Rule Change for Refund of National Stage Search Fee: The Office will now refund all or a portion of the search fee associated with a national stage application based on a PCT under certain circumstances (such as filing the search from the International Searching Authority). Link.
Proposed Refund of Search Fees for Expressly Abandoned Applications: The PTO is considering amending its rules to allow a refund of the search fee for Expressly Abandoned applications that have not yet been taken-up for examination. Comments are requested to AB79.Comments@uspto.gov. Link.
Proposed Changes on Electronic Submission of Chem/Bio Data: The PTO is considering amending its rules to require submission of chemical and 3–D biologic structural data in electronic format. Comments are requested to AB91.Comments@uspto.gov. Link.