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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 177 / Thursday, September 16, 2021 / Notices
Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce, USPTO
information collections currently under review by OMB.
Written comments and recommendations for this information collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.
Find this particular information collection by selecting Currently under 30-day ReviewOpen for Public Comments or by using the search function and entering either the title of the information collection or the OMB
Control Number 06510061.
Further information can be obtained by:
Email: InformationCollection@
uspto.gov. Include 06510061
information request in the subject line of the message.
Mail: Kimberly Hardy, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313
1450.
Kimberly Hardy, Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
FR Doc. 202119996 Filed 91521; 8:45 am BILLING CODE 351016P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office Docket No.: PTOP20210042

Extension of the Motion To Amend Pilot Program in Trial Proceedings Under the America Invents Act Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

The United States Patent and Trademark Office USPTO is extending the Motion to Amend MTA Pilot Program, which was initiated on March 15, 2019, and provides additional options for a patent owner who files an MTA before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board PTAB. In particular, the MTA
Pilot Program provides a patent owner who files an MTA with options to request preliminary guidance from the PTAB on the MTA and to file a revised MTA. The program also provides timelines for briefing to accommodate these options.
DATES: Effective Date: September 16, 2021. Duration: The MTA Pilot Program SUMMARY:

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will run until September 16, 2022. The USPTO may extend the MTA Pilot Program with or without modification on either a temporary or a permanent basis, or may discontinue the program after that date.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jessica Kaiser, Lead Administrative Patent Judge, or Michelle Ankenbrand, Lead Administrative Patent Judge, by telephone at 5712729797.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A patent owner in an America Invents Act AIA
trial proceeding may file an MTA as a matter of right. See 35 U.S.C. 316d1, 326d1. After receiving feedback from the public about the PTABs MTA
practice, including some concerns regarding the grant rate of claim amendments in AIA trial proceedings, in October 2018 the USPTO published a Request for Comments in the Federal Register seeking written public comments on a proposed amendment process in AIA trials that would involve preliminary guidance from the PTAB on the merits of an MTA and an opportunity for a patent owner to file a revised MTA Request for Comments on Motion To Amend Practice and Procedures in Trial Proceedings Under the America Invents Act Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, 83 FR
54319 Oct. 29, 2018. The majority of comments supported the PTAB issuing a preliminary decision in cases involving an MTA, and commenters were almost evenly mixed in supporting or opposing a revised MTA. On March 15, 2019, in response to the stakeholder comments received, the USPTO issued a notice detailing the MTA Pilot Program Notice Regarding a New Pilot Program Concerning Motion To Amend Practice and Procedures in Trial Proceedings Under the America Invents Act Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, 84 FR 9497 Mar. 15, 2019.
The MTA Pilot Program provides a patent owner with two options not previously available: 1 A patent owner may choose to receive preliminary guidance from the PTAB on its MTA, and/or 2 A patent owner may choose to file a revised MTA after receiving the petitioners opposition to the original MTA and/or after receiving the PTABs preliminary guidance if requested. If a patent owner does not elect either the option to receive preliminary guidance or the option to file a revised MTA, AIA
trial practice, including MTA practice, is essentially unchanged from the practice prior to the MTA Pilot Program.
The USPTO has presented preliminary results of the MTA Pilot Program and continues to track data related to MTAs. The most recent
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information and statistics related to MTAs are available on the USPTOs website at www.uspto.gov/patents/ptab/
motions-amend-study.
Based on the preliminary results of the MTA Pilot Program, the USPTO has decided to extend it. The program is hereby extended through September 16, 2022. The USPTO may extend the MTA
Pilot Program with or without modification on either a temporary or a permanent basis, or may discontinue the program after that date.
The requirements for the MTA Pilot Program remain as set forth in the original notice, without modification at this time.
Andrew Hirshfeld, Commissioner for Patents, Performing the Functions and Duties of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
FR Doc. 202120037 Filed 91521; 8:45 am BILLING CODE 351016P

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Office of the Secretary Docket ID: DoD2021OS0097

Proposed Collection; Comment Request Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Department of Defense DoD.
ACTION: Information collection notice.
AGENCY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness announces a proposed public information collection and seeks public comment on the provisions thereof. Comments are invited on: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the agencys estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by November 15, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number and title, by any of the following methods:
SUMMARY:

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