(a) Within 90 days after APHIS receives a petition filed under §124.30, the Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs shall make a determination under paragraphs (b) or (c) of this section or under §124.33 whether the applicant acted with due diligence during the regulatory review period. APHIS will publish its determination in the Federal Register together with factual and legal basis for the determination, notify PTO of the determination in writing, and send copies of the determination to PTO, the applicant, and the petitioner.

(b) APHIS may deny a due diligence petition without considering the merits of the petition if:

(1) The petition is not filed in accordance with §124.30;

(2) The petition does not contain information or allegations upon which APHIS may reasonably determine that the applicant did not act with due diligence during the applicable regulatory review period; or

(3) The petition fails to allege a sufficient total amount of time during which the applicant did not exercise due diligence so that, even if the petition were granted, the petition would not affect the maximum patent term extension which the applicant is entitled to under 35 U.S.C. 156.

[59 FR 11369, Feb. 25, 1993, as amended at 64 FR 43045, Aug. 9, 1999]