[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 48 (Monday, March 11, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17441-17442]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05102]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office

[Docket No.: PTO-P-2022-0042]


Extension of the First-Time Filer Expedited Examination Pilot 
Program

AGENCY: Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: On March 9, 2023, the United States Patent and Trademark 
Office (USPTO) implemented the First-Time Filer Expedited Examination 
Pilot Program, which permits patent applications from certain micro 
entity

[[Page 17442]]

first-time filers to be advanced out of turn for examination and 
reviewed earlier (accorded special status). The pilot program was 
originally scheduled to end on March 11, 2024. In view of the continued 
interest in the program, the USPTO is extending it until either March 
11, 2025, or until the date on which the USPTO grants a total of 1,000 
petitions since the start of the pilot program, whichever occurs first. 
All pilot parameters will remain the same as those for the original 
pilot.

DATES: 
    Applicable Date: March 11, 2024.
    Duration: The First-Time Filer Expedited Examination Pilot Program 
will continue to run until either March 11, 2025, or until the date on 
which the USPTO grants a total of 1,000 petitions since the start of 
the pilot program, whichever occurs first. Therefore, petitions to make 
special under the First-Time Filer Expedited Examination Pilot Program 
must be filed on or before March 11, 2025. The USPTO may further extend 
the pilot program (with or without modifications) or terminate it 
depending on factors such as workload and resources needed to 
administer the program, feedback from the public, and the effectiveness 
of the program. If the program is terminated, the USPTO will notify the 
public. The USPTO will continue to indicate the number of applications 
accepted into the program on the First-Time Filer Expedited Examination 
Pilot Program web page (www.uspto.gov/FirstTimePatentFiler).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brannon Smith, Legal Advisor (571-270-
1601 or [email protected]); or Susy Tsang-Foster, Senior Legal 
Advisor (571-272-7711 or [email protected]), of the Office of 
Patent Legal Administration, Office of the Deputy Commissioner for 
Patent Examination Policy.
    Questions regarding electronic application filing may be directed 
to the Patent Electronic Business Center at 866-217-9197 during its 
operating hours of 6 a.m. to midnight ET, Monday-Friday, or 
[email protected].
    Questions regarding a filed petition to make special under this 
pilot may be directed to the Office of Petitions at 571-272-3282 during 
its operating hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, Monday-Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The USPTO published a notice of the 
implementation of the First-Time Filer Expedited Examination Pilot 
Program on March 9, 2023. See First-Time Filer Expedited Examination 
Pilot Program, 88 FR 14607 (March 9, 2023) (First-Time Filer Notice). 
The pilot program is one of the initiatives under the USPTO's Council 
for Inclusive Innovation to increase access to the patent system for 
inventors who are new to the patent application process, including 
those in historically underserved geographic and economic areas. The 
First-Time Filer Notice established that micro entity first-time filers 
who meet the requirements specified in the notice may have their 
applications examined out of turn. The program was established under 37 
CFR 1.102(d) without requiring either the 37 CFR 1.17(h) fee for a 
petition to make special or all conditions of the accelerated 
examination program set forth in section 708.02(a), subsection I, of 
the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (9th Edition, Rev. 07.2022, 
February 2023).
    The First-Time Filer Notice established that the pilot program 
would run until March 11, 2024. In view of the continued interest in 
the pilot program, the USPTO is hereby extending the program through 
March 11, 2025, or until the date on which the USPTO grants a total of 
1,000 petitions since the start of the pilot program, whichever occurs 
first. The extension will also 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 include pro se inventors, middle 
school students, and small companies. To date, over 350 petitions 
requesting participation in the pilot program have been filed, over 130 
applications have been accepted into the program, and more than 15 
patents have been granted under the 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.
    The USPTO maintains a web page for the First-Time Filer Expedited 
Examination Pilot Program (www.uspto.gov/FirstTimePatentFiler). The web 
page includes frequently asked questions, a recorded webinar about the 
program, and detailed information about how to apply. The web page 
further includes links to educational resources to help inventors 
become reasonably trained on the basics of the USPTO's patent 
application process. Interested parties are strongly encouraged to 
review all the resources available on the program web page prior to 
applying.

Katherine K. Vidal,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2024-05102 Filed 3-8-24; 8:45 am]
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