[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 18 (Monday, January 28, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Page 411]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-00202]


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 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
 and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
 statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
 appearing in this section.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 18 / Monday, January 28, 2019 / 
Notices  

[[Page 411]]



DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

United States Patent and Trademark Office

[Docket No.: PTO-P-2018-0066]


Extension of the Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: On June 29, 2016, the United States Patent and Trademark 
Office (USPTO) implemented the Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program, 
which permits patent applications pertaining to cancer immunotherapy to 
be advanced out of turn for examination and reviewed earlier (accorded 
special status). To date, over 300 petitions requesting participation 
in the pilot program have been filed, and over 100 patents have been 
granted under the pilot program. In view of the continued interest in 
the pilot program, the USPTO has extended the pilot program until June 
30, 2020. All pilot parameters remain the same as the original pilot.

DATES: Duration: The Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program will continue 
to run until June 30, 2020. Therefore, petitions to make special under 
the Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program must be filed on or before June 
30, 2020. In addition, any petition to make special under the Cancer 
Immunotherapy Pilot Program filed between December 31, 2018, and the 
publication date of this notice will be considered timely. The USPTO 
may further extend the pilot program (with or without modifications) or 
terminate it depending on feedback received, continued interest and the 
effectiveness of the pilot program.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pinchus M. Laufer, Patent Attorney 
(telephone (571) 272-7726; electronic mail at [email protected]) 
or Susy Tsang-Foster, Senior Legal Advisor (telephone (571) 272-7711; 
electronic mail at [email protected]), of the Office of 
Patent Legal Administration, Office of the Deputy Commissioner for 
Patent Examination Policy.
    For questions relating to a specific petition, please contact Gary 
B. Nickol, Supervisory Patent Examiner (telephone (571) 272-0835; 
electronic mail at [email protected]) or Brandon J. Fetterolf, 
Supervisory Patent Examiner (telephone (571) 272-2919; electronic mail 
at [email protected]), of Technology Center 1600.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The USPTO published a notice for the 
implementation of the Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program on June 29, 
2016. See Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program, 81 FR 42328 (June 29, 
2016), 1428 Off. Gaz. Pat. Office 253 (July 26, 2016) (Cancer 
Immunotherapy Notice). The pilot program was designed to support the 
global fight against cancer. The Cancer Immunotherapy Notice indicated 
that an applicant may have an application advanced out of turn 
(accorded special status) for examination without meeting all of the 
current requirements of the accelerated examination program set forth 
in item VIII of MPEP section 708.02(a), if the application contained at 
least one claim to a method of treating cancer using immunotherapy and 
met other requirements specified in the Cancer Immunotherapy Notice.
    The Cancer Immunotherapy Notice established that the pilot program 
would run for twelve months from June 29, 2016. The USPTO extended the 
pilot program to December 31, 2018, through a notice published in the 
Federal Register. See Extension of the Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot 
Program, 82 FR 28645 (June 23, 2017), 1440 Off. Gaz. Pat. Office 256 
(July 25, 2017). In view of the continued interest in the pilot 
program, the USPTO has extended the pilot program through June 30, 
2020. The extension also will 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 are independent inventors, 
universities, research institutions, hospitals, medical centers, 
government agencies, and large and small companies. To date, over 300 
petitions requesting participation in the pilot program have been 
filed, and over 100 patents have been granted under the pilot 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.

    Dated: January 18, 2019.
Andrei Iancu,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2019-00202 Filed 1-25-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-16-P