Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2021 / Notices 4003 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Patent and Trademark Office 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

Review and Approval; Comment 

Request; Representative and Address 

Provisions 

AGENCY: United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection; 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO), as required 

by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995, invites comments on the 

extension and revision of an existing 

information collection: 0651–0035 

(Representative and Address 

Provisions). The purpose of this notice 

is to allow 60 days for public comment 

preceding submission of the information 

collection to OMB. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, 

comments regarding this information 

collection must be received on or before 

March 16, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments by 

any of the following methods. Do not 

submit Confidential Business 

Information or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information: 

• Email: InformationCollection@

uspto.gov. Include ‘‘0651–0035 

comment’’ in the subject line of the 

message. 

• Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://

www.regulations.gov. 

• Mail: Kimberly Hardy, Office of the 

Chief Administrative Officer, United 

States Patent and Trademark Office, 

P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313– 

1450. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information 

should be directed to Parikha Mehta, 

Legal Advisor, Office of Patent Legal 

Administration, United States Patent 

and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, 

Alexandria, VA 22313–1450; by 

telephone at 571–272–7728; or by email 

to Parikha.Mehta@uspto.gov. Additional 

information about this information 

collection is also available at http://

www.reginfo.gov under ‘‘Information 

Collection Review.’’ 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

This information collection includes 

the information necessary to submit a 

request to grant or revoke power of 

attorney for an application, patent, or 

reexamination proceeding, and for a 

registered practitioner to withdraw as 

attorney or agent of record. This also 

includes the information necessary to 

change the correspondence address for 

an application, patent, or reexamination 

proceeding, to request a Customer 

Number and manage the 

correspondence address and list of 

practitioners associated with a Customer 

Number, and to designate or change the 

correspondence address or fee address 

for one or more patents or applications 

by using a Customer Number. 

Under 35 U.S.C. 2 and 37 CFR 1.31– 

1.32, power of attorney may be granted 

to one or more joint inventors or a 

person who is registered to practice 

before the USPTO to act in an 

application or a patent. In particular, for 

an application filed before September 

16, 2012, or for a patent which issued 

from an application filed before 

September 16, 2012, power of attorney 

may be granted by the applicant for 

patent (as set forth in 37 CFR 1.41(b) 

(pre-AIA)) or the assignee of the entire 

interest of the applicant. For an 

application filed on or after September 

16, 2012, or for a patent which issued 

from an application filed on or after 

September 16, 2012, power of attorney 

may be granted by the applicant for 

patent (as set forth in 37 CFR 1.42) or 

the patent owner. The USPTO provides 

two different versions of the forms for 

establishing power of attorney based 

upon whether the application filing date 

is before or after September 16, 2012, to 

thereby reduce applicants’ burden in 

having to determine the appropriate 

power of attorney requirements for a 

given application. 

37 CFR 1.36 provides for the 

revocation of a power of attorney at any 

stage in the proceedings of a case. 37 

CFR 1.36 also provides a path by which 

a registered patent attorney or patent 

agent who has been given a power of 

attorney may withdraw as attorney or 

agent of record. 

The USPTO’s Customer Number 

practice permits applicants, patent 

owners, assignees, and practitioners of 

record, or the representatives of record 

for a number of applications or patents, 

to change the correspondence address of 

a patent application or patent with one 

change request instead of filing separate 

requests for each patent or application. 

Any changes to the address or 

practitioner information associated with 

a Customer Number will be applied to 

all patents and applications associated 

with said Customer Number. 

The Customer Number practice is 

optional, in that changes of 

correspondence address or power of 

attorney may be filed separately for each 

patent or application without using a 

Customer Number. However, a 

Customer Number associated with the 

correspondence address for a patent 

application is required in order to 

access private information about the 

application using the Patent Application 

Information Retrieval (PAIR) system, 

which is available through the USPTO 

website. The use of a Customer Number 

is also required in order to grant power 

of attorney to more than ten 

practitioners or to establish a separate 

‘‘fee address’’ for maintenance fee 

purposes that is different from the 

correspondence address for a patent or 

application. 

II. Method of Collection 

Items in this information collection 

may be submitted by mail, facsimile, 

hand delivery, or online electronic 

submissions. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0651–0035. 

Form Number(s): (AIA= American 

Invents; SB = Specimen Book). 

• PTO/AIA/80; PTO/SB/80 (Power of 

Attorney to Prosecute Applications 

Before the USPTO) 

• PTO/AIA/81 (Power of Attorney to 

one or More of the Joint Inventors and 

Change of Correspondence Address) 

• PTO/SB/81 (Power of Attorney or 

Revocation of Power of Attorney with 

a New Power of Attorney and Change 

of Correspondence Address) 

• PTO/AIA/81A; PTO/SB/81A 

(Patent—Power of Attorney or 

Revocation of Power of Attorney with 

a New Power of Attorney and Change 

of Correspondence Address) 

• PTO/AIA/81B (Reexamination or 

Supplemental Examination—Patent 

Owner Power of Attorney or 

Revocation of Power of Attorney With 

a New Power of Attorney and Change 

of Correspondence Address for 

Reexamination or Supplemental 

Examination and Patent) 

• PTO/SB/81B (Reexamination—Patent 

Owner Power of Attorney or 

Revocation of Power of Attorney with 

a New Power of Attorney and Change 

of Correspondence Address) 

• PTO/SB/81C (Reexamination—Third 

Party Requester Power of Attorney or 

Revocation of Power of Attorney with 

a New Power of Attorney and Change 

of Correspondence Address) 

• PTO/AIA/82A; PTO/AIA/82B; PTO/ 

AIA/82C (Transmittal for Power of 

Attorney To One Or More Registered 

Practitioners/Power Of Attorney By 

Applicant) 

• PTO/AIA/83; PTO/SB/83 (Request for 

Withdrawal as Attorney or Agent and 

Change of Correspondence Address) 

4004 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2021 / Notices 

• PTO/SB/124 (Request for Customer 

Number Data Change) 

• PTO/SB/125 (Request for Customer 

Number) 

• PTO–2248 (Request to Update a PCT 

Application with a Customer Number) 

Type of Review: Revision of a 

currently approved information 

collection. 

Affected Public: Private sector; 

individuals or households. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

184,745 respondents per year. 

Estimated Number of Responses: 

184,745 responses per year. 

Estimated Time per Response: The 

USPTO estimates that the response time 

for activities related to Representative 

Address Provisions will take the public 

between 0.05 hours (3 minutes) to 1.5 

hours (90 minutes) to complete. This 

includes the time to gather the 

necessary information, create the 

document, and submit the completed 

request to the USPTO. 

Estimated Total Annual Respondent 

Burden Hours: 11,355 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Respondent 

Hourly Cost Burden: $ 1,763,775. 

TABLE 1—TOTAL HOURLY BURDEN FOR PRIVATE SECTOR RESPONDENTS

Item No. Item 

Estimated annual respondents 

Estimated annual responses 

(year) 

Estimated time for 

response 

(hour)(b) 

Estimated annual burden 

(hour/year) 

Rate 1

($/hour) 

Estimated annual burden 

(a) (b) (a) × (b) = (c) (d) (c) × (d) = (e) 

1 ............. Power of Attorney to Prosecute Applications Before the USPTO—PTO/AIA/80 

PTO/SB/80.

2,425 2,425 0.05 (3 minutes) ....... 121 $145 $17,545 

2 ............. Power of Attorney or Revocation of Power 

of Attorney with a New Power of Attorney and Change of Correspondence— 

PTO/AIA/82A; PTO/AIA/82B; PTO/AIA/ 

82C.

165,870 165,870 0.05 (3 minutes) ....... 8,294 145 1,202,630 

3 ............. Patent—Power of Attorney or Revocation 

of Power of Attorney with a New Power 

of Attorney and Change of Correspondence Address—PTO/AIA/81; PTO/SB/ 

81; PTO/AIA/81A; PTO/SB/81A.

165 165 0.05 (3 minutes) ....... 8 145 1,160 

4 ............. Reexamination—Patent Owner Power of 

Attorney or Revocation of Power of Attorney with a New Power of Attorney 

and Change of Correspondence Address—PTO/AIA/81B PTO/SB/81B.

29 29 0.05 (3 minutes) ....... 1 145 145 

5 ............. Reexamination—Third Party Requester 

Power of Attorney or Revocation of 

Power of Attorney with a New Power of 

Attorney and Change of Correspondence Address—PTO/SB/81C.

24 24 0.05 (3 minutes) ....... 1 145 145 

6 ............. Request for Withdrawal as Attorney or 

Agent and Change of Correspondence 

Address—PTO/AIA/83 PTO/SB/83.

2,134 2,134 0.20 (12 minutes) ..... 427 400 170,800 

7 ............. Petition Under 37 CFR 1.36(a) to Revoke 

Power of Attorney by Fewer than All the 

Applicants.

10 10 1.00 (60 minutes) ..... 10 400 4,000 

8 ............. Petition to Waive 37 CFR 1.32(b)(4) and 

Grant Power of Attorney by Fewer than 

All the Applicants.

10 10 1.00 (60 minutes) ..... 10 400 4,000 

9 ............. Request for Customer Number Data 

Change—PTO/SB/124.

1,067 1,067 0.20 (12 minutes) ..... 213 145 30,885 

10 ........... Request for Customer Number—PTO/SB/ 

125.

6,111 6,111 0.20 (12 minutes) ..... 1,222 145 177,190 

11 ........... Customer Number Upload Spreadsheet .... 291 291 1.50 (90 minutes) ..... 437 145 63,365 

12 ........... Request to Update a PCT Application with 

a Customer Number—PTO–2248.

1,067 1,067 0.25 (15 minutes) ..... 267 145 38,715 

Totals ....................................................................... ........................ 179,203 179,203 .................... ........................ 11,011 1,710,580 

1 2019 Report of the Economic Survey, published by the Committee on Economics of Legal Practice of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA); 

https://www.aipla.org/detail/journal-issue/2019-report-of-the-economic-survey. The USPTO uses the mean rate for attorneys in private firms which is $400 per hour. 

The hourly rate for paraprofessional/paralegals is estimated at $145 from data published in the 2018 Utilization and Compensation Survey by the National Association 

of Legal Assistants (NALA); https://www.nala.org/paralegals/research-and-survey-findings. 

TABLE 2—TOTAL HOURLY BURDEN FOR INDIVIDUALS OR HOUSEHOLDS RESPONDENTS

Item No. Item 

Estimated annual respondents 

Estimated annual responses 

(year) 

Estimated time for 

response 

(hour) 

Estimated annual burden 

(hour/year) 

Rate 2

($/hour) 

Estimated annual burden 

(a) (b) (a) × (b) = (c) (d) (c) × (d) = (e) 

1 ............. Power of Attorney to Prosecute Applications Before the USPTO—PTO/AIA/80 

PTO/SB/80.

75 75 0.05 (3 minutes) ....... 4 145 580 

2 ............. Power of Attorney or Revocation of Power 

of Attorney with a New Power of Attorney and Change of Correspondence— 

PTO/AIA/82A; PTO/AIA/82B; PTO/AIA/ 

82C.

5,130 5,130 0.05 (3 minutes) ....... 257 145 37,265 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2021 / Notices 4005 

TABLE 2—TOTAL HOURLY BURDEN FOR INDIVIDUALS OR HOUSEHOLDS RESPONDENTS—Continued 

Item No. Item 

Estimated annual respondents 

Estimated annual responses 

(year) 

Estimated time for 

response 

(hour) 

Estimated annual burden 

(hour/year) 

Rate 2

($/hour) 

Estimated annual burden 

(a) (b) (a) × (b) = (c) (d) (c) × (d) = (e) 

3 ............. Patent—Power of Attorney or Revocation 

of Power of Attorney with a New Power 

of Attorney and Change of Correspondence Address—PTO/AIA/81; PTO/SB/ 

81; PTO/AIA/81A; PTO/SB/81A.

5 5 0.05 (3 minutes) ....... 1 145 145 

4 ............. Reexamination—Patent Owner Power of 

Attorney or Revocation of Power of Attorney with a New Power of Attorney 

and Change of Correspondence Address—PTO/AIA/81B PTO/SB/81B.

1 1 0.05 (3 minutes) ....... 1 145 145 

5 ............. Reexamination—Third Party Requester 

Power of Attorney or Revocation of 

Power of Attorney with a New Power of 

Attorney and Change of Correspondence Address—PTO/SB/81C.

1 1 0.05 (3 minutes) ....... 1 145 145 

6 ............. Request for Withdrawal as Attorney or 

Agent and Change of Correspondence 

Address—PTO/AIA/83 PTO/SB/83.

66 66 0.20 (12 minutes) ..... 13 400 5,200 

9 ............. Request for Customer Number Data 

Change—PTO/SB/124.

33 33 0.20 (12 minutes) ..... 7 145 1,015 

10 ........... Request for Customer Number—PTO/SB/ 

125.

189 189 0.20 (12 minutes) ..... 38 145 5,510 

11 ........... Customer Number Upload Spreadsheet .... 9 9 1.50 (90 minutes) ..... 14 145 2,030 

12 ........... Request to Update a PCT Application with 

a Customer Number—PTO–2248.

33 33 0.25 (15 minutes) ..... 8 145 1,160 

Totals...................................................................... 5,542 5,542 .................................. 344 ........................ 53,195 

2 2019 Report of the Economic Survey, published by the Committee on Economics of Legal Practice of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA); 

https://www.aipla.org/detail/journal-issue/2019-report-of-the-economic-survey. The USPTO uses the mean rate for attorneys in private firms which is $400 per hour. 

The hourly rate for paraprofessional/paralegals is estimated at $145 from data published in the 2018 Utilization and Compensation Survey by the National Association 

of Legal Assistants (NALA); https://www.nala.org/paralegals/research-and-survey-findings. 

Estimated Total Annual Non-hour 

Respondent Cost Burden: $22,868. 

There are no capital start-up, 

maintenance, or recordkeeping costs 

associated with this information 

collection. However, USPTO estimates 

that the total annual (non-hour) cost 

burden for this information collection, 

in the form of filing fees and postage is 

$22,868. 

Filing Fees 

The two petitions in this information 

collection have associated filing fees 

under 37 CFR 1.17(f), resulting in 

$8,000 in filing fees. 

Item No. Item 

Estimated annual responses 

Filing fee 

($) 

Total non-hour 

cost burden 

(a) (b) (c) = (a) × (b) 

8 ............. Petitions Under 37 CFR 1.36(a) to Revoke Power of Attorney by Fewer than All the Applicants ......... 10 $400.00 $4,000 

9 ............. Petitions to Waive 37 CFR 1.32(b)(4) and Grant Power of Attorney by Fewer than All the Applicants 10 400.00 4,000 

Total ................................................................................................................................................................... ........................ ........................ 8,000 

Postage Costs 

Although the USPTO prefers that the 

items in this information collection be 

submitted electronically, responses may 

be submitted by mail through the 

United States Postal Service (USPS). 

The USPTO estimates that 1% of the 

184,745 items will be submitted in the 

mail resulting in 1,847 mailed items. 

The USPTO estimates that the average 

postage cost for a mailed submission, 

using a Priority Mail 2-day flat rate legal 

envelope, will be $8.05. Therefore, the 

USPTO estimates the total mailing costs 

for this information collection at 

$14,868. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to 

obtain or retain benefits. 

IV. Request for Comments 

The USPTO is soliciting public 

comments to: 

(a) Evaluate whether the proposed 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the Agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; 

(b) Evaluate the accuracy of the 

Agency’s estimate of the burden of the 

proposed collection of information, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; 

(c) Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

(d) Minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on those who 

are to respond, including through the 

use of appropriate automated, 

electronic, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology, 

e.g., permitting electronic submission of 

responses. 

4006 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2021 / Notices 

All comments submitted in response 

to this notice are a matter of public 

record. USPTO will include or 

summarize each comment in the request 

to OMB to approve this information 

collection. Before including an address, 

phone number, email address, or other 

personal identifying information in a 

comment, be aware that the entire 

comment—including personal 

identifying information—may be made 

publicly available at any time. While 

you may ask in your comment to 

withhold personal identifying 

information from public view, USPTO 

cannot guarantee that it will be able to 

do so. 

Kimberly Hardy, 

Information Collections Officer, Office of the 

Chief Administrative Officer, United States 

Patent and Trademark Office. 

[FR Doc. 2021–00912 Filed 1–14–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Patent and Trademark Office 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

Review and Approval; Comment 

Request; National Medal of 

Technology and Innovation 

Nomination Application 

AGENCY: United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection; 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO), in 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, invites 

comments on the extension and revision 

of an existing information collection: 

0651–0060 (National Medal of 

Technology and Innovation Nomination 

Application). The purpose of this notice 

is to allow 60 days for public comment 

preceding submission of the information 

collection to OMB. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, 

comments regarding this information 

collection must be received on or before 

March 16, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments by 

any of the following methods. Do not 

submit Confidential Business 

Information or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information: 

Email: InformationCollection@

uspto.gov. Include ‘‘0651–0060 

comment’’ in the subject line of the 

message. 

• Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://

www.regulations.gov. 

• Mail: Kimberly Hardy, Office of the 

Chief Administrative Officer, United 

States Patent and Trademark Office, 

P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313– 

1450. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information 

should be directed to the attention of 

John Palafoutas, Program Manager, 

United States Patent and Trademark 

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

22313–1450, by telephone at 571–272– 

8400, or by email at nmti@uspto.gov. 

Additional information about this 

information collection is also available 

at http://www.reginfo.gov under 

‘‘Information Collection Review.’’ 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

The National Medal of Technology 

and Innovation is the highest honor for 

technological achievement bestowed by 

the president of the United States on 

America’s leading innovators. 

Established by an Act of Congress in 

1980, the Medal of Technology was first 

awarded in 1985. The Medal is awarded 

annually to individuals, teams (of up to 

four individuals), companies, or 

divisions of companies. The Medal 

recognizes outstanding contributions to 

the Nation’s economic, environmental, 

and social well-being through the 

development and commercialization of 

technology products, processes and 

concepts, technological innovation, and 

development of the Nation’s 

technological workforce. By 

highlighting the national importance of 

technological innovation, the Medal 

also seeks to inspire future generations 

of Americans to prepare for and pursue 

technical careers to keep America at the 

forefront of global technology and 

economic leadership. 

The National Medal of Technology 

and Innovation Nomination Evaluation 

Committee, a distinguished 

independent committee appointed by 

the Secretary of Commerce, reviews and 

evaluates the merit of all candidates 

nominated through an open, 

competitive solicitation process. The 

committee makes its recommendations 

for Medal candidates to the Secretary of 

Commerce who, in turn, makes 

recommendations to the President for 

final selection. The National Medal of 

Technology and Innovation Laureates 

are announced by the White House once 

the Medalists are notified of their 

selection. 

This information collection covers 

data gathered in the National Medal of 

Technology and Innovation Nomination 

Application, which the public uses to 

nominate an individual’s, team’s, or 

company’s extraordinary leadership and 

innovation in technological 

achievement and outstanding 

contribution to strengthening the 

nation’s technological workforce. The 

application collects general and 

biographical information about the 

nominee, general information about the 

nominator, and a discussion of the 

nominee’s contribution/achievements, 

and must be accompanied by up to six 

letters of recommendation or support 

from individuals who have first-hand 

knowledge of the cited achievement(s). 

II. Method of Collection 

The items in this information 

collection can be submitted 

electronically through the USPTO 

website via the online portal on 

www.uspto.gov/nmti. 

III. Data 

OMB Number: 0651–0060. 

Form Number: None. 

Type of Review: Revision of a 

currently approved information 

collection. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 50 

respondents per year. 

Estimated Number of Responses: 50 

responses per year. 

Estimated Time per Response: The 

USPTO estimates that it will take 

approximately 40 hours to gather the 

necessary information, prepare the 

nomination application, write the 

recommendations, and submit the 

request for the nomination to the 

USPTO. 

Estimated Total Annual Respondent 

Burden Hours: 2,000 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Respondent 

Hourly Cost Burden: $97,140.