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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 248 / Thursday, December 30, 2021 / Notices
non-containment traps and bycatch of non-target species is expected to be minimal. Bycatch from the spiny lobster traps are expected to be similar to that from the spiny lobster trap fishery in the South Atlantic.
The applicant has requested the EFP
be effective for a 2-year period from the date the EFP is issued.
NMFS finds the application warrants further consideration based on a preliminary review. Possible conditions the agency may impose on the permit, if granted, include but are not limited to, a prohibition on conducting activities within marine protected areas, marine sanctuaries, or special management zones. Additionally, NMFS
may require special protections for ESAlisted species and designated critical habitat, and may require particular gear markings. A final decision on issuance of the EFP will depend on NMFS
review of public comments received on the application, consultations with the appropriate fishery management agency of the affected state, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, the U.S.
Coast Guard, and a determination that the activities to be taken under the EFP
are consistent with all applicable laws and regulations.
Authority: 16 U.S.C 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 27, 2021.
Karen Abrams, Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
FR Doc. 202128352 Filed 122921; 8:45 am BILLING CODE 351022P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office Docket No.: PTOP20210037

Extension of the Modified COVID19
Prioritized Examination Pilot Program United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

The United States Patent and Trademark Office USPTO or Office is extending the modified COVID19
Prioritized Examination Pilot Program.
Requests that are compliant with the pilot programs requirements and are filed on or before March 31, 2022, will be accepted. The USPTO will evaluate whether to terminate or further extend the program during this extension period.

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SUMMARY:

The COVID19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program is extended
DATES:

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as of December 30, 2021, to run until March 31, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Robert A. Clarke, Editor of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure MPEP
5712727735; robert.clarke@
uspto.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 14, 2020, the USPTO published a notice on the implementation of the COVID19
Prioritized Examination Pilot Program.
See COVID19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program, 85 FR 28932 May 14, 2020 COVID19 Track One Notice. On September 3, 2021, the USPTO
published a notice extending the program to December 31, 2021, and modifying it by removing the limit on the number of applications that could receive prioritized examination. See Modification of COVID19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program, 86 FR 49522
September 3, 2021 Modifying Notice.
The COVID19 Track One Notice indicated that an applicant may request prioritized examination without payment of the prioritized examination fee and associated processing fee if: 1
The applications claims covered a product or process related to COVID19, 2 the product or process was subject to an applicable Food and Drug Administration FDA approval for COVID19 use, and 3 the applicant met other requirements noted in the COVID19 Track One Notice. As of November 29, 2021, 180 patents had issued from applications granted prioritized status under the pilot program. The average total pendency, including time consumed by continued examination, from filing date to issue date for those applications was 276
days. The shortest pendency from filing date to issue date for those applications was 75 days.
The Modifying Notice indicated that the pilot program would expire on December 31, 2021. In this notice, the Office is extending the pilot program by setting the expiration date as March 31, 2022. The Office will evaluate whether to terminate or further extend the program during this extension period. If the USPTO determines that a further extension of the pilot program is appropriate, the agency will publish a subsequent notice to the public further extending the program.
Unless the pilot program is further extended by a subsequent notice, following the expiration of this extension, the pilot program will be terminated, and applicants may instead seek to use the Prioritized Examination Track One Program. Applications accorded prioritized examination under the pilot program will not lose that
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status merely because the application is still pending after the date the pilot program is terminated. In other words, applications accepted into the pilot program will continue to be examined under prioritized examination status until that status is terminated for one or more reasons, as described in the COVID19 Track One Notice.
The Track One Program permits an applicant to have an application advanced out of turn accorded special status for examination under 37 CFR
1.102e if the applicant timely files a request for prioritized Track One examination accompanied by the appropriate fees and meets the other conditions of 37 CFR 1.102e. See MPEP 708.02b2. The current fee schedule is available at www.uspto.gov/
learning-and-resources/fees-andpayment/uspto-fee-schedule.
The Track One Program does not have the restrictions of the COVID19
Prioritized Examination Pilot Program on the types of inventions for which special status may be sought, as the Track One Program does not require a connection to any particular technology.
Moreover, delays associated with the determination of whether an application presents a claim that covers a product or process related to COVID19 and whether the product or process was subject to an applicable FDA approval for COVID19 use may be avoided under the Track One Program.
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. 202128359 Filed 122921; 8:45 am BILLING CODE 351016P

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army Docket ID: USA2021HQ0013

Submission for OMB Review;
Comment Request Department of the Army, Department of Defense DoD.
ACTION: 30-Day information collection notice.
AGENCY:

The Department of Defense has submitted to OMB for clearance the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act.
DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by January 31, 2022.
SUMMARY:

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30DEN1