WASHINGTON – The Commerce Department’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is providing patentees with the ability to request a recalculation of their patent term adjustment without a fee or petition as is normally required pending completion of necessary modifications to the USPTO’s computer program for calculating patent term adjustments.  The agency expects to complete by March 2, 2010, the software modification necessary to comply with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Wyeth v. Kappos regarding the overlapping delay provision of 35 USC 154(b)(2)(A).   In the meantime, the USPTO will be processing recalculation requests under an interim procedure that is available to a patentee whose patent issues prior to March 2, 2010, and who requests it no later than 180 days after the issue date.  This procedure is available only for alleged errors in calculation that are specifically identified in Wyeth.   A copy of the notice submitted to the Federal Register for publication and the form for patentees to use in requesting a recalculation of patent term is on the USPTO Web site at http://www.uspto.gov/patents/announce/pta_wyeth.pdf.

“The USPTO is working to modify its computer program to comply with the Federal Circuit’s decision as soon as possible,” said Commissioner for Patents Robert Stoll.  “Until then, this interim procedure will enable patentees to request a recalculation quickly and at no charge.”

An applicant is entitled, subject to certain conditions and limitations, to patent term adjustment if (1) the USPTO fails to take certain actions during the examination and issue process within specified time frames; (2) if the USPTO fails to issue a patent within three years of the actual filing date of the application; and (3) for delays due to interference, secrecy order, or successful appellate review.

From press release at http://www.uspto.gov/news/pr/2010/10_06.jsp

The Patent and Trademark Office issued a notice on December 8, 2009 that it is initiating a pilot program permitting petitions to accelerate applications pertaining to green technologies.  74 Fed. Reg. 64666. New patent applications are normally taken up for examination in the order of their United States filing date. The USPTO is implementing a pilot program to permit applications pertaining to “green technologies” (i.e., applications pertaining to environmental quality, energy conservation, development of renewable energy resources, or greenhouse gas emission reduction) to be advanced out of turn without meeting all of the current requirements of the accelerated examination program set forth in item VIII of MPEP Sec. 708.02(a) (e.g., examination support document). The USPTO will accept the first 3,000 petitions to make special under the Green Technology Pilot Program in previously filed new applications, provided that the petitions meet all of the requirements set forth in this notice. Upon receipt of more than 3,000 petitions, the USPTO may reevaluate the workload and resources needed to extend the pilot program.