[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 8 (Thursday, January 12, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3758-3759]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-00568]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

 Patent and Trademark Office

[Docket No. PTO-P-2016-0054]


Request for Comments Regarding the Continuation of the 
Accelerated Examination Program

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is 
requesting comments from its stakeholders on whether the accelerated 
examination program should be retained. In an August 16, 2016 notice 
updating the program to reflect changes in the law and examination 
practice, the USPTO indicated that the number of accelerated 
examination requests has been quite low. In particular, in each of the 
fiscal years 2012-2015, fewer than 250 applications were accepted into 
the accelerated examination program. Accordingly, the USPTO seeks 
feedback from its stakeholders on whether the accelerated examination 
program provides a sufficient benefit to the public to justify the cost 
of implementation.
    Comment Deadline: To be ensured of consideration, written comments 
must be received on or before March 13, 2017. No public hearing will be 
held.
    Addresses for Comments: Written comments should be sent by 
electronic mail addressed to [email protected]. Comments may 
also be submitted by mail addressed to: Mail Stop Comments--Patents, 
Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450, 
marked to the attention of Pinchus Laufer, Senior Legal Advisor, Office 
of Patent Legal Administration, Office of the Deputy Commissioner for 
Patent Examination Policy. Although comments may be submitted by mail, 
the USPTO prefers to receive comments via the Internet.
    The comments will be available for public inspection at the Office 
of the Commissioner for Patents, located in Madison East, Tenth Floor, 
600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, Virginia, and will be available via the 
USPTO Internet Web site at http://www.uspto.gov. Because comments will 
be available for public inspection, information that is not desired to 
be made public, such as an address or phone number, should not be 
included in the comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pinchus M. Laufer, Senior Legal 
Advisor ((571) 272-7726) or Matthew Sked, Legal Advisor ((571) 272-
7627), Office of Patent Legal Administration, Office of the Deputy 
Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In August 2006, the USPTO implemented the 
accelerated examination program under which an application will be 
advanced out of turn for examination if the applicant files a petition 
to make special with the appropriate showing. See Changes to Practice 
for Petitions in Patent Applications To Make Special and for 
Accelerated Examination, 71 FR 36323 (June 26, 2006). The program 
proved to be relatively popular as it was one of the few options an 
applicant had to expedite examination. The program was recently updated 
on August 16, 2016, to reflect changes in the law and examination 
practice. See Changes in Accelerated Examination Practice, 81 FR 54564 
(August 16, 2016).
    On September 26, 2011, the USPTO implemented the prioritized 
examination program (referred to as ``Track One''), provided for in the 
Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA). See Changes to Implement the 
Prioritized Examination Track (Track I) of the Enhanced Examination 
Timing Control Procedures under the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, 76 
FR 59050 (September 23, 2011). Track One also provides the ability to 
advance an application out of turn, but without an applicant having to 
meet the requirements of the accelerated examination program, such as 
performing a pre-examination search. Under Track One, applicants simply 
pay

[[Page 3759]]

an additional fee. In each of the past few fiscal years since Track One 
was implemented (fiscal years 2012-2015), fewer than 250 applications 
have met the requirements to take advantage of the accelerated 
examination program. In contrast, Track One has become a much more 
popular program than accelerated examination in that the number of 
requests approaches 10,000 annually over this same time.
    Additionally, over this period, the overall first action pendency 
for newly filed applications has dropped incrementally each year. In 
particular, the overall first action pendency in fiscal year 2015 was 
approximately 17 months. A lower first action pendency and lower 
accelerated examination numbers seem to indicate that applicants have 
less need for as many programs that expedite patent examination.
    Due to the low usage of the accelerated examination program, the 
reduction in overall first action pendency, the popularity of the Track 
One program, and the inconvenience to practitioners and the USPTO of 
retaining a seemingly redundant program with its own special handling 
procedures (See MPEP 708.02(a)), it is unclear whether the accelerated 
examination program still provides a sufficient benefit to the public 
to justify the cost of implementation. Accordingly, the USPTO seeks 
comments from the public on whether the accelerated examination program 
should be retained or discontinued.

    Dated: January 9, 2017.
Michelle K. Lee,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2017-00568 Filed 1-11-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-16-P