang-Foster, Senior Legal
Advisor (571-272-7711 or [email protected]), of the Office of
Patent Legal Administration, Office of the Deputy Commissioner for
Patent Examination Policy.
Questions regarding electronic application filing may be directed
to the Patent Electronic Business Center at 866-217-9197 during its
operating hours of 6 a.m. to midnight ET, Monday-Friday, or
[email protected].
Questions regarding a filed petition to make special under this
pilot may be directed to the Office of Petitions at 571-272-3282 during
its operating hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, Monday-Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The USPTO published a notice of the
implementation of the First-Time Filer Expedited Examination Pilot
Program on March 9, 2023. See First-Time Filer Expedited Examination
Pilot Program, 88 FR 14607 (March 9, 2023) (First-Time Filer Notice).
The pilot program is one of the initiatives under the USPTO's Council
for Inclusive Innovation to increase access to the patent system for
inventors who are new to the patent application process, including
those in historically underserved geographic and economic areas. The
First-Time Filer Notice established that micro entity first-time filers
who meet the requirements specified in the notice may have their
applications examined out of turn. The program was established under 37
CFR 1.102(d) without requiring either the 37 CFR 1.17(h) fee for a
petition to make special or all conditions of the accelerated
examination program set forth in section 708.02(a), subsection I, of
the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (9th Edition, Rev. 07.2022,
February 2023).
The First-Time Filer Notice established that the pilot program
would run until March 11, 2024. In view of the continued interest in
the pilot program, the USPTO is hereby extending the program through
March 11, 2025, or until the date on which the USPTO grants a total of
1,000 petitions since the start of the pilot program, whichever occurs
first. The extension will also allow the USPTO to continue its
evaluation of the pilot program. The requirements of the pilot program
have not been modified.
Various stakeholders from around the world have filed petitions to
participate in the pilot program--they include pro se inventors, middle
school students, and small companies. To date, over 350 petitions
requesting participation in the pilot program have been filed, over 130
applications have been accepted into the program, and more than 15
patents have been granted under the program. The USPTO may again extend
the pilot program (with or without modifications) depending on the
feedback from the participants, continued interest, and the
effectiveness of the pilot program.
The USPTO maintains a web page for the First-Time Filer Expedited
Examination Pilot Program (www.uspto.gov/FirstTimePatentFiler). The web
page includes frequently asked questions, a recorded webinar about the
program, and detailed information about how to apply. The web page
further includes links to educational resources to help inventors
become reasonably trained on the basics of the USPTO's patent
application process. Interested parties are strongly encouraged to
review all the resources available on the program web page prior to
applying.
Katherine K. Vidal,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2024-05102 Filed 3-8-24; 8:45 am]
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