"I am pleased to announce the launch of the Post-Prosecution Pilot (P3), which was developed as part of the USPTO’s commitment to collaborating with our stakeholders and providing new programs to assist applicants and practitioners during the application process. It is our job to ensure that patent quality and our larger patent system keep up with the rapid pace of American innovation. The P3 program, which is part of the Enhanced Patent Quality Initiative, provides applicants with the opportunity to make an oral presentation to a panel of examiners after a final rejection has been issued at the close of prosecution but before the filing of a notice of appeal to discuss a proposed amendment. It is our goal to illuminate the next available steps and offer an after final option that is more useful to you. Specifically, the P3 program combines the best features of two of our existing programs, the Pre-Appeal Brief Conference Pilot Program (Pre-Appeal) and the After Final Consideration Pilot Program 2.0 (AFCP 2.0).
Under the Pre-Appeal program, applicants can request a panel of examiners to formally review the legal and factual basis of rejections made in their application before a formal appeal brief is filed. Additionally, the AFCP 2.0 program further includes an interview with the examiner for instances when applicant’s after final response does not result in an allowance. Now, through the P3 program, an applicant with a utility patent application can submit a proposed after final amendment to be considered by a panel of experienced examiners. Further, the applicant will have the opportunity to make a presentation to the panel, either in-person or via phone, and the panel will provide a brief written summary of the status of the pending claims as well as the reasoning for maintaining any rejection.
The P3 program runs until January 12, 2017. Under the terms
of the program, each technology center will accept a maximum of 200 compliant
requests. Thus, the ability to take advantage of the P3 program may end earlier
in a given technology center. The P3 website includes a tally for each
technology center to allow you to see whether a technology center is still
accepting applications for the pilot.
Please refer to the Federal Register Notice
for more information about the P3 program including its submission
requirements. The Federal Register Notice also requests comments and feedback
from our stakeholders on ways to improve after final practice to reduce the
number of issues and applications appealed to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
and to reduce the number of Requests for Continued Examination. The USPTO plans
to evaluate this feedback as well as the results of the P3 program to determine
what we can do to improve after final practice.Simplifying and strengthening the after final landscape is an important piece of the Enhanced Patent Quality Initiative, and my team and I are excited to work together with all of you to improve the quality of the patents issued by the USPTO.
I encourage you to share your feedback on the Federal Register Noticevia email to afterfinalpractice@uspto.gov or via postal mail addressed to: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Mail Stop Comments – Patents, Office of Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450, marked to the attention of Raul Tamayo. The deadline for public comment is November 14, 2016. Thank you for your collaboration in this important effort."
Copyright © 2016 Robert Moll. All rights reserved.
