[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 58 (Friday, March 25, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17073-17074]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-06294]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office

[Docket No.: PTO-P-2021-0037]


Third Extension of the Modified COVID-19 Prioritized Examination 
Pilot Program for Patent Applications

AGENCY: Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or 
Office) is extending the modified COVID-19 Prioritized Examination 
Pilot Program, which provides prioritized examination of certain patent 
applications. Requests that are compliant with the pilot program's 
requirements and are filed on or before June 30, 2022, will be 
accepted. The USPTO will evaluate whether to terminate or further 
extend the program during this extension period.

DATES: The COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program is extended 
as of March 25, 2022, to run until June 30, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert A. Clarke, Director, Office of 
Patent Legal Administration (571-272-7735; [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 14, 2020, the USPTO published a 
notice on the implementation of the COVID-19 Prioritized Examination 
Pilot Program. See COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program, 85 
FR 28932 (May 14, 2020) (COVID-19 Track One Notice). On September 3, 
2021, the USPTO published a notice extending the program to December 
31, 2021, and modifying it by removing the limit on the number of 
patent applications that could receive prioritized examination. See 
Modification of COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program, 86 FR 
49522 (September 3, 2021). On December 30, 2021, the USPTO published a 
notice extending the program to March 31, 2022. See Extension of the 
Modified COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program, 86 FR 74406 
(December 30, 2021) (Second Extension Notice).
    The COVID-19 Track One Notice indicated that an applicant may 
request prioritized examination without payment of the prioritized 
examination fee and associated processing fee if: (1) The patent 
application's claim(s) covered a product or process related to COVID-
19, (2) the product or process was subject to an applicable Food and 
Drug Administration (FDA) approval for COVID-19 use, and (3) the 
applicant met other requirements noted in the COVID-19 Track One 
Notice. As of February 7, 2022, 225 patents had issued from 
applications granted prioritized status under the pilot program. The 
average total pendency, including time consumed by continued 
examination, from filing date to issue date for those applications was 
298 days. The shortest pendency from filing date to issue date for 
those applications was 75 days.
    The Second Extension Notice indicated that the pilot program would 
expire on March 31, 2022. In the current notice, the USPTO is further 
extending the pilot program by setting the expiration date as June 30, 
2022. The Office will evaluate whether to terminate or further extend 
the program during this third extension period. If the USPTO determines 
that an additional extension of the pilot program is appropriate, the 
agency will publish a subsequent notice to the public.
    Unless the pilot program is further extended by a subsequent 
notice, following the expiration of this extension, the pilot program 
will be terminated, and patent applicants interested in expediting the 
prosecution of their patent application may instead seek to use the 
Prioritized Examination (Track One) Program. Patent applications 
accorded prioritized examination under the pilot program will not lose 
that status merely because the application is still pending after the 
date the pilot program is terminated but will instead retain 
prioritized examination status until that status is terminated for one 
or more reasons, as described in the COVID-19 Track One Notice.
    The Track One Program permits an applicant to have a patent 
application advanced out of turn (accorded special status) for 
examination under 37 CFR 1.102(e) if the applicant timely files a 
request for prioritized (Track One) examination accompanied by the 
appropriate fees and meets the other conditions of 37 CFR 1.102(e). See 
Manual of Patent Examining Procedure 708.02(b)(2). The current fee 
schedule is available at www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/fees-and-payment/uspto-fee-schedule.
    The Track One Program does not have the restrictions of the COVID-
19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program on the types of inventions for 
which special status may be sought, as the Track One Program does not 
require a connection to any particular technology. Moreover, under the 
Track One Program, an applicant can avoid delays associated with the 
determination of whether a patent application presents a

[[Page 17074]]

claim that covers a product or process related to COVID-19 and whether 
the product or process is subject to an applicable FDA approval for 
COVID-19 use.

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. 2022-06294 Filed 3-24-22; 8:45 am]
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