Revision of Patent Term Adjustment

37 CFR 1.705(d) has been amended to provide that a patentee may request reconsideration of PTA within 2 months of issuance if the patent indicates a revised PTA relative to the PTA indicated on the notice of allowance.

The purpose of § 1.705(d) is to provide patentees with an avenue to obtain reconsideration of the patent term adjustment indicated in the patent when the patent term adjustment indicated in the patent differs or should have differed from the patent term adjustment indicated in the notice of allowance due to events occurring after the mailing of the notice of allowance. Section 1.705(d) is not an avenue for patentees to seek review of issues that were raised, or could have been raised, in an application for patent term adjustment under § 1.704(b).

The changes also clarify that under certain circumstances, a panel remand by the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) shall be considered a decision for purposes of patent term extension or adjustment.

Effective date: May 24, 2004. (PDF)