USPTO enhances patent term extension information on webpage
Last September, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) launched a new public webpage that provides information on applications for patent term extension (PTE) that have been filed within the past five years and patent terms extended under 35 U.S.C. § 156. As initially launched, the posted PTE application information included the patent application number, patent number, and trade name identified in the PTE application, and provided a link to the electronic file containing the PTE papers. In response to stakeholder feedback received recently at the joint USPTO-FDA public listening session on January 19, 2023, the USPTO has now enhanced this information to include the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or U.S. Department of Agriculture designated number (e.g., Biologics License Application (BLA), New Drug Application (NDA), etc.), as appropriate, that corresponds to the product identified in the PTE application. This information has been added for all PTE applications filed after January 19, 2023.
The USPTO updates the information on this webpage on a quarterly basis.
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Kathi Vidal, committed to exploring ways to facilitate public access to information on patent term extension applications and grants as one of the USPTO’s initiatives proposed in her July 6, 2022, letter to the Food and Drug Administration. Director Vidal proposed this initiative in response to the Biden Administration’s goal of increasing competition in the pharmaceutical marketplace.
For more information on patent term extension under 35 U.S.C. § 156, see the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure, section 2750 et seq.
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