[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 56 (Thursday, March 22, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16813-16817]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6888]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

United States Patent and Trademark Office


Patent Processing (Updating)

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.

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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 continuing information 
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 21, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c980a7afa6bba4a8bda0a6a78aa6a5a5acaabda0a6a789bcbab9bda6e7aea6bf"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e2ab8c848d908f83968b8d8ca18d8e8e8781968b8d8ca2979192968dcc858d94">[email protected]</span></a>. Include ``0651-
0031 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
    <bullet> Mail: Susan K. Fawcett, Records Officer, Office of the 
Chief Information Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, 
P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
    <bullet> Federal 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, United States Patent and 
Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450, by 
telephone at (571) 272-7728, or by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c496a5b1a8ea90a5a9a5bdab84b1b7b4b0abeaa3abb2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bae8dbcfd694eedbd7dbc3d5facfc9caced594ddd5cc">[email protected]</span></a> with 
``Paperwork'' in the subject line. Additional information about this 
collection is also available at http://www.reginfo.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 to examine an application for patent and, when 
appropriate, issue a patent. Also, the USPTO is required to publish 
patent applications, with certain exceptions, promptly after the 
expiration of a period of eighteen months from the earliest filing date 
for which a benefit is sought under Title 35, United States Code 
(``eighteen-month publication''). Certain situations may arise which 
require that additional information be supplied in order for the USPTO 
to further process the patent or application. The USPTO administers the 
statutes through various sections of the rules of practice in 37 CFR 
Part 1.
    The information in this collection can be used by the USPTO to 
continue the processing of the patent or application to ensure that 
applicants are complying with the patent regulations and to aid in the 
prosecution of the application.
    Modifications to this collection since the previous renewal 
include: three requests for non-substantive change; separately 
accounting for two requirements; the deletion of an item from the 
collection, and adding electronic equivalents for the majority of the 
paper forms. The USPTO is also planning to move items out of 0651-0031 
into two new collections.
    The three requests for non-substantive change include one in August 
of 2010 making two changes to an existing form (PTOL-413A); and a 
second in November of 2010 adding a form for an item that was currently 
approved (Petition to Withdraw an Application

[[Page 16814]]

from Issue). The third request for non-substantive change involved six 
items being deleted from this collection in December of 2011 that had 
been moved into a new ICR, 0651-0059 Certain Patent Petitions Requiring 
a Fee. These items include Petitions for Extension of Time under 37 CFR 
1.136(b)(PTO/SB/23); Petition for Express Abandonment to Avoid 
Publication under 1.138(c)(PTO/SB/24a); Petition for Request for 
Documents in a Form Other Than That Provided by 1.19; Petitions under 
37 CFR 1.17(g); Petitions under 37 CFR 1.17(h); and Petition to Make 
Special under Accelerated Examination Program (PTO/SB28).
    The two items being separately accounted for in this collection are 
(i) Rule 1.130, 1.131, and 1.132 Affidavits or Declarations and (ii) 
Amendments and Responses.
    One item is being deleted from the collection, Request for 
Processing of Replacement Drawings in Any Patent Application 
Publication. The USPTO phased out these requests over the last several 
years due to IT upgrades.
    Currently, notices of appeal, requests for oral hearing, and pre-
appeal brief requests for review are covered under this collection. The 
USPTO has determined that it would be beneficial to assign these items 
to their own collection. The USPTO is planning to submit a request to 
the OMB for a new collection, Matters Related to Patent Appeals, and is 
planning to ultimately transfer these three notices and requests out of 
the 0651-0031 inventory and into this new collection upon approval by 
OMB.
    The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act was enacted into law on 
September 16, 2011 (See Pub. L. 112-29, 125 Stat. 284 (2011)). The 
USPTO published a notice of proposed rulemaking titled ``Changes to 
Implement Miscellaneous Post Patent Provisions of the Leahy-Smith 
America Invents Act'' (RIN 0651-AC66) in the Federal Register. In the 
notice, the USPTO proposed to rewrite 37 CFR 1.501 to reflect the 
amendment to 35 U.S.C. 301 by section 6(g)(1) of the Leahy-Smith 
America Invents Act. Proposed 37 CFR 1.501 provides that a submission 
can include prior art and claim scope statements of the patent owner. 
In light of the proposed rulemaking, the USPTO submitted a request for 
a new information collection, Post Patent Public Submissions, and 
requested that the existing item ``Information Disclosure Citation in a 
Patent'' (PTO/SB/42) be transferred out of the 0651-0031 Patent 
Processing (Updating) approved inventory and into this new collection 
when this new collection is approved by OMB.

II. Method of Collection

    In general, the items in this collection can be submitted to the 
USPTO on paper by mail, facsimile, or hand delivery, or electronically 
through EFS-Web, the USPTO's Web-based electronic filing system.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0031.
    Form Number(s): PTO/SB/08/08a/08b, PTO/SB/17i, PTO/SB/21-22, PTO/
SB/24-27, PTO/SB/24B, PTO/SB/30-33, PTO/SB/35-39, PTO/SB/42-43, PTO/SB/
61-64, PTO/SB/64a, PTO/SB/67-68, PTO/SB/91-92, PTO/SB/96-97, PTO-2053-
A/B, PTO-2054-A/B, PTO-2055-A/B, PTOL/413A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; business or other for-
profit; not-for-profit institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 4,777,532 responses per year.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the public an average of 1 minute, 48 seconds (0.03 hours) to 10 hours 
to complete the collections of information described in this 
submission, depending on the nature of the information. This includes 
time to gather the necessary information, create the documents, and 
mail the completed request, depending upon the complexity of the 
situation. The time estimates shown for the electronic forms are based 
on the average amount of time needed to complete and electronically 
file the associated forms.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 11,972,777 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $3,573,910,186. The 
USPTO expects that attorneys and paraprofessionals will complete and 
submit this information. The estimated hourly rate for attorneys is 
$340 and the paraprofessional rate is $122.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Estimated       Estimated
                    Item                         Estimated time for response          annual       annual burden
                                                                                     responses         hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EFS-Web IDS (Information Disclosure          2 hours............................         500,000       1,000,000
 Statements) that do not require the fee
 set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(p).
Information Disclosure Statements that do    2 hours............................          40,000          80,000
 not require the fee set forth in 37 CFR
 1.17(p).
EFS-Web IDS (Information Disclosure          2 hours............................         100,000         200,000
 Statements) that require the fee set forth
 in 37 CFR 1.17(p).
Information Disclosure Statements that       2 hours............................          10,000          20,000
 require the fee set forth in 37 CFR
 1.17(p).
Electronic Transmittal Form................  2 hours............................       1,020,000       2,040,000
Transmittal Form...........................  2 hours............................          80,000         160,000
Electronic Petition for Extension of Time    6 minutes..........................         295,000          29,500
 under 37 CFR 1.136(a).
Petition for Extension of Time under 37 CFR  6 minutes..........................          20,100           2,010
 1.136(a).
Electronic Express Abandonment under 37 CFR  12 minutes.........................           6,500           1,300
 1.138.
Express Abandonment under 37 CFR 1.138.....  12 minutes.........................             500             100
Electronic Disclaimers.....................  12 minutes.........................          40,000           8,000
Disclaimers................................  12 minutes.........................           5,000           1,000
Electronic Request for Expedited             6 minutes..........................             370              37
 Examination of a Design Application.
Request for Expedited Examination of a       6 minutes..........................              30               3
 Design Application.
Electronic Notice of Appeal................  12 minutes.........................          34,900           6,980
Notice of Appeal...........................  12 minutes.........................           2,600             520
Electronic Information Disclosure Citation   10 hours...........................             930           9,300
 in a Patent.
Information Disclosure Citation in a Patent  10 hours...........................              70             700
Electronic Petition for Revival of an        8 hours............................             330           2,640
 Application for Patent Abandoned
 Unavoidably.
Petition for Revival of an Application for   8 hours............................              30             240
 Patent Abandoned Unavoidably.
Electronic Petition for Revival of an        1 hour.............................           7,400           7,400
 Application for Patent Abandoned
 Unintentionally.
Petition for Revival of an Application for   1 hour.............................             600             600
 Patent Abandoned Unintentionally.
Electronic Petition for Revival of an        1 hour.............................             230             230
 Application for Patent Abandoned for
 Failure to Notify the Office of a Foreign
 or International Filing.

[[Page 16815]]

 
Petition for Revival of an Application for   1 hour.............................              20              20
 Patent Abandoned for Failure to Notify the
 Office of a Foreign or International
 Filing.
Electronic Requests to Access, Inspect and   12 minutes.........................         121,000          24,200
 Copy.
Requests to Access, Inspect and Copy.......  12 minutes.........................           9,000           1,800
Electronic Deposit Account Order Form......  12 minutes.........................              90              18
Deposit Account Order Form.................  12 minutes.........................              10               2
Electronic Certificates of Mailing,          1 minute,..........................         930,000          27,900
 Transmission.                               48 seconds.........................
Certificates of Mailing, Transmission......  1 minute,..........................          70,000           2,100
                                             48 seconds.........................
Electronic Statement Under 37 CFR 3.73(b)..  12 minutes.........................         140,000          28,000
Statement Under 37 CFR 3.73(b).............  12 minutes.........................          10,000           2,000
Electronic Non-publication Request.........  6 minutes..........................          21,500           2,150
Non-publication Request....................  6 minutes..........................           1,500             150
Electronic Rescission of Previous Non-       6 minutes..........................           1,000             100
 publication Request (35 U.S.C.
 122(b)(2)(B)(ii)) and, if applicable,
 Notice of Foreign Filing (35 U.S.C.
 122(b)(2)(B)(iii)).
Rescission of Previous Non-publication       6 minutes..........................             100              10
 Request (35 U.S.C. 122(b)(2)(B)(ii)) and,
 if applicable, Notice of Foreign Filing
 (35 U.S.C. Sec.   122(b)(2)(B)(iii)).
Electronic Filing System (EFS) Copy of       2 hours,...........................               1               3
 Application for Publication.                30 minutes.........................
Copy of File Content Showing Redactions....  4 hours............................               1               4
Copy of the Applicant or Patentee's Record   2 hours............................              20              40
 of the Application (including copies of
 the correspondence, list of the
 correspondence, and statements verifying
 whether the record is complete or not).
EFS-Web Request for Continued Examination    12 minutes.........................         150,000          30,000
 (RCE) Transmittal.
Request for Continued Examination (RCE)      12 minutes.........................          10,000           2,000
 Transmittal.
Electronic Request for Oral Hearing Before   12 minutes.........................           1,100             220
 the Board of Patent Appeals and
 Interferences.
Request for Oral Hearing Before the Board    12 minutes.........................             100              20
 of Patent Appeals and Interferences.
Electronic Request for Suspension of Action  12 minutes.........................             560             112
 or Deferral of Examination Under 37 CFR
 1.103(b), (c), or (d).
Request for Suspension of Action or          12 minutes.........................              40               8
 Deferral of Examination Under 37 CFR
 1.103(b), (c), or (d).
EFS-Web Request for Voluntary Publication    12 minutes.........................             650             130
 or Republication.
Request for Voluntary Publication or         12 minutes.........................              50              10
 Republication.
Electronic Applicant Initiated Interview     24 minutes.........................           1,900             760
 Request Form.
Applicant Initiated Interview Request Form.  24 minutes.........................             100              40
Electronic Processing Fee Under 37 CFR       5 minutes..........................           3,300             264
 1.17(i) Transmittal.
Processing Fee Under 37 CFR 1.17(i)          5 minutes..........................             200              16
 Transmittal.
Electronic Request to Retrieve Electronic    8 minutes..........................          60,000           7,800
 Priority Application(s) Under 37 CFR
 1.55(d).
Request to Retrieve Electronic Priority      8 minutes..........................           5,000             650
 Application(s) Under 37 CFR 1.55(d).
Electronic Authorization to Permit Access    6 minutes..........................          19,000           1,900
 to Application by Participating Offices
 Under 37 CFR 1.14(h).
Authorization to Permit Access to            6 minutes..........................           1,000             100
 Application by Participating Offices Under
 37 CFR 1.14(h).
Electronic Petition for Express Abandonment  12 minutes.........................           2,000             400
 to Obtain a Refund.
Petition for Express Abandonment to Obtain   12 minutes.........................             100              20
 a Refund.
Electronic Pre-Appeal Brief Request for      5 hours............................          14,700          73,500
 Review.
Pre-Appeal Brief Request for Review........  5 hours............................           1,100           5,500
EFS-Web Request for Corrected Filing         5 minutes..........................          22,000           1,760
 Receipt.
Request for Corrected Filing Receipt.......  5 minutes..........................           2,000             160
Electronic Request for First Action          2 hours,...........................           1,500           3,750
 Interview (Pilot Program).                  30 minutes.........................
Petition to Make Special Based on Age for    2 hours............................           2,300           4,600
 Advancement of Examination under 37 CFR
 1.105(c)(1) (EFS-Web only).
Rule 1.130, 1.131, and 1.132 Affidavits or   10 hours...........................          50,000         500,000
 Declarations.
Electronic Amendments and Responses........  8 hours............................         893,000       7,144,000
Amendments and Responses...................  8 hours............................          67,000         536,000
��������������������������������������������
    Totals.................................  ...................................       4,777,532      11,972,777
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Total Annual (Non-Hour) Respondent Cost Burden: 
$357,380,557. This collection has postage costs and filing fees.
    The public may submit the paper forms and petitions in this 
collection to the USPTO by mail through the United States Postal 
Service. If the submission is sent by first-class mail, the public may 
also include a signed certification of the date of mailing in order to 
receive credit for timely filing. Therefore, the USPTO estimates that 
up to 386,271 submissions per year may be mailed. The USPTO estimates 
that the average submission will be mailed in a standard manila 
envelope with a weight of 3 ounces at a cost of $1.28, resulting in a 
total postage cost of $494,427 per year for this collection.
    There is annual (non-hour) cost burden in the way of filing fees 
associated with this collection of $356,886,130, as shown in the 
accompanying table.

[[Page 16816]]



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                Total non-hour
                              Item                                  Responses   Filing fee $   cost burden  (a x
                                                                      (yr)                            b)
                                                                           (a)           (b)                 (c)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
EFS-Web Information Disclosure Statements (IDS) that require the       100,000       $180.00      $18,000,000.00
 fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(p)................................
Information Disclosure Statements (IDS) that require the fee set        10,000        180.00        1,800,000.00
 forth in 37 CFR 1.17(p)........................................
Transmittal Forms...............................................     1,100,000          None                0.00
One-month extension of time under 37 CFR 1.136(a)...............       110,000        150.00       16,500,000.00
One-month extension of time under 37 CFR 1.136(a) (small entity)        40,000         75.00        3,000,000.00
Two-month extension of time under 37 CFR 1.136(a)...............        50,000        560.00       28,000,000.00
Two-month extension of time under 37 CFR 1.136(a) (small entity)        21,000        280.00        5,880,000.00
Three-month extension of time under 37 CFR 1.136(a).............        50,000      1,270.00       63,500,000.00
Three-month extension of time under 37 CFR 1.136(a) (small              31,000        635.00       19,685,000.00
 entity)........................................................
Four-month extension of time under 37 CFR 1.136(a)..............         3,300      1,980.00        6,534,000.00
Four-month extension of time under 37 CFR 1.136(a) (small                2,500        990.00        2,475,000.00
 entity)........................................................
Five-month extension of time under 37 CFR 1.136(a)..............         3,800      2,690.00       10,222,000.00
Five-month extension of time under 37 CFR 1.136(a) (small                3,500      1,345.00        4,707,500.00
 entity)........................................................
Express abandonment under 37 CFR 1.138..........................         7,000          None                0.00
Statutory Disclaimer............................................        35,500        160.00        5,680,000.00
Statutory Disclaimer (small entity).............................         9,500         80.00          760,000.00
Request for expedited examination of a design application.......           400        900.00          360,000.00
Electronic Notice of Appeal.....................................        27,900        620.00       17,298,000.00
Electronic Notice of Appeal (small entity)......................         7,000        310.00        2,170,000.00
Notice of Appeal................................................         2,100        620.00        1,302,000.00
Notice of Appeal (small entity).................................           500        310.00          155,000.00
Information Disclosure Citations................................         1,000          None                0.00
Petition to Revive Unavoidably Abandoned Application............           120        620.00           74,400.00
Petition to Revive Unavoidably Abandoned Application (small                240        310.00           74,400.00
 entity)........................................................
Petition to Revive Unintentionally Abandoned Application........         3,800      1,860.00        7,068,000.00
Petition to Revive Unintentionally Abandoned Application (small          4,200        930.00        3,906,000.00
 entity)........................................................
Petition for revival of an application for patent abandoned for            200      1,860.00          372,000.00
 failure to notify the office of a foreign or international
 filing.........................................................
Petition for revival of an application for patent abandoned for             50        930.00           46,500.00
 failure to notify the office of a foreign or international
 filing (small entity)..........................................
Requests to Access, Inspect and Copy............................       130,000          None                0.00
Deposit Account Order Form......................................           100          None                0.00
Certificates of Mailing/Transmission............................     1,000,000          None                0.00
Statement under 37 CFR 3.73(b)..................................       150,000          None                0.00
Non-publication Request.........................................        23,000          None                0.00
Rescission of Previous Non-publication Request (35 U.S.C.                1,100          None                0.00
 122(b)(2)(B)(ii)) and, if applicable, Notice of Foreign Filing
 (35 U.S.C. 122(b)(2)(B)(iii))..................................
EFS Copy of Application for Publication.........................             1          None                0.00
Copy of File Content Showing Redactions.........................             1        130.00              130.00
Copy of the Applicant or Patentee's Record of the Application               20          None                0.00
 (including copies of the correspondence, list of the
 correspondence, and statements verifying whether the record is
 complete or not)...............................................
Request for Continued Examination (RCE) Transmittal.............       131,000        930.00      121,830,000.00
Request for Continued Examination (RCE) Transmittal (small              29,000        465.00       13,485,000.00
 entity)........................................................
Electronic Request for Oral Hearing.............................           900      1,240.00        1,116,000.00
Electronic Request for Oral Hearing (small entity)..............           200        620.00          124,000.00
Request for Oral Hearing........................................            60      1,240.00           74,400.00
Request for Oral Hearing (small entity).........................            40        620.00           24,800.00
Processing fee for requests for suspension of action or                    600        130.00           78,000.00
 deferrals of examination under 37 CFR 1.103(b),(c),or(d).......
Request for voluntary publication or republication under 37 CFR            300        430.00          129,000.00
 1.221(a).......................................................
Applicant initiated interview request form......................         2,000          None                0.00
Processing fee under 37 CFR 1.17(i) transmittal.................         3,500        130.00          455,000.00
Request to retrieve electronic priority application(s) under 37         65,000          None                0.00
 CFR 1.55(d)....................................................
Authorization to permit access to application by participating          20,000          None                0.00
 offices under 37 CFR 1.17(h)...................................
Petition for express abandonment to obtain a refund.............         2,100          None                0.00
Electronic Pre-Appeal Brief Request for Review..................        11,700          None                0.00
Electronic Pre-Appeal Brief Request for Review (small entity)...         3,000          None                0.00
Pre-Appeal Brief Request for Review.............................           900          None                0.00
Pre-Appeal Brief Request for Review (small entity)..............           200          None                0.00
Request for Corrected filing receipt (electronic)...............        22,000          None                0.00
Request for Corrected filing receipt............................         2,000          None                0.00
Electronic Request for First Action Interview (Pilot Program)...         1,500          None                0.00
Petition to Make Special Based on Age for Advancement of                 2,300          None                0.00
 Examination Under 37 CFR 1.105(c)(1) (EFS-Web only)............
Rule 1.130, 1.131, and 1.132 Affidavits or Declarations.........        50,000          None                0.00
Electronic Amendments and Responses.............................       893,000          None                0.00
Amendments and Responses........................................        67,000          None                0.00
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------

[[Page 16817]]

 
    TOTAL.......................................................     4,237,132  ............      356,886,130.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The USPTO estimates that the total (non-hour) respondent cost 
burden for this collection in the form of postage costs and filing fees 
will be $357,380,557.

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: March 19, 2012.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-6888 Filed 3-21-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P


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