Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 129 / Thursday, July 5, 2018 / Notices 31379 

support workers as found in the May 

2017 National Occupational 

Employment and Wage Estimates of the 

U.S Bureau pf Labor Statistics 

(occupation code 43–1011). Using this 

blended hourly rate, the USPTO 

estimates that the total respondent cost 

burden for this collection is 

$2,716,133.33 per year. 

IC No. 

Information 

collection 

item 

Estimated 

time for 

response 

(minutes) 

Estimated 

annual 

responses 

Estimated 

annual 

burden hours 

Rate 

(S/hr) 

(a) (b) (a) × (b) = (c) 

1 ......................................................................................... Surveys ........ 8 100,000 13,333.33 $203.71 

Total (Three-Year Period) .......................................... ...................... ................ 100,000 

(300,000) 

13,333.33 

(40,000) 

$2,716,133.33 

($8,148,400.00) 

Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) 

Respondent Cost Burden: $0. There are 

no capital start-up, maintenance, 

postage, or recordkeeping costs 

associated with this information 

collection. 

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 also will become a matter of public 

record. 

Marcie Lovett, 

Director, Records and Information 

Governance Division, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer, United States Patent and 

Trademark Office. 

[FR Doc. 2018–14383 Filed 7–3–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Patent and Trademark Office 

Patent Reexaminations and 

Supplemental Examinations 

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment 

request. 

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO), as required 

by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

invites comments on a proposed 

extension of an existing information 

collection: 0651–0064 (Patent 

Reexaminations and Supplemental 

Examinations). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before September 4, 

2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• Email: InformationCollection@

uspto.gov. Include ‘‘0651–0064 

comment’’ in the subject line of the 

message. 

• Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://

www.regulations.gov. 

• Mail: Marcie Lovett, Director, 

Records and Information Governance 

Division, Office of the Chief Technology 

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 Raul Tamayo, 

Senior Legal Advisor, Office of the 

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 Raul.Tamayo@uspto.gov 

with ‘‘0651–0064 comment’’ in the 

subject line. Additional information 

about this collection is also available at 

http://www.reginfor.gov under 

‘‘Information Collection Review.’’ 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO) is required 

by 35 U.S.C. 131 and 151 to examine 

applications and, when appropriate, 

allow applications and issue them as 

patents. Chapter 30 of Title 35 U.S.C. 

provides that any person at any time 

may file a request for reexamination by 

the USPTO of any claim of a patent on 

the basis of prior art patents or printed 

publications. Once initiated, the 

reexamination proceedings under 

Chapter 30 are substantially ex parte 

and do not permit input from third 

parties. The rules outlining ex parte 

reexaminations are found at 37 CFR 

1.510–1.570. 

35 U.S.C. 257 permits a patent owner 

to request supplemental examination of 

a patent by the USPTO to consider, 

reconsider, or correct information 

believed to be relevant to the patent. 

The rules outlining supplemental 

examination are found at 37 CFR 1.601– 

1.625. 

The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act 

terminated inter partes reexamination 

effective September 16, 2012. However, 

inter partes reexamination proceedings 

based on inter partes reexamination 

requests filed before September 16, 

2012, continue to be prosecuted. 

Therefore, this collection continues to 

include items related to the prosecution 

of inter partes reexamination 

proceedings. The rules outlining inter 

partes reexamination are found at 37 

CFR 1.903–1.931. 

Thus, the items included in this 

collection cover: (1) Requests for ex 

parte reexamination, (2) requests for 

supplemental examination, and (3) 

information that may be submitted by 

patent owners and third-party 

requesters in relation to the prosecution 

of an ex parte or inter partes 

reexamination proceeding. The 

transmittal forms are used by a requester 

(patent owner or third party) as a 

checklist to ensure compliance with the 

requirements of the statutes and rules 

for ex parte reexaminations and 

supplemental examinations. The public 

uses this information collection to 

request ex parte reexamination and 

supplemental examination, to prosecute 

reexamination proceedings, and to 

ensure that the associated 

documentation is submitted to the 

USPTO. 

II. Method of Collection 

By mail, facsimile, hand delivery, or 

electronically to the USPTO. 


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31380 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 129 / Thursday, July 5, 2018 / Notices 

III. Data 

OMB Number: 0651–0064. 

IC Instruments and Forms: PTO/SB/ 

57 and PTO/SB/59. 

Type of Review: Renewal of an 

existing collection. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households; businesses or other forprofits; and not-for-profit institutions. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

1,540 responses per year. 

Estimated Time per Response: The 

USPTO estimates that it will take the 

public approximately between 18 

minutes (0.30 hours) to 55 hours to 

gather the necessary information, 

prepare the appropriate form or other 

document, and submit the information 

to the USPTO. 

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 

32,962.50 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Respondent 

(Hourly) Cost Burden: $14,437,575.00 

per year. The USPTO expects that the 

information in this collection will be 

prepared by intellectual property 

attorneys. The professional hourly rate 

for intellectual property attorneys in 

private firms is $438, as estimated in the 

2017 Report on the Economic Survey, 

published by the Committee on 

Economics of Legal Practice of the 

American Intellectual Property Law 

Association. Using this hourly rate, the 

USPTO estimates that the total 

respondent cost burden for this 

collection is $14,437,575.00. 

IC No. Item 

Estimated time for 

response 

(hours) 

Estimated 

respondents 

Estimated 

burden 

hours 

Rate Total cost 

(a) (b) (c) 

(a) × (b) 

(d) (e) 

(c) × (d) 

1 ............... Request for Supplemental Examination Transmittal Form ..... 0.30 (18 minutes) ........... 75 22.50 $438.00 $9,855.00 

2 ............... Request for Supplemental Examination .................................. 25 .................................... 75 1,875.00 438.00 821,250.00 

3 ............... Request for Ex Parte Reexamination Transmittal Form ......... 0.30 (18 minutes) ........... 200 60.00 438.00 26,280.00 

4 ............... Request for Ex Parte Reexamination ...................................... 55 .................................... 200 11,000.00 438.00 4,818,000.00 

5 ............... Petition in a Reexamination Proceeding (except for those 

specifically enumerated in 37 CFR 1.550(i) and 1.937(d)).

23 .................................... 200 4,600.00 438.00 2,014,800.00 

6 ............... Patent Owner’s 37 CFR 1.530 Statement .............................. 8 ...................................... 85 680.00 438.00 297,840.00 

7 ............... Third Party Requester’s 37 CFR 1.535 Reply ........................ 8 ...................................... 25 200.00 438.00 84,600.00 

8 ............... Amendment in Ex Parte or Inter Partes Reexamination ......... 33 .................................... 310 10,230.00 438.00 4,480,740.00 

9 ............... Third Party Requester’s 37 CFR 1.947 Comments in Inter 

Partes Reexamination.

41 .................................... 5 205.00 438.00 89,790.00 

10 ............. Response to Final Rejection in Ex Parte Reexamination ....... 17 .................................... 200 3,400.00 438.00 1,489,200.00 

11 ............. Patent Owner’s 37 CFR 1.951 Resposne in Inter Partes Reexamination.41 .................................... 10 410,00 438.00 179,580.00 

12 ............. Third Party Requester’s 37 CFR 1.951 Comments in Inter 

Partes Reexamination.

41 .................................... 5 205.00 438.00 89,790.00 

13 ............. Petition to Request Extension of Time in Ex Parte or Inter 

Partes Reexamination.

0.50 (30 minutes) ........... 150 75.00 438.00 32,520.00 

Total .. .................................................................................................. ......................................... 1,540 32,962.50 .................... 14,437,575.00 

Estimated Total Annual Respondent 

(Non-Hourly) Cost Burden: 

$2,750,186.50 per year. There are no 

capital start-up, recordkeeping, or 

maintenance costs associated with this 

collection. However, the collection does 

have annual (non-hour) costs in the 

form of postage costs and filing fees. 

Postage Costs 

The USPTO expects that most of the 

responses in this collection will be 

submitted electronically. However, it is 

estimated that roughly 18 mailed 

submissions will be submitted for 

Petitions to Request Extension of Time. 

In addition, the documentation for 

requests for supplemental examination 

and requests for ex parte reexamination 

will typically be mailed to the USPTO 

with the appropriate transmittal form, 

resulting in 550 unique mailings. The 

USPTO estimates that the average 

postage cost for a mailed submission 

will be $0.50 for Petitions to Request 

Extension of Time and $5.75 for all 

other mailed submissions. Therefore, 

the USPTO estimates that the total 

postage costs is approximately 

$3,171.50 per year. 

Filing Fees 

There are nine filing fees associated 

with this collection, which are broken 

down by large entity, small entity, and 

micro entity. These fees are listed in the 

table below: 

IC No. Item 

Estimated 

annual 

responses 

Filing fee Total cost 

(a) (b) (c) 

(a) × (b) 

2 .............. Supplemental Examination Request (large entity) ................................................. 55 $4,400.00 $242,000.00 

2 .............. Supplemental Examination Request (small entity) ................................................. 15 2,200.00 33,000.00 

2 .............. Supplemental Examination Request (micro entity) ................................................ 5 1,100.00 5,500.00 

2 .............. Supplemental Examination Reexamination (large entity) ...................................... 35 12,100.00 423,500.00 

2 .............. Supplemental Examination Reexamination (small entity) ...................................... 10 6,050.00 60,500.00

2 .............. Supplemental Examination Reexamination (micro entity) ...................................... 1 3,025.00 3,025.00 

2 .............. Supplemental Examination document size fees, 21–50 documents (large entity) 10 180.00 1,800.00 

2 .............. Supplemental Examination document size fees, 21–50 documents (small entity) 5 90.00 450.00 

2 .............. Supplemental Examination document size fees, 21–50 documents (micro entity) 1 45.00 45.00 

2 .............. Supplemental examination document size fees, each additional 50 documents 

(large entity).

10 280.00 2,800.00 

2 .............. Supplemental examination document size fees, each additional 50 documents 

(small entity).

1 140.00 140.00 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 129 / Thursday, July 5, 2018 / Notices 31381 

IC No. Item 

Estimated 

annual 

responses 

Filing fee Total cost 

(a) (b) (c) 

(a) × (b) 

2 .............. Supplemental examination document size fees, each additional 50 documents 

(micro entity).

1 70.00 70.00 

2 .............. Reexamination independent claims in excess of three and also in excess of the 

number of such claims in the patent under reexamination (large entity).

35 460.00 16,100.00 

2 .............. Reexamination independent claims in excess of three and also in excess of the 

number of such claims in the patent under reexamination (small entity).

10 230.00 2,300.00 

2 .............. Reexamination independent claims in excess of three and also in excess of the 

number of such claims in the patent under reexamination (micro entity).

5 115.00 575.00 

2 .............. Reexamination claims in excess of 20 and also in excess of the number of 

claims in the patent under reexamination (large entity).

55 100.00 5,500.00 

2 .............. Reexamination claims in excess of 20 and also in excess of the number of 

claims in the patent under reexamination (small entity).

20 50.00 1,000.00 

2 .............. Reexamination claims in excess of 20 and also in excess of the number of 

claims in the patent under reexamination (micro entity).

5 25.00 125.00 

4 .............. Ex Parte Reexamination (§ 1.510(a)) Streamlined (large entity) ........................... 42 6,000.00 252,000.00 

4 .............. Ex Parte Reexamination (§ 1.510(a)) Streamlined (small entity) ........................... 27 3,000.00 81,000.00 

4 .............. Ex Parte Reexamination (§ 1.510(a)) Streamlined (micro entity) ........................... 1 1,500.00 1,500.00 

4 .............. Ex Parte Reexamination (§ 1.510(a)) Non-Streamlined (large entity) .................... 78 12,000.00 936.00 

4 .............. Ex Parte Reexamination (§ 1.510(a)) Non-Streamlined (small entity) ................... 51 6,000.00 306,000.00 

4 .............. Ex Parte Reexamination (§ 1.510(a)) Non-Streamlined (micro entity) ................... 1 3,000.00 3,000.00 

5 .............. Petitions in a reexamination proceeding, except for those specifically enumerated in 37 CFR 1.550(i) and 1.937(d) (large entity).180 1,940.00 349,200.00 

5 .............. Petitions in a reexamination proceeding, except for those specifically enumerated in 37 CFR 1.550(i) and 1.937(d) (small entity).20 970.00 19,400.00 

5 .............. Petitions in a reexamination proceeding, except for those specifically enumerated in 37 CFR 1.550(i) and 1.937(d) (micro entity).1 485.00 485.00 

Total ................................................................................................................................. 680 ........................ 2,747,015.00 

Therefore, the USPTO estimates that 

the total annual (non-hour) cost burden 

for this collection, in the form of postage 

costs ($3,171.5) and filing fees 

($2,747,015), is $2,750,186.50 per year. 

IV. Request for Comment 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be summarized or 

included in the request for OMB 

approval of this information collection. 

They also will become a matter of 

public record. 

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. 

Marcie Lovett, 

Director, Records and Information 

Governance Division, OCTO, United States 

Patent and Trademark Office. 

[FR Doc. 2018–14385 Filed 7–3–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Patent and Trademark Office 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request; ‘‘Trademark 

Petitions’’ 

The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO) will submit 

to the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for clearance the following 

proposal for collection of information 

under the provisions of the 1995 

Paperwork Reduction Act. 

Agency: United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, Commerce. 

Title: Trademark Petitions. 

OMB Control Number: 0651–0061. 

Form Number(s): N/A. 

Type of Request: Regular. 

Number of Respondents: 4,768 

responses per year. 

Average Hours per Response: The 

USPTO estimates that it will take 

approximately between 35 minutes 

(0.58 hours) to 75 minutes (1.25 hours) 

to complete the items in this collection. 

This includes the time to gather the 

necessary information, create the 

documents, and submit the completed 

request to the USPTO. 

Burden Hours: 4,333.63 hours per 

year. 

Cost Burden: $53,507.84 per year. 

Needs and Uses: The public uses this 

information collection for a variety of 

private business purposes related to 

establishing and enforcing trademark 

rights. The USPTO uses the information 

described in this collection to process 

letters of protest, requests to make 

special, responses to petition inquiry 

letters, petitions to make special, 

requests to restore a filing date, and 

requests for reinstatement. Information 

relating to the registration of a 

trademark is made publicly available by 

the USPTO. The release of information 

in a letter of protest is controlled and 

may be available upon request only. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households; business or other for-profit 

organizations; not-for-profit 

organizations. 

Frequency: On occasion. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to 

Obtain or Retain Benefits. 


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