84 FR 411 - Expiration of the Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) implemented a pilot program (Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program) in which an applicant, under certain conditions, can request a 12-month time period to pay the search fee, the examination fee, any excess claim fees, and the surcharge (for the late submission of the search fee and the examination fee) in a nonprovisional application. Based on the limited number of grantable requests and the administrative burden on the USPTO in processing improper requests, the USPTO decided not to extend the Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program beyond January 2, 2019.

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 18 (Monday, January 28, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 411-412]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2019-00201]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

United States Patent and Trademark Office

[Docket No.: PTO-P-2018-0070]


Expiration of the Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) 
implemented a pilot program (Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program) in 
which an applicant, under certain conditions, can request a 12-month 
time period to pay the search fee, the examination fee, any excess 
claim fees, and the surcharge (for the late submission of the search 
fee and the examination fee) in a nonprovisional application. Based on 
the limited number of grantable requests and the administrative burden 
on the USPTO in processing improper requests, the USPTO decided not to 
extend the Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program beyond January 2, 2019.

DATES: The USPTO decided not to extend the Extended Missing Parts Pilot 
Program beyond January 2, 2019. Therefore, any certification and 
request to participate in the Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program must 
have been filed on or before January 2, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eugenia A. Jones, Senior Legal 
Advisor, Office of Patent Legal Administration, Office of the Deputy 
Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy, by telephone at (571) 272-
7727, or Erin M. Harriman,

[[Page 412]]

Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Patent Legal Administration, Office of 
the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy, by telephone at 
(571) 272-7747.
    Inquiries regarding this notice may also be directed to the Office 
of Patent Legal Administration, by telephone at (571) 272-7701, or by 
electronic mail at [email protected]. Alternatively, mail may be 
addressed to: Mail Stop Comments--Patents, Commissioner for Patents, 
P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450, marked to the attention of 
Eugenia A. Jones.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 8, 2010, after considering 
written comments from the public, the USPTO changed the missing parts 
examination procedures in certain nonprovisional applications by 
implementing a pilot program (i.e., Extended Missing Parts Pilot 
Program). See Pilot Program for Extended Time Period To Reply to a 
Notice to File Missing Parts of Nonprovisional Application, 75 FR 76401 
(Dec. 8, 2010), 1362 Off. Gaz. Pat. Office 44 (Jan. 4, 2011). The USPTO 
has extended the pilot program through notices published in the Federal 
Register. On September 6, 2016, the USPTO sought public comment on 
whether the Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program offers sufficient 
benefits to the patent community for it to be made permanent or whether 
the USPTO should permit the pilot program to expire. See Request for 
Comments on the Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program, 81 FR 61195 
(Sept. 6, 2016), 1430 Off. Gaz. Pat. Office 269 (Sept. 27, 2016). The 
USPTO received only two comments. The two comments are available via 
the USPTO's internet website at https://www.uspto.gov/patent/laws-and-regulations/comments-public/comments-extended-missing-parts-pilot-program. On January 10, 2018, the USPTO extended the pilot program 
until January 2, 2019, and indicated that it intended to make a 
decision before January 2, 2019, on whether the program should be made 
permanent or permitted to expire. See Extension of Extended Missing 
Parts Pilot Program, 83 FR 1243 (Jan. 10, 2018), 1447 Off. Gaz. Pat. 
Office 47 (Feb. 6, 2018).
    Since the inception of the Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program, 
the USPTO has received fewer than 200 grantable requests per year. In 
addition, the number of grantable requests has decreased over the past 
year. In view of the low usage of the pilot program, the limited number 
of written comments received from the public in response to the 2016 
request for comments, and the administrative burden on the USPTO in 
processing improper requests, the USPTO decided to permit the Extended 
Missing Parts Pilot Program to expire on January 2, 2019.
    Any certification and request must have been filed on or before 
January 2, 2019, in order to participate in the Extended Missing Parts 
Pilot Program. The USPTO will review any certification and request 
filed on or before January 2, 2019, for compliance with the 
requirements of the program. Any certification and request filed after 
January 2, 2019, will not be granted.

    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. 2019-00201 Filed 1-25-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 1410-30-P