[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 242 (Friday, December 16, 2011)]
[Notices][Pages 78246-78247]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-32330]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No. PTO-P-2011-0076]
Extension of the Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
For the full text of this notice access http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-12-16/html/2011-32330.htm
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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 twelve-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. The Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program benefits applicants by permitting additional time to determine if patent protection should be sought--at a relatively low cost--and by permitting applicants to focus efforts on commercialization during this period. The Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program benefits the USPTO and the public by adding publications to the body of prior art, and by removing from the USPTO's workload those nonprovisional applications for which applicants later decide not to pursue examination. The USPTO is extending the Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program until December 31, 2012, to better gauge whether the Extended Missing Parts Program offers sufficient benefits to the patent community for it to be made permanent.
DATES: Effective Date: December 16, 2011.
Duration: The Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program will run through December 31, 2012. Therefore, any certification and request to participate in the Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program must be filed before December 31, 2012. The USPTO may further extend the pilot program (with or without modifications) depending on the feedback received and the continued effectiveness of the pilot program.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eugenia A. Jones, Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Patent Legal Administration, Office of the Associate Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy, by telephone at (571) 272-7727, or by mail 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. Inquiries regarding this notice may be directed to the Office of Patent Legal Administration, by telephone at (571) 272-7701, or by electronic mail at PatentPractice@uspto.gov.