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Patent and Trademark Office: Patent Term Extension and Adjustment Information Collection

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Published February 26th, 2026
Detected March 14th, 2026
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Summary

The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has submitted a request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval of an information collection related to patent term extension and adjustment. The public has until March 30, 2026, to submit comments.

What changed

The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has submitted a request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval of an information collection concerning patent term extension and adjustment. This submission initiates a public comment period, allowing interested parties to provide feedback on the proposed information collection requirements.

Regulated entities, particularly drug manufacturers and medical device makers who utilize patent term extensions, should review the proposed collection and submit comments by the deadline of March 30, 2026. Failure to comment may result in the approved information collection not adequately addressing industry concerns or operational realities.

What to do next

  1. Review the submitted information collection request regarding patent term extension and adjustment.
  2. Submit comments to the Office of Management and Budget by March 30, 2026, if applicable.

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Notice

Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Patent Term Extension and Adjustment

A Notice by the Patent and Trademark Office on 02/26/2026

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  2. Document Details Published Content - Document Details Agencies Department of Commerce Patent and Trademark Office Document Citation 91 FR 9600 Document Number 2026-03900 Document Type Notice Pages 9600-9601 (2 pages) Publication Date 02/26/2026 Published Content - Document Details
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  • Document Details Published Content - Document Details Agencies Department of Commerce Patent and Trademark Office Document Citation 91 FR 9600 Document Number 2026-03900 Document Type Notice Pages 9600-9601 (2 pages) Publication Date 02/26/2026 Published Content - Document Details
  • Document Dates Published Content - Document Dates Comments Close 03/30/2026 Dates Text To ensure consideration, you must submit comments regarding this information collection on or before March 30, 2026. Published Content - Document Dates
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| Docket Title | Document ID | Comments | |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 0651-0020 Patent Term Extension and Adjustment | PTO-P-2025-0447-0003 | 1 | |
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0651-0020 Patent Term Extension and Adjustment

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Department of Commerce
Patent and Trademark Office

AGENCY:

United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce.

ACTION:

Notice of information collection; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (hereafter “USPTO” or “Agency”) will submit the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. The USPTO invites comments on the information collection renewal of 0651-0020, which helps the USPTO assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the reporting burden to the public. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on November 19, 2025, during a 60-day comment period (90 FR 52043). This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.

DATES:

To ensure consideration, you must submit comments regarding this information collection on or before March 30, 2026.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for this information collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on the following website, http://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function and entering either the title of the information collection or the OMB Control Number, 0651-0020. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

  • This information collection request may be viewed at http://www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of Commerce, USPTO information collections currently under review by OMB.
  • Email: InformationCollection@uspto.gov. Include “0651-0020 information request” in the subject line of the message.
  • Mail: Justin Isaac, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
  • Telephone: Jeffrey West, Senior Legal Advisor, 571-272-2226.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Patent Term Extension and Adjustment.

OMB Control Number: 0651-0020.

Abstract: The patent term restoration portion of the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 (Pub. L. 98-417), which is codified at 35 U.S.C. 156, permits the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to extend the term of protection under a patent to compensate for delay during regulatory review and approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or ( printed page 9601) United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Only patents for drug products, medical devices, food additives, or color additives are potentially eligible for extension. The maximum length that a patent may be extended under 35 U.S.C. 156 is five years. The USPTO administers 35 U.S.C. 156 through 37 CFR 1.710-1.791.

This information collection covers information gathered in patent term extension applications submitted under 35 U.S.C. 156(d). Under this provision, an application for patent term extension must identify the approved product; the patent to be extended; and the claims included in the patent that cover the approved product, a method of using the approved product, or a method of manufacturing the approved product. 35 U.S.C. 156(d) also requires the submission of information that enables the USPTO to determine the eligibility of the patent for extension, and the rights that will be derived from the extension, and information to enable the USPTO and the Secretary of Health and Human Services or the Secretary of Agriculture to determine the period of the extension. Additionally, 35 U.S.C. 156(d) requires the applicant for patent term extension to provide a brief description of the activities undertaken by the applicant during the regulatory review period with respect to the approved product and the significant dates of these activities.

This information collection also covers information gathered in requests for interim extensions pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 156(d)(5) and 156(e)(2). Under 35 U.S.C. 156(d)(5), an interim extension may be granted if the applicable regulatory review period that began for a product is reasonably expected to extend beyond the expiration of the patent term in effect. Under 35 U.S.C. 156(e)(2), an interim extension may be granted if the term of an eligible patent for which an application for patent term extension has been submitted would expire before a certificate of extension is issued. In addition, this information collection covers requests for review of final eligibility decisions, and requests to withdraw an application requesting a patent term extension after it is submitted.

Separate from the extension provisions of 35 U.S.C. 156, the USPTO may in some cases adjust the term of an original patent under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 154 due to certain delays in the prosecution of the patent application, including delays caused by interference and derivation proceedings, secrecy orders, or appellate review by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board or a federal court in which the patent is issued pursuant to a decision reversing an adverse USPTO determination of patentability. The USPTO administers 35 U.S.C. 154 through 37 CFR 1.701-1.705. The patent term provisions of 35 U.S.C. 154(b), as amended by Title IV, Subtitle D of the Intellectual Property and Communications Omnibus Reform Act of 1999, allow the applicant an opportunity to request reconsideration of the USPTO's patent term adjustment determination. This information collection covers information gathered in such a request.

In addition, this information collection covers information collected when the USPTO reduces the amount of a granted patent term adjustment if delays were caused by an applicant's failure to make a reasonable effort to respond to a communication from the USPTO within three months of the communication's mailing date. Applicants may petition for reinstatement of a reduction in patent term adjustment with a showing that, in spite of all due care, the applicant was unable to respond to a communication from the USPTO within the three-month period.

Forms: None.

Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved information collection.

Affected Public: Private sector.

Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.

Frequency: On occasion.

Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 903 respondents.

Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 903 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses in this information collection will take the public approximately 1 hour to 25 hours to complete. This includes the time to gather the necessary information, create the document, and submit the completed item to the USPTO.

Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 6,807 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden: $489,440. The postage costs have increased since the publication of the 60-day Federal Register notice, from $11.20 to $12.25 for the Priority Mail legal flat rate envelope used for mailed submissions. As a result, the estimated postage costs have increased from $101 to $110. This accounts for the added $9 to the estimated total annual non-hourly cost burden.

Justin Isaac,

Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.

[FR Doc. 2026-03900 Filed 2-25-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-16-P

Published Document: 2026-03900 (91 FR 9600)

Classification

Agency
Office of the Federal Register
Published
February 26th, 2026
Compliance deadline
March 30th, 2026 (15 days)
Instrument
Notice
Legal weight
Non-binding
Stage
Consultation
Change scope
Substantive

Who this affects

Applies to
Drug manufacturers Medical device makers
Geographic scope
National (US)

Taxonomy

Primary area
Intellectual Property
Operational domain
Compliance
Topics
Patents Information Collection

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