Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 54 / Friday, March 20, 2015 / Notices 14909 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

United States Patent and Trademark 

Office 

Proposed Collection; Comment 

Request; ‘‘Fee Deficiency 

Submissions’’ 

AGENCY: United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

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 comment on proposed and/ 

or continuing information collections, 

as required by the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before May 19, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be 

submitted by any of the following 

methods: 

• Email: InformationCollection@

uspto.gov. Include ‘‘0651–0070 Fee 

Deficiency Submissions’’ in the subject 

line of the message. 

• Mail: Marcie Lovett, Records 

Management Division Director, Office of 

the Chief Information Officer, United 

States Patent and Trademark Office, 

P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313– 

1450. 

• Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information 

should be directed to Raul Tamayo, 

Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Patent 

Legal Administration, United States 

Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), 

P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313– 

1450; by telephone at 571–272–7728; or 

by email at Raul.Tamayo@uspto.gov 

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 Leahy-Smith America Invents Act 

(‘‘Act’’) was enacted into law on 

September 16, 2011. Public Law 112–29, 

125 Stat. 283 (2011). Under section 

10(b) of the Act, eligible small entities 

shall receive a 50 percent fee reduction 

from the undiscounted fees for filing, 

searching, examining, issuing, 

appealing, and maintaining patent 

applications and patents. The Act 

further provides that micro entities shall 

receive a 75 percent fee reduction from 

the undiscounted fees for filing, 

searching, examining, issuing, 

appealing, and maintaining patent 

applications and patents. 

This information collection covers the 

submissions made by patent applicants 

and patentees to excuse small and micro 

entity fee payment errors. Specifically, 

37 CFR 1.28(c) provides a procedure by 

which patent applicants and patentees 

may be excused for erroneous payments 

of fees in the small entity amount. 37 

CFR 1.29(k) provides a procedure by 

which patent applicants and patentees 

may be excused for erroneous payments 

of fees in the micro entity amount. 

This information collection is 

necessary so that patent applicants and 

patentees may pay the balance of fees 

due (i.e., make a fee deficiency 

payment) when a fee was previously 

paid in error in a micro or small entity 

amount. The USPTO needs the 

information to be able to process and 

properly record a fee deficiency 

payment to avoid questions arising later 

either for the USPTO or for the 

applicant or patentee as to whether the 

proper fees have been paid in the 

application or patent. 

II. Method of Collection 

The items in this collection may be 

submitted online using EFS-Web, the 

USPTO’s Web-based electronic filing 

system, or on paper by either mail or 

hand delivery. 

III. Data 

OMB Number: 0651–0070. 

IC Instruments: The individual 

instruments in this collection, as well as 

their associated forms, are listed in the 

table below. 

IC No. Information collection instrument Form(s) 

1 ........................ Submissions Under 37 CFR 1.28 (c) ................................................................................................................ • No form. 

2 ........................ Submissions Under 37 CFR 1.29 (k) ................................................................................................................ • No form. 

Type of Review: Regular. 

Affected Public: Businesses or other 

for-profits; not-for-profit institutions; 

individuals or households. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

3,000 responses per year. Of this total, 

the USPTO expects that 2,910 responses 

will be submitted electronically through 

EFS-Web and 90 will be submitted on 

paper. 

Estimated Time per Response: The 

USPTO estimates that it will take the 

public approximately 2 hours to submit 

the information in this collection, 

including the time to gather the 

necessary information, prepare the 

appropriate form or petition, and submit 

the completed request to the USPTO. 

The time per response, estimated 

annual responses, and estimated annual 

hour burden associated with each 

instrument in this information 

collection is shown in the table below. 

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 

6,000 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost Burden 

(Hourly): $2,334,000. The USPTO 

expects that attorneys will complete the 

instruments associated with this 

information collection. The professional 

hourly rate for an attorney is $389. 

Using this hourly rate, the USPTO 

estimates $2,334,000 per year for the 

total hourly costs associated with 

respondents. 

IC No. Information collection 

instrument 

Estimated time 

for response 

(hours) 

Estimated 

annual 

responses 

Estimated annual 

burden hours 

Rate 

($/hr) 

Total cost 

($) 

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

1 ........................ Submissions Under 37 CFR 

1.28(c).

2 2,250 4,500 $389.00 $1,750,500.00 

2 ........................ Submissions Under 37 CFR 

1.29(k).

2 750 1,500 389.00 583,500.00 

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14910 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 54 / Friday, March 20, 2015 / Notices 

IC No. Information collection 

instrument 

Estimated time 

for response 

(hours) 

Estimated 

annual 

responses 

Estimated annual 

burden hours 

Rate 

($/hr) 

Total cost 

($) 

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

Total ........... ................................................... ........................ 3,000 6,000 ........................ 2,334,000.00 

Estimated Total Annual Cost Burden 

(Non-Hourly): $504.00. There are no 

capital startup, maintenance, or 

operating fees are associated with this 

collection. There are, however, postage 

costs associated with this collection. 

Specifically, customers may incur 

postage costs when submitting the 

information in this collection to the 

USPTO by mail through the United 

States Postal Service. The USPTO 

estimates that the average first class 

postage cost for a mailed one-pound 

submission will be $5.60 and 

approximately 90 submissions will be 

submitted to the USPTO requiring 

postage. 

No. Information collection instrument Responses 

(yr) Postage costs 

Total non-hour 

cost burden 

(yr) 

(a) (b) (a) × (b) = (c) 

1 ........................ Submissions Under 37 CFR 1.28(c) .......................................... 45 $5.60 $252.00 

2 ........................ Submissions Under 37 CFR 1.29(k) .......................................... 45 5.60 252.00 

Total ........... ..................................................................................................... 90 .............................. 504.00 

Therefore, the USPTO estimates that 

the total annual (non-hour) cost burden 

for this collection, in the form of postage 

costs is $504.00 per year. 

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, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; (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, including through the 

use of automated collection techniques 

or other forms of information 

technology, e.g., permitting electronic 

submission of responses. 

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 13, 2015. 

Marcie Lovett, 

Records Management Division Director, 

USPTO, Office of the Chief Information 

Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2015–06442 Filed 3–19–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

United States Patent and Trademark 

Office 

Post Patent Provisions of the LeahySmith America Invents Act 

AGENCY: United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

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 comment on proposed and/ 

or continuing information collections, 

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 19, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be 

submitted by any of the following 

methods: 

• Email: InformationCollection@

uspto.gov. Include ‘‘0651–0067 Post 

Patent Provisions of the Leahy-Smith 

America Invents Act’’ in the subject line 

of the message. 

• Mail: Marcie Lovett, Records 

Management Division Director, Office of 

the Chief Information Officer, United 

States Patent and Trademark Office, 

P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313– 

1450. 

• Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information 

should be directed to Raul Tamayo, 

Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Patent 

Legal Administration, United States 

Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), 

P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313– 

1450; by telephone at 571–272–7728; or 

by email at Raul.Tamayo@uspto.gov 

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 et seq. to examine an 

application for patent and, when 

appropriate, issue a patent. The 

provisions of 35 U.S.C. 301 and 37 CFR 

1.501 govern the ability of a person to 

submit into the file of an issued patent 

(i) prior art consisting of patents or 

printed publications which that person 

believes to have a bearing on the 

patentability of any claim of a patent 

and (ii) written statements of a patent 

owner filed in a proceeding before a 

Federal court or the USPTO in which 

the patent owner took a position on the 

scope of any claim of the patent. 

The information 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 therefore accounts 

for both electronic and paper 

submissions in this collection. 

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