1242 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 7 / Wednesday, January 10, 2018 / Notices 

V. Recommendation 

[FR Doc. 2018–00263 Filed 1–9–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

United States Patent and Trademark 

Office 

National Summer Teacher Institute 

ACTION: Revision of a currently 

approved collection. 

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. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before March 12, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• Email: InformationCollection@

uspto.gov. Include ‘‘0651–0077 

comment’’ in the subject line of the 

message. 

• Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://

www.regulations.gov. 

• Mail: Marcie Lovett, Records and 

Information Governance Division 

Director, 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 Joyce Ward, Under 

Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual 

Property, United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, 

Alexandria, VA 22313–1450; by 

telephone at 571–272–8424; or by email 

to Joyce.Ward@uspto.gov with ‘‘0651– 

0077 comment’’ 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 

Since 2014, the USPTO has sponsored 

a program entitled ‘‘National Summer 

Teacher Institute’’. This program 

accepts applicants for a summer 

teaching workshop. Interested 

individuals are required to submit an 

application requesting to participate in 

the program. In the application, 

applicants are required to certify that 

they are educators with at least 3 years’ 

experience; identify STEM-related fields 

they have taught in the last year; 

identify STEM related fields they plan 

to teach in the upcoming year; and 

acknowledge their commitment to 

incorporate the learnings from the 

Summer Teacher Institute into their 

curriculum, where applicable, and 

cooperate with sharing lessons and 

outcomes with teachers and PTO. 

The USPTO seeks committed 

educators in science fields who will 

learn about innovative strategies to help 

increase student learning and 

achievement in these fields together 

with elements of invention and IP. 

Outside scientists and inventors will 

among the presenters and workshop 

leads. Educators will also participate in 

field trips (i.e. to NASA) and have 

opportunities for networking with other 

educators and invited experts. The 

USPTO may various host webinars in 

conjunction with the Summer Institute. 

USPTO plans to conduct surveys of both 

the Institute and the webinars in order 

to gain useful feedback from program 

participants. 

II. Method of Collection 

Applications and corresponding 

surveys will be submitted electronically 

through the www.uspto.gov/education 

website. 

III. Data 

OMB Number: 0651–0077. 

Form Numbers: NSTI 1–3. 

Type of Review: Revision of a 

Previously Existing Information 

Collection. 

Affected Public: Businesses or other 

for-profits; not-for-profit institutions. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

900 responses per year. 

Estimated Time per Response: The 

USPTO estimates that it will take the 

public approximately 5 (0.08 hours) to 

30 minutes (0.5 hours) to submit the 

information in this collection, including 

the time to gather the necessary 

information, prepare the appropriate 

form or document, and submit the 

completed request to the USPTO. 

Estimated Total Annual Respondent 

Burden Hours: 291.67 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Respondent 

(Hourly) Cost Burden: $8,613.02. The 

USPTO expects that secondary school 

teachers will complete the applications 

and surveys. The professional hourly 

rate for secondary school teachers is 

$29.53, based upon the May 2016 

Occupational Labor Statistics Report for 

secondary school teachers (25–2031). 

Using this hourly rate, the USPTO 

estimates that the total respondent cost 

burden for this collection is $8,613.02 

per year. 

Item number 

Estimated time 

for 

response 

(hours) 

Estimated 

annual 

responses 

Estimated annual 

burden hours 

Rate 

($/hr) Total cost 

(a) (b) (a) × (b)/60 = (c) (d) (c) × (d) = (e) 

1. Summer Teacher Institute Application (NSTI 

1) .................................................................... 0.50 500 250 $29.53 $7,382.50 

2. Summer Teacher Institute Participant Survey 

(NSTI 2) .......................................................... 0.17 100 16.67 29.53 492.27 

3. Summer Teacher Institute Webinar Survey 

(NSTI 3) .......................................................... 0.08 300 25 29.53 738.25 

Total ............................................................ ........................ 900 291.67 ........................ $8,613.02 

Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) 

Respondent Cost Burden: $0. There are 

no capital start-up, maintenance, 

postage, or recordkeeping costs. All 

applications and surveys will be 

received electronically. 

IV. Request for Comments 

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; 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 7 / Wednesday, January 10, 2018 / Notices 1243 

(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, 

Records and Information Governance 

Division Director, OCTO, United States Patent 

and Trademark Office. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00265 Filed 1–9–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

United States Patent and Trademark 

Office 

[Docket No.: PTO–P–2017–0052] 

Extension of the Extended Missing 

Parts Pilot Program 

AGENCY: United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO) 

implemented a pilot program (Extended 

Missing Parts Pilot Program) in which 

an applicant, under certain conditions, 

can request a 12-month time period to 

pay the search fee, the examination fee, 

any excess claim fees, and the surcharge 

(for the late submission of the search fee 

and the examination fee) in a 

nonprovisional application. The 

Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program 

benefits applicants by providing 

additional time to determine if patent 

protection should be sought—at a 

relatively low cost—and by permitting 

applicants to focus efforts on 

commercialization during this period. 

The Extended Missing Parts Pilot 

Program benefits the USPTO and the 

public by adding publications to the 

body of prior art, and by removing from 

the USPTO’s workload those 

nonprovisional applications for which 

applicants later decide not to pursue 

examination. The USPTO is extending 

the Extended Missing Parts Pilot 

Program until January 2, 2019, to allow 

the USPTO to continue its evaluation of 

the pilot program. The requirements of 

the program have not changed. 

DATES: Duration: The Extended Missing 

Parts Pilot Program will run through 

January 2, 2019. Therefore, any 

certification and request to participate 

in the Extended Missing Parts Pilot 

Program must be filed on or before 

January 2, 2019. In addition, any 

certification and request to participate 

in the Extended Missing Parts Pilot 

Program filed between January 2, 2018, 

and the publication date of this notice 

will be considered timely. The USPTO 

intends to make a decision before 

January 2, 2019, on whether the 

Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program 

offers sufficient benefits to the patent 

community for it to be made permanent 

or whether the USPTO should permit 

the program to expire. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Eugenia A. Jones, Senior Legal Advisor, 

Office of Patent Legal Administration, 

Office of the Deputy Commissioner for 

Patent Examination Policy, by telephone 

at (571) 272–7727, or Erin M. Harriman, 

Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Patent 

Legal Administration, Office of the 

Deputy Commissioner for Patent 

Examination Policy, by telephone at 

(571) 272–7747. 

Inquiries regarding this notice may be 

directed to the Office of Patent Legal 

Administration, by telephone at (571) 

272–7701, or by electronic mail at 

PatentPractice@uspto.gov. 

Alternatively, mail may be addressed to: 

Mail Stop Comments—Patents, 

Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 

1450, Alexandria, VA 22313–1450, 

marked to the attention of Eugenia A. 

Jones. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

December 8, 2010, after considering 

written comments from the public, the 

USPTO changed the missing parts 

examination procedures in certain 

nonprovisional applications by 

implementing a pilot program (i.e., 

Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program). 

See Pilot Program for Extended Time 

Period To Reply to a Notice to File 

Missing Parts of Nonprovisional 

Application, 75 FR 76401 (Dec. 8, 2010), 

1362 Off. Gaz. Pat. Office 44 (Jan. 4, 

2011). Over the course of the pilot 

program, the USPTO provided 

extensions of the Extended Missing 

Parts Pilot Program through notices 

published in the Federal Register. The 

most recent notice extended the 

program until January 2, 2018. See 

Extension of Extended Missing Parts 

Pilot Program, 81 FR 93669 (Dec. 21, 

2016), 1434 Off. Gaz. Pat. Office 187 

(Jan. 17, 2017). 

The requirements of the program, 

which have not been modified, are 

reiterated below. Applicants are 

strongly advised to review the pilot 

program requirements before making a 

request to participate in the Extended 

Missing Parts Pilot Program. See Pilot 

Program for Extended Time Period To 

Reply to a Notice to File Missing Parts 

of Nonprovisional Application, 75 FR 

76401 (Dec. 8, 2010), 1362 Off. Gaz. Pat. 

Office 44 (Jan. 4, 2011). The USPTO 

cautions all applicants that, in order to 

claim the benefit of a prior provisional 

application, the statute requires a 

nonprovisional application filed under 

35 U.S.C. 111(a) to be filed within 12 

months after the date on which the 

corresponding provisional application 

was filed. See 35 U.S.C. 119(e). It is 

essential that applicants understand that 

the Extended Missing Parts Pilot 

Program cannot and does not change 

this statutory requirement. Title II of the 

Patent Law Treaties Implementation Act 

of 2012 (PLTIA) amended the provisions 

of title 35, United States Code, 

including 35 U.S.C. 119(e), to 

implement the Patent Law Treaty (PLT). 

See Public Law 112–211, §§ 20–203, 126 

Stat. 1527, 1533–37 (2012). In the 

rulemaking to implement the PLT and 

title II of the PLTIA, the USPTO 

provided that an applicant may file a 

petition under 37 CFR 1.78(b) to restore 

the benefit of a provisional application 

filed up to fourteen months earlier. See 

Changes To Implement the Patent Law 

Treaty, 78 FR 62367, 62368–69 (Oct. 21, 

2013) (final rule). Any petition to restore 

the benefit of a provisional application 

must include the benefit claim, the 

petition fee, and a statement that the 

delay in filing the subsequent 

application was unintentional. This 

change was effective on December 18, 

2013, and applies to any application 

filed before, on, or after December 18, 

2013. However, if a nonprovisional 

application is filed outside the 12- 

month period from the date on which 

the corresponding provisional 

application was filed, the 

nonprovisional application is not 

eligible for participation in the 

Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program, 

even though the applicant may be able 

to restore the benefit of the provisional 

application by submitting a petition 

under 37 CFR 1.78(b). 

I. Requirements: In order for an 

applicant to be provided a 12-month 

(non-extendable) time period to pay the 

search and examination fees and any 

required excess claims fees in response 

to a Notice to File Missing Parts of 

Nonprovisional Application under the 

Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program, 

the applicant must satisfy the following 

conditions: (1) The applicant must 

submit a certification and request to 

participate in the Extended Missing 

Parts Pilot Program with the 

nonprovisional application on filing, 

preferably by using Form PTO/AIA/421, 


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