Today is the last day to file certain PTA correction requests

I have not encountered very many patent practitioners that noticed the Federal Register notice of May 15, 2014 entitled “Revisions To Implement the Patent Term Adjustment Provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act Technical Corrections Act”.  This notice established today, July 31, 2014, as the last day on which you can file a certain type of request for adjustment of patent term.

The easiest way to file the PTA request is by means of Form PTO/SB/132.  The soon-to-disappear procedure is available for utility and plant patents that that are (1) international applications issued on or after January 14, 2013, and before May 20, 2014, and (2) have a filing date on or after May 29, 2000.

If you want to use this procedure, here are the steps to follow today.

Look at all of your patents that issued within the critical sixteen-month period.  Pick out the ones that are national phases from a PCT.  (I guess strictly speaking you would need to check to make sure the (international) filing date is on or after May 29, 2000.)  For each such patent for which you want the USPTO to recalculate the PTA, fill in Form 132 and get it filed today, July 31, 2014.  (The easiest way to do this for most filers would, I suppose, be to fax it to +1-571-273-8300.)

The key is that if you wait until tomorrow, August 1, 2014 to file this Form 132, it will be too late.

 

 

 

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