11430 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 41 / Wednesday, March 2, 2011 / Notices 

Officer, United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, 

Alexandria, VA 22313–1450. 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent on 

or before April 1, 2011 to Nicholas A. 

Fraser, OMB Desk Officer, via e-mail to 

Nicholas_A._Fraser@omb.eop.gov, or by 

fax to 202–395–5167, marked to the 

attention of Nicholas A. Fraser. 

Dated: February, 24, 2011. 

Susan K. Fawcett, 

Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2011–4559 Filed 3–1–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Patent and Trademark Office 

Proposed Information Collection 

Requirements Under OMB Review; 

Certain Patent Petitions Requiring a 

Fee 

ACTION: Notice; comment request. 

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO), as part of its 

continuing effort to reduce paperwork 

and respondent burden, invites the 

general public and other Federal 

agencies to take this opportunity to 

comment on the revision of a currently 

approved collection, as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(2)(A)). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before May 2, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• E-mail: 

InformationCollection@uspto.gov. 

Include ‘‘0651–0059 Patent Petitions 

Requiring a Fee under 37 CFR 1.17(f)– 

(h) comment’’ in the subject line of the 

message. 

• Mail: Susan K. Fawcett, Records 

Officer, Office of the Chief Information 

Officer, U.S. Patent and Trademark 

Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 

22313–1450. 

•

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information 

should be directed to the attention of 

Raul Tamayo, Legal Advisor, Office of 

Patent Legal Administration, U.S. Patent 

and Trademark Office (USPTO), P.O. 

Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313–1450; 

by telephone 571–272–7728; or by email at raul.tamayo@uspto.gov with 

‘‘Paperwork’’ in the subject line. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO) is required 

by 35 U.S.C. 131 et seq. to examine an 

application for patent and, when 

appropriate, issue a patent. Many 

actions taken by the USPTO during its 

examination of an application for patent 

or for reissue of a patent, or during its 

reexamination of a patent, are subject to 

review by an appeal to the Board of 

Patent Appeals and Interferences. For 

other USPTO actions, review is in the 

form of administrative review obtained 

via submission of a petition to the 

USPTO. USPTO petitions practice also 

provides an opportunity for a patent 

applicant or owner to supply additional 

information that may be required in 

order for the USPTO to further process 

an application or patent. 

Currently, this collection covers 

certain petitions which, when submitted 

to the USPTO by a patent applicant or 

owner, are required to be accompanied 

by the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(f). 

The USPTO has determined that it 

would be beneficial to group other 

petitions which require a fee under 37 

CFR 1.17 together with the petitions 

currently in this collection. Specifically, 

the USPTO proposes to transfer out of 

0651–0031 and into this collection 

petitions which are required to be 

accompanied by the fee set forth in 

either 37 CFR 1.17 (g) or (h), including, 

for example, petitions for requests for 

documents in a form other than that 

provided by 37 CFR 1.19, petitions to 

make special under the accelerated 

examination program, petitions for 

express abandonment to avoid 

publication under 37 CFR 1.138(c), and 

petitions for extension of time under 37 

CFR 1.136(b). For a complete listing of 

the items covered by this collection, 

please see the table in Section III of this 

notice. 

The petitions in this collection can be 

submitted electronically through EFS– 

Web, the USPTO’s web-based electronic 

filing system, as well as on paper. The 

USPTO is taking this opportunity to 

account for the electronic submissions 

in this collection. 

Currently this collection has one 

form. There are forms associated with 

the petitions for extension of time under 

37 CFR 1.136(b) (PTO/SB/23), petitions 

to make special under the accelerated 

examination program (PTO/SB/28), 

petitions for express abandonment to 

avoid publication under 37 CFR 1.138(c) 

(PTO/SB/24A), and petitions to 

withdraw an application from issue 

after payment of the issue fee under 37 

CFR 1.313(c) (PTO/SB/140). Therefore, 

after approval, this collection will have 

five forms. Please note that there are 

some petitions to withdraw which 

cannot be submitted using PTO/SB/140. 

None of the other petitions in this 

collection has a form associated with it. 

The filing fee for petitions with no 

associated form may be remitted to the 

USPTO using PTO/SB/17p, which is 

titled ‘‘Petition Fee Under 37 CFR 

1.17(f), (g), and (h) Transmittal.’’ 

II. Method of Collection 

By mail, facsimile, or hand delivery to 

the USPTO when the applicant files the 

various petitions. These papers can also 

be filed as attachments through EFSWeb. The petitions to make special 

under the accelerated examination 

program can only be filed through EFSWeb. 

III. Data 

OMB Number: 0651–0059. 

Form Number(s): PTO/SB/17P, PTO/ 

SB/23, PTO/SB/24a, PTO/SB/28 (EFSWeb only), and PTO/SB/140. 

Type of Review: Revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Affected Public: Business or other for 

profit; non-profit institutions. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

39,015 responses per year. Of this total, 

the USPTO expects that 35,154 

responses will be submitted through 

EFS-Web. 

Estimated Time per Response: The 

USPTO estimates that it will take 

approximately 5 minutes (0.08 hours) to 

12 hours to complete the items in this 

collection, depending on the petition. 

This includes time to gather the 

necessary information, create the 

documents, and submit the completed 

request to the USPTO. The USPTO 

calculates that, on balance, it takes the 

same amount of time to gather the 

necessary information, prepare the 

petitions and the fee transmittal form, 

and submit them to the USPTO, 

whether the applicant submits the 

petition in paper form or electronically. 

Estimated Total Annual Respondent 

Burden Hours: 41,907 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Respondent 

Cost Burden: $13,616,730. The USPTO 

expects that attorneys will complete all 

of the items in this collection, with the 

exception of the petitions for requests 

for documents in a form other than that 

provided by 37 CFR 1.19 and petitions 

for express abandonment to avoid 

publication under 37 CFR 1.138(c). The 

USPTO expects that these petitions will 

be completed by para-professionals. 

Using the professional hourly rate of 

$325 for attorneys in private firms, and 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 41 / Wednesday, March 2, 2011 / Notices 11431 

an hourly rate of $122 for the paraprofessionals, the USPTO estimates $13,616,730 per year for salary costs 

associated with respondents. 

Item 

Estimated 

time for 

response 

Estimated 

annual 

responses 

Estimated 

annual 

burden hours 

Petitions (corresponding to the fee) under 37 CFR 1.17(f) include: Petition to Accord a Filing Date under 1.57(a); Petition to Accord a Filing 

Date under 1.53(e); Petition for Decision on a Question Not Specifically Provided For; Petition to Suspend the Rules.

4 hours ............................................ 400 1,600 

EFS-Web Petitions (corresponding to the fee) under 37 CFR 1.17(f) ...... 4 hours ............................................ 3,200 12,800 

Petitions (corresponding to the fee) under 37 CFR 1.17(g): Petition to 

Access an Assignment Record; Petition for Access to an Application; 

Petition for Expungement and Return of Information; Petition to Suspend Action in an Application.

2 hours ............................................ 400 800 

EFS-Web Petitions (corresponding to the fee) under 37 CFR 1.17(g) ..... 2 hours ............................................ 3,500 7,000 

Petitions (corresponding to the fee) under 37 CFR 1.17(h): Petition for 

Accepting Color Drawings or Photographs; Petition for Entry of a 

Model or Exhibit; Petition to Withdraw an Application from Issue PTO/ 

SB/140; Petition to Defer Issuance of a Patent.

1 hour .............................................. 1,100 1,100 

EFS-Web Petitions (corresponding to the fee) under 37 CFR 1.17(h) ..... 1 hour .............................................. 10,300 10,300 

Petitions for Requests for Documents in a Form Other than that Provided by 37 CFR 1.19.1 hour .............................................. 5 5 

EFS-Web Petitions for Requests for Documents in a Form Other than 

that Provided by 37 CFR 1.19.

1 hour .............................................. 50 50 

Petitions to Make Special Under Accelerated Examination Program 

PTO/SB/28 (EFS-Web Only).

12 hours .......................................... 550 6,600 

Petitions for Express Abandonment to Avoid Publication Under 37 CFR 

1.138(c) PTO/SB/24a.

12 minutes ....................................... 50 10 

EFS-Web Petitions for Express Abandonment to Avoid Publication 

Under 37 CFR 1.138(c).

12 minutes ....................................... 500 100 

Petition for Extension of Time Under 37 CFR 1.136(b) PTO/SB/23 ........ 30 minutes ....................................... 6 3 

EFS-Web Petition for Extension of Time Under 37 CFR 1.136(b) ........... 30 minutes ....................................... 54 27 

Petition Fee under 37 CFR 1.17(f), (g), and (h) Transmittal PTO/SB/17P 5 minutes ......................................... 1,900 152 

EFS-Web Petition Fee under 37 CFR 1.17(f), (g), and (h) Transmittal .... 5 minutes ......................................... 17,000 1,360 

TOTALS .............................................................................................. .......................................................... 39,015 41,907 

Estimated Total Annual Non-Hour 

Respondent Cost Burden: $3,875,424. 

There are no capital start-up, 

operation, or maintenance costs 

associated with this information 

collection. There are, however, postage 

costs and filing fees. 

The public may submit the petitions 

in this collection to the USPTO by mail 

through the United States Postal 

Service. All correspondence may 

include a certificate of mailing for each 

piece of correspondence enclosed, 

stating the date of deposit or 

transmission to the USPTO in order to 

receive credit for timely filing. The 

USPTO has estimated that the vast 

majority of these submissions will 

weigh no more than 13 oz. Therefore, 

the USPTO is conservatively estimating 

that these submissions will be mailed in 

large mailing envelopes by first-class 

postage at a rate of $2.92. Postage for the 

certificates of mailing themselves are 

not calculated into this estimate as they 

are included with the individual pieces 

of correspondence that are being 

deposited with the United States Postal 

Service. The USPTO estimates that 

1,961 petitions and 1,900 fee transmittal 

forms will be mailed to the USPTO per 

year, for a total postage cost of $11,274. 

This collection has a minimum of 

$3,864,150 in associated filing fees, as 

shown in the accompanying table: 

Item Responses 

(a) 

Filing Fee ($) 

(b) 

Total non-hour 

cost burden 

(a × b) 

(c) 

Petitions (corresponding to the fee) under 37 CFR 1.17(f) include: Petition to Accord a Filing Date under 1.57(a); Petition to Accord a Filing Date under 1.53(e); 

Petition for Decision on a Question Not Specifically Provided For ....................... 400 $400.00 $160,000.00 

EFS-Web Petitions (corresponding to the fee) under 37 CFR 1.17(f) ...................... 3,200 400.00 1,280,000.00 

Petitions (corresponding to the fee) under 37 CFR 1.17(g): Petition to Access an 

Assignment Record; Petition for Access to an Application; Petition for 

Expungement and Return of Information; Petition to Suspend Action in an Application .................................................................................................................. 400 200.00 80,000.00 

EFS-Web Petitions (corresponding to the fee) under 37 CFR 1.17(g) ..................... 3,500 200.00 700,000.00 

Petitions (corresponding to the fee) under 37 CFR 1.17(h): Petition for Accepting 

Color Drawings or Photographs; Petition for Entry of a Model or Exhibit; Petition 

to Withdraw an Application from Issue PTO/SB/140; Petition to Defer Issuance 

of a Patent .............................................................................................................. 1,100 130.00 143,000.00 

EFS-Web Petitions (corresponding to the fee) under 37 CFR 1.17(h) ..................... 10,300 130.00 1,339,000.00 

Petitions for Requests for Documents in a Form Other than that Provided by 37 

CFR 1.19 ................................................................................................................ 5 130.00 650.00 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
11432 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 41 / Wednesday, March 2, 2011 / Notices 

Item Responses 

(a) 

Filing Fee ($) 

(b) 

Total non-hour 

cost burden 

(a × b) 

(c) 

EFS-Web Petitions for Requests for Documents in a Form Other than that Provided by 37 CFR 1.19 ............................................................................................ 50 130.00 6,500.00 

Petitions to Make Special Under Accelerated Examination Program (EFS-Web 

only) PTO/SB/28 (EFS-Web only) ......................................................................... 550 130.00 71,500.00 

Petitions for Express Abandonment to Avoid Publication Under 37 CFR 1.138(c) 

PTO/SB/24a ........................................................................................................... 50 130.00 6,500.00 

EFS-Web Petitions for Express Abandonment to Avoid Publication Under 37 CFR 

1.138(c) .................................................................................................................. 500 130.00 65,000.00 

Petition for Extension of Time Under 37 CFR 1.136(b) PTO/SB/23 ........................ 6 200.00 1,200.00 

EFS-Web Petition for Extension of Time Under 37 CFR 1.136(b) ........................... 54 200.00 10,800.00 

Petition Fee under 37 CFR 1.17(f), (g), and (h) Transmittal PTO/SB/17 ................. 1,900 None 0.00 

EFS-Web Petition Fee under 37 CFR 1.17(f), (g), and (h) Transmittal .................... 17,000 None 0.00 

TOTALS .............................................................................................................. 39,015 .............................. 3,864,150.00 

The USPTO estimates that the total 

non-hour respondent cost burden for 

this collection in the form of postage 

costs and filing fees amounts to 

$3,875,424. 

IV. Request for Comments 

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of the functions of the agency, including 

whether the information shall have 

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden 

(including hours and cost) of the 

proposed collection of information; (c) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on respondents, e.g., the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be summarized or 

included in the request for OMB 

approval of this information collection; 

they will also become a matter of public 

record. 

Dated: February 24, 2011. 

Susan K. Fawcett, 

Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2011–4456 Filed 3–1–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

United States Patent and Trademark 

Office 

[Docket No. PTO–T–2010–0090] 

Coding of Design Marks in 

Registrations 

AGENCY: United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (‘‘USPTO’’) is 

discontinuing the practice of coding 

newly registered trademarks that 

include a design element with design 

mark codes based on the old paper 

search designations. The USPTO will 

continue to code all pending 

applications that contain a design 

element using a numerical design code 

system modeled after the International 

Classification of the Figurative Elements 

of Marks (‘‘USPTO Design 

Classification’’). 

DATES: Effective immediately. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cynthia C. Lynch, Office of the Deputy 

Commissioner for Trademark 

Examination Policy, by telephone at 

(571) 272–8742. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 41(i)(1)–(2), the 

USPTO maintains a publicly available 

searchable collection of all United 

States trademark registrations in 

electronic form. 

On December 28, 2010, the USPTO 

published a notice and request for 

comments at 75 FR 81587, proposing to 

discontinue a secondary system of 

coding designs contained in registered 

marks. The USPTO received only one 

comment, from an organization 

supporting the proposed 

discontinuation and encouraging the 

USPTO to use the cost savings to 

develop and support electronic 

initiatives. This comment is posted on 

the Office’s Web site at http:// 

www.uspto.gov/trademarks/law/ 

FR_Notices_2010.jsp and is addressed 

below. 

The proposed discontinuation of the 

secondary system, the Trademark 

Search Facility Classification Code 

Index (‘‘TC Index’’), stems from its 

inferiority to the primary system of 

design coding, which is much more 

specific, precise and robust; the 

infrequent use of the TC Index codes in 

searches by the public; and its costliness 

to maintain, especially in proportion to 

the low usage of the system. The 

assignment of TC Index codes to active 

U.S. trademark registrations in the 

searchable electronic database costs 

approximately $531,000 per fiscal year 

for staffing, systems maintenance, and 

support costs. 

Changes: USPTO Discontinuing TC 

Index Coding 

In view of the lack of any public 

comments opposing the discontinuation 

and the public comment supporting it, 

the USPTO is discontinuing the practice 

of design coding newly registered 

trademarks with TC Index codes. 

Terminating the dual design-coding 

system will result in cost savings and 

will free the USPTO staff to perform 

more valuable services for the public. 

All existing registrations coded with 

paper search designations will remain 

available in the Trademark Electronic 

Search System (‘‘TESS’’) and on 

microfilm. The USPTO has updated 

TESS Help to reflect that searching by 

the TC Index code will only retrieve 

registrations coded from August 28, 

2007, through January 31, 2011. The 

USPTO strongly advises all users to rely 

solely on the primary system, Design 

Search Code (‘‘DC’’) field, in TESS when 

performing searches for pending 

applications and active registrations for 

marks that include a design element. 

The USPTO will continue to code all 

pending applications that contain a 

design element with the USPTO Design 

Classification shown in the DC field. 

Examining attorneys will continue to 

rely solely on the USPTO Design 

Classification for examining and 

approving applications for marks with 

design codes for Federal registration. 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES