[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 133 (Friday, July 10, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 41570]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-14841]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office

[Docket No.: PTO-P-2020-0031]


Extension of the Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of 
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 500 petitions requesting participation 
in the pilot program have been filed, and 167 patents have been granted 
under the pilot program. In view of the continued interest in the 
program, the USPTO is extending it until June 30, 2022. All parameters 
will remain the same as in the original pilot.

DATES: Duration: The Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program will continue 
to run until June 30, 2022. Therefore, petitions to make special under 
the Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program must be filed on or before June 
30, 2022. In addition, any petition to make special under the Cancer 
Immunotherapy Pilot Program filed between June 30, 2020, 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; email: [email protected]); or Susy 
Tsang-Foster, Senior Legal Advisor (telephone: 571-272-7711; email: 
[email protected]), of the Office of Patent Legal 
Administration, Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Patent 
Examination Policy.
    For questions related to a specific petition, please contact Gary 
B. Nickol, Supervisory Patent Examiner (telephone: 571-272-0835; email: 
[email protected]); or Brandon J. Fetterolf, Supervisory Patent 
Examiner (telephone: 571-272-2919; email: [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 could 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 the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure 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 12 months, beginning 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)), and again to June 30, 2020 (see Extension of the 
Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program, 84 FR 411 (January 28, 2019), 1459 
Off. Gaz. Pat. Office 239 (February 26, 2019)). In view of the 
continued interest in the pilot program, the USPTO is hereby extending 
the pilot program through June 30, 2022. The extension will also allow 
the USPTO to continue its evaluation of the program. The requirements 
of the pilot program have not been modified.
    Various stakeholders from around the world--including independent 
inventors, universities, research institutions, hospitals, medical 
centers, government agencies, and large and small companies--have filed 
petitions to participate in the pilot program. To date, over 500 
petitions requesting participation in the pilot program have been 
filed, and 167 patents have been granted under the pilot program. The 
USPTO may again extend the program (with or without modifications), 
depending on feedback from the participants, continued interest, and 
the effectiveness of the pilot program.

    Dated: June 30, 2020.
Andrei Iancu,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2020-14841 Filed 7-9-20; 8:45 am]
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