The USPTO has announced that it will not be extending the Extended Missing Parts Pilot program, so it will end on January 2, 2019. While many USPTO pilot programs are renewed time after time–the Pre-Appeal Brief Review pilot program was launched in 2005–the willingness to terminate less successful pilot programs gives the USPTO flexibility to test different initiatives designed to advance and support the examination process.
The Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program
In case you missed it, the Extended Missing Parts Pilot program permitted applicants to delay payment of search and examination fees (only) for up to 12 months for certain original U.S. non-provisional applications. Participation in the program required a $130 surcharge and would result in a deduction for "applicant delay" under the Patent Term Adjustment rules.
For these and other reasons I wrote about here and here, the Extended Missing Parts Pilot program was not attractive to my clients, but it would be interesting to know how often the program was used since it was launched in 2010.
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