Changes to Patent Term Adjustment in View of the Federal Circuit Decision in Novartis v. Lee
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (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 Novartis AG v. Lee. The Federal Circuit confirmed in Novartis that any time consumed by continued examination is subtracted in determining the extent to which the period of application pendency exceeds three years, regardless of when the continued examination was initiated. The Federal Circuit, however, decided that the time consumed by continued examination does not include the time after a notice of allowance, unless the Office actually resumes examination of the application after allowance. Accordingly, the Office is revising the rules of practice to provide that the time consumed by continued examination does not include the time after a notice of allowance, unless the applicant files a request for continued examination after such allowance. The Office also is revising the rules of practice to provide that the submission of a request for continued examination after any notice of allowance has been mailed will constitute a failure of an applicant to engage in reasonable efforts to conclude processing or examination of an application and thus result in a reduction of any period of patent term adjustment. The Office is providing an exception to this patent term adjustment reduction provision for a request for continued examination filed solely to submit information cited in a patent office communication in a counterpart application that is submitted to the Office within thirty days of receipt of the patent office communication. Additionally, the Office is clarifying what papers may be submitted after a notice of allowance without the applicant being considered to have failed to engage in reasonable efforts to conclude processing or examination of the application.
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- www.federalregister.gov/documents/2015/01/09/2015-00061/changes-to-patent-term-adjustment-in-view-of-the-federal-circuit-decision-in-novartis-v-lee (permanent link in the Federal Register, verified 2026-09-30)
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- Published
- 2015-01-09
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- Rule
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- USPTO documents published in the Federal Register (Federal Register API)(retrieved 2026-10-06)
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Related entry points
- Changes to Patent Term Adjustment in View of the Federal Circuit Decision in Novartis v. Lee
- Revision of Patent Term Extension and Adjustment Provisions Relating to Appellate Review and Information Disclosure Statements
- Revision of Patent Term Adjustment Provisions Relating to Information Disclosure Statements
- Patent Term Adjustment Procedures in View of the Federal Circuit Decision in Supernus Pharm., Inc. v. Iancu
- Standardization of the Patent Term Adjustment Statement Regarding Information Disclosure Statements
- Patent Term Adjustment Reductions in View of the Federal Circuit Decision in Supernus Pharm., Inc. v. Iancu.
- Patent Term Adjustment Reductions in View of the Federal Circuit Decision in Supernus Pharm., Inc. v. Iancu
- Pilot Program for Extended Time Period To Reply to a Notice To File Missing Parts of Nonprovisional Application
- Revision of Patent Term Adjustment Provisions Relating to Appellate Review
- After Final Consideration Pilot Program 2.0
- Enhanced Examination Timing Control Initiative; Notice of Public Meeting
- Treatment of Letters Stating That the USPTO's Patent Term Adjustment Determination Is Greater Than What the Applicant or Patentee Believes Is Appropriate
- Changes To Practice for Continuing Applications, Requests for Continued Examination Practice, and Applications Containing Patentably Indistinct Claims
- Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
- Changes To Facilitate Applicant's Authorization of Access to Unpublished U.S. Patent Applications by Foreign Intellectual Property Offices
- Changes To Implement the Preissuance Submissions by Third Parties Provision of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act