(282) 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.
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, 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 PatentPractice@uspto.gov. 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
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US PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE |
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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.
January 18, 2019 ANDREI IANCU
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
[1459 OG 241]