The PTAB is conducting a pilot program to enable an appellant to secure expedited review of one pending ex parte appeal in exchange for another pending ex parte appeal. The PTAB will accept petitions for participation in the pilot program until June 20, 2016, or until the PTAB grants 2,000 petitions, whichever occurs first.
To secure participation in the pilot, an appellant must file petition to make special under 37 C.F.R. 41.3 to the Chief Administrative Patent Judge. The PTAB has created a form to assist appellants in filing this petition through EFS-Web.
As part of the petition process, an appellant must certify that docketing notices were issued for the appeal to be made special and the appeal to be withdrawn before June 19, 2015, and that both applications underlying the identified appeals are owned by the same party as of June 19, 2015, or name at least one inventor in common. Additionally, the appellant must agree to waive any requested oral hearing in the appeal to be made special and acknowledge that any oral hearing fees paid in connection with the appeal to be made special and any appeal fees, including oral hearing fees, paid in connection with the appeal to be withdrawn will not be refunded.
The PTAB has a goal of issuing a final decision on the appeal to be made special within 6 months from the date that the petition is filed.
For more information about the pilot, please review:
- Expedited Appeal Pilot Federal Register Notice
- Form PTO/SB/438: Petition to Make Special Under 37 C.F.R. 41.3 to the Chief Administrative Patent Judge for Participation in the Expedited Appeal Pilot (Revision July 2015)
- Ex Parte Appeal Pendency by TC as of May 31, 2016
NOTE: This data reflect the Pendency of Decided Appeals by TC for Decisions mailed in Fiscal Year 2016 through May 2016. - Pilot Statistics
For further information please contact us by e-mail or telephone:
Ex Parte Appeal Supervisory Paralegal Specialist
E-mail: expeditedpatentappealspilot@uspto.gov
(571)272-9797