[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 191 (Tuesday, October 4, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60135-60136]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21469]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office

[Docket No.: PTO-P-2020-0027]


Extension of the Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is 
extending the Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program, initiated on July 2, 
2020, and previously extended on July 12, 2021. The Fast-Track Appeals 
Pilot Program permits appellants with a docketed ex parte appeal before 
the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB or Board) to file a petition to 
expedite the review of the appeal. The Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program 
sets a target of reaching decisions on ex parte appeals within six 
months from the date they enter the program.

DATES: Applicability Date: October 4, 2022. Duration: The Fast-Track 
Appeals Pilot Program will run until July 2, 2024. After that date, the 
USPTO may temporarily or permanently extend the Fast-Track Appeals 
Pilot Program (with or without modification) or discontinue the 
program.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Bartlett, PTAB, by telephone at 
571-272-9797 or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Ex parte appeals to the Board are normally 
taken up for decision in the order in which they are docketed. See 
USPTO Standard Operating Procedure 1, Assignment of judges to panels 
(Sept. 20, 2018), available at www.uspto.gov/patents/ptab/resources. 
Currently, the average appeal pendency is about 12 months, down from 15 
months in 2020, and 30 months in 2015. See the PTAB statistics 
available at www.uspto.gov/patents/ptab/statistics. A small number of 
ex parte appeals are advanced out of turn, for example, because the 
appealed case is a reissue application or a reexamination proceeding, 
or because the appealed case was accorded special status in light of an 
inventor's advanced age or poor health.
    On July 2, 2020, the PTAB adopted, on a temporary basis, the Fast-
Track Appeals Pilot Program, under which appellants may have an ex 
parte appeal to the Board advanced out of turn by filing a petition 
under 37 CFR 41.3 and paying the petition fee specified in 37 CFR 
41.20(a). See Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program (85 FR 39888, July 2, 
2020) (Fast-Track Notice). The PTAB extended the Fast-Track Appeals 
Pilot Program on July 12, 2021. See Extension of the Fast-Track Appeals 
Pilot Program (86 FR 36530, July 12, 2021) (First Extension). The Fast-
Track Appeals Pilot Program permits appellants to accelerate the 
Board's decision on an ex parte appeal, hastening patentability 
determinations and the potential for commercialization of products or 
services embodying those patented inventions. This helps spur follow-on 
innovation, economic growth, and job creation. The USPTO's form for the 
Fast-Track petition, Form PTO/SB/451, is available at www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/forms/forms-patent-applications-filed-or-after-september-16-2012.
    The original Fast-Track Notice required, among other things, that 
appellants file a petition before July 2, 2021, to participate in the 
program. The Fast-Track Notice also set a maximum number of 500 appeals 
that may be advanced through Fast-Track petitions. The First Extension 
required that a petition be filed before July 2, 2022, to participate 
in the program. The First Extension removed the maximum number of 500 
appeals, but it maintained a maximum number of 125 Fast-Track petitions 
granted per quarter.
    The Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program is hereby extended to accept 
petitions for advancing out of turn (i.e., providing ``Fast-Track 
status'') to ex parte appeals through July 2, 2024. The requirements 
for the program remain the same as those established in the original 
notice (see Fast-Track Notice, 85 FR 39888), with the following 
modification regarding the petition limit.
    Consistent with the First Extension, there is no upper limit of 500 
total granted Fast-Track petitions. However, to maintain the Board's 
ability to provide this faster appeal option while timely resolving 
other appeals, the number of granted petitions in the Fast-Track 
Appeals Pilot Program remains limited to 125 granted petitions per 
quarter. If a quarterly limit is reached, the PTAB retains the 
flexibility to accept additional petitions, either for consideration in 
that quarter or in the next quarter.
    The USPTO tracks the number of petitions it grants, the average 
time it takes to answer petitions, and the average time for the Board 
to render a decision on the merits of the ex parte appeal after a 
petition grant. These

[[Page 60136]]

statistics may be viewed at www.uspto.gov/PTABFastTrack.

Katherine K. Vidal,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2022-21469 Filed 10-3-22; 8:45 am]
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