Recently Posted PTO Rules, Proposed Rules, and Notices

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is required by 35 U.S.C. 131 to examine an application for patent and, when appropriate, issue a patent. Also, the USPTO is required to publish patent applications, with certain exceptions, promptly after the expiration of a period of eighteen months from the earliest filing date for which a benefit is sought under Title 35, United States Code (``eighteen-month publication''). Certain situations may arise which require that additional information be supplied in order for the USPTO to further process the patent or application. The USPTO administers the statutes through various sections of the rules of practice in 37 CFR part 1. The information in this collection can be used by the USPTO to continue the processing of the patent or application, to ensure that applicants are complying with the patent regulations, and to aid in the prosecution of the application. The USPTO is adding two new forms into this collection. PTO/SB/33, Pre-Appeal Brief Request for Review, is a new optional procedure that is intended to spare applicants the added time and expense of preparing an appeal brief for an application that ultimately may be categorized as ``not in condition for appeal.'' Also new is form PTO/SB/28, Petition to Make Special Under Accelerated Examination Program. The requirement for the petition is already approved in the collection; however, the response time has been increased from 1 hour to 12 hours. Applicants who choose to participate in this optional procedure in order to receive the benefit of accelerated examination will have to share in the examination burden to a greater extent. In return, such applicants will receive the benefit of an early patentability determination for their claimed invention. A previously overlooked requirement, the Request for Corrected Filing Receipt, is also being added into the collection, in both paper and electronic formats. Forms for this requirement are currently under development. There are 41 forms associated with this collection.