(264) DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No.: PTO-P-2018-0066]
Extension of the Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: On June 29, 2016, the United States Patent and Trademark Office
(USPTO) implemented the Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program, which permits
patent applications pertaining to cancer immunotherapy to be advanced out
of turn for examination and reviewed earlier (accorded special status). To
date, over 300 petitions requesting participation in the pilot program have
been filed, and over 100 patents have been granted under the pilot program.
In view of the continued interest in the pilot program, the USPTO has
extended the pilot program until June 30, 2020. All pilot parameters remain
the same as the original pilot.
DATES: Duration: The Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program will continue to
run until June 30, 2020. Therefore, petitions to make special under the
Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program must be filed on or before June 30,
2020. In addition, any petition to make special under the Cancer
Immunotherapy Pilot Program filed between December 31, 2018, and the
publication date of this notice will be considered timely. The USPTO may
further extend the pilot program (with or without modifications) or
terminate it depending on feedback received, continued interest and the
effectiveness of the pilot program.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pinchus M. Laufer, Patent Attorney
(telephone (571) 272-7726; electronic mail at pinchus.laufer@uspto.gov) or
Susy Tsang-Foster, Senior Legal Advisor (telephone (571) 272-7711;
electronic mail at susy.tsang-foster@uspto.gov), of the Office of Patent
Legal Administration, Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Patent
Examination Policy.
For questions relating to a specific petition, please contact Gary B.
Nickol, Supervisory Patent Examiner (telephone (571) 272-0835; electronic
mail at gary.nickol@uspto.gov) or Brandon J. Fetterolf, Supervisory
Patent Examiner (telephone (571) 272-2919; electronic mail at
brandon.fetterolf@uspto.gov), of Technology Center 1600.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The USPTO published a notice for the
implementation of the Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program on June 29, 2016.
See Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program, 81 FR 42328 (June 29, 2016),
1428 Off. Gaz. Pat. Office 253 (July 26, 2016) (Cancer Immunotherapy
Notice). The pilot program was designed to support the global fight against
cancer. The Cancer Immunotherapy Notice indicated that an applicant may
have an application advanced out of turn (accorded special status) for
examination without meeting all of the current requirements of the
accelerated examination program set forth in item VIII of MPEP section
708.02(a), if the application contained at least one claim to a method of
treating cancer using immunotherapy and met other requirements specified in
the Cancer Immunotherapy Notice.
The Cancer Immunotherapy Notice established that the pilot program would
run for twelve months from June 29, 2016. The USPTO extended the pilot
program to December 31, 2018, through a notice published in the Federal
Register. See Extension of the Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program, 82 FR
28645 (June 23, 2017), 1440 Off. Gaz. Pat. Office 256 (July 25, 2017). In
view of the continued interest in the pilot program, the USPTO has extended
the pilot program through June 30, 2020. The extension also will 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 are independent inventors,
 Top of Notices (264) December 31, 2019 |
US PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE |
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universities, research institutions, hospitals, medical centers, government
agencies, and large and small companies. To date, over 300 petitions
requesting participation in the pilot program have been filed, and over 100
patents have been granted under the pilot 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.
January 18, 2019 ANDREI IANCU
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
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