The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) is revising the rules of practice pertaining to patent term adjustment in view of the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit) in Supernus Pharm., Inc. v. Iancu (Supernus). The Federal Circuit in Supernus held that a reduction of patent term adjustment must be equal to the period of time during which the applicant failed to engage in reasonable efforts to conclude prosecution of the application. The USPTO is revising the provisions pertaining to reduction of patent term adjustment for alignment with the Federal Circuit decision in Supernus.
Effective date: This final rule is effective on July 16, 2020. Applicability date: The changes in this final rule apply to original utility and plant patents issuing from applications filed on or after May 29, 2000, in which a notice of allowance was mailed on or after July 16, 2020.
Read the full notice here.
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