USPTO News: Launch of New Pilot Programs and Patent Eligibility Guidance

1. Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program

On June 29, 2016, the USPTO launched a Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program to accelerate applications pertaining to cancer immunotherapy.  The objective of the Pilot Program is to complete the examination of cancer immunotherapy applications within twelve months of special status being granted at no additional fee.  The Pilot Program will run for twelve months and is open to both US and international applicants. 

To be eligible for the Pilot Program, the application must be a non-reissue, non-provisional utility application or an international application that has entered the US national stage.  Further, the application must not contain more than three independent claims, more than twenty total claims, or multiple dependent claims and must have at least one claim directed to a method of treating a cancer using immunotherapy.  The Pilot Program has additional requirements regarding petition for the special examination and the examination process.

2. Post-Prosecution Pilot Program

On July 11, 2016, the USPTO launched the Post-Prosecution Pilot Program (P3 Program) aimed at providing a new avenue for applicants responding to final rejections, in addition to the established Pre-Appeal and After Final Consideration Pilot (AFCP) 2.0 programs. The USPTO’s goals are to increase the value of after-final practice, to reduce the number of appeals and Requests for Continued Examination (RCE), as well as the issues filed for appeal.

Participation in the P3 Program requires filing a request within two months of an outstanding final Office Action, without submitting proper requests through AFCP, RCE or notice of appeal. The P3 Program is offered at no additional fee and will run until either January 12, 2017 or the date the USPTO accepts a total of 1,600 eligible requests, whichever occurs first.

One key feature of the P3 Program is the opportunity to provide a 20-minute oral presentation to a panel of Examiners. The panel will then issue a Notice of Decision. 

Written comments on the P3 Program are to be submitted by November 14, 2016.

3. Assessing Patent Eligibility of Life Sciences Method Claims

On July 14, 2016, the USPTO released a memorandum in light of the recent Federal Circuit decisions in Rapid Litigation Management v CellzDirect (CellzDirect) and Sequenom v Ariosa (Sequenom), concluding its current subject matter eligibility guidance (most recently updated in May 2016 – reported previously in the E-TIPS® Newsletter) remains consistent with these rulings.

Summary by: Anna Troshchynsky