Document Headings

                    Document headings vary by document type but may contain                    the following:                  
                -                       the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document                    
                -                       the number of the CFR title and the number of each part                      the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly                      related to                    
                -                       the agency docket number / agency internal file number                    
                -                       the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in                      the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory                      Actions                    

                    See the                                          Document Drafting Handbook                                        for more details.                  

###### Department of Commerce

###### Patent and Trademark Office

                    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will submit the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. The USPTO invites comment on this information collection renewal, which helps the USPTO assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's burden. Public comments were previously requested via the                     **Federal Register**                     on February 8, 2022 during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows an additional 30 days for public comments.                

*Agency:*                     United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce.                

*Title:*                     Practitioner Conduct and Discipline.                

*OMB Control Number:*                     0651-0017.                

*Needs and Uses:*                     The Director of the USPTO has the authority to establish regulations governing the conduct and discipline of agents, attorneys, or other persons representing applicants and other parties before the USPTO (35 U.S.C. 2 and 32-33). The USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct, set forth in subpart D, part 11 of title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations, prescribe the manner in which agents, attorneys, and other persons (collectively, “practitioners”) representing applicants and other parties before the USPTO should conduct themselves professionally. Part 11 outlines practitioners' responsibilities for recordkeeping and reporting violations or complaints of misconduct to the USPTO. Subpart C of part 11 sets forth the manner by which the USPTO investigates misconduct and imposes discipline. The USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct require all practitioners to maintain complete records of all funds, securities, and other properties of clients coming into his or her possession, and to render appropriate accounts to the client regarding the funds, securities, and other properties of clients coming into the practitioner's possession, collectively known as “client property.” These recordkeeping requirements are necessary to maintain the integrity of client property. State bars require attorneys to perform similar recordkeeping. Part 11 also requires a practitioner to report knowledge of certain violations of the USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct to the USPTO. The USPTO Director may, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, suspend, exclude, or disqualify any practitioner from further practice before the USPTO based on non-compliance with the USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct. Practitioners who have been excluded or suspended from practice before the USPTO, practitioners transferred to disability inactive status, and practitioners who have resigned must maintain records of their compliance with the suspension or exclusion order, transfer to disability inactive status, or resignation. These records are necessary to demonstrate eligibility for reinstatement. Reports of alleged violations of the USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct are used by the Director of OED to conduct investigations and disciplinary hearings, as appropriate.                

This information collection covers the various reporting and recordkeeping requirements set forth in Part 11 for practitioners representing applicants and other parties before the USPTO. Also covered are petitions for reinstatement for suspended or excluded practitioners and the means for reporting violations or complaints of misconduct to the USPTO.

*Forms:*                     No Forms.                

*Type of Review:*                     Extension and revision of a currently approved information collection.                

*Affected Public:*                     Individuals or households.                

*Respondent's Obligation:*                     Required to obtain or retain benefits.                

*Frequency:*                     On occasion.                

*Estimated Number of Annual Respondents:*                     13,190 respondents.                

*Estimated Number of Annual Responses:*                     13,190 responses.                

*Estimated Time per Response:*                     The USPTO estimates that the responses in this information collection will take the public approximately between 1 (60 minutes) to 3 hours (240 minutes) to complete. This includes the time to gather the necessary information, create the document, and submit the completed request to the USPTO. The USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct require practitioner agents to maintain various records to maintain the integrity of client property and meet other requirements. Additional recordkeeping requirements are also given for practitioners who are under suspension or exclusion. The USPTO estimates that it will take a practitioner between 1 (60 minutes) and 20 hours (1,200 minutes) to perform these recordkeeping actions.                

*Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours:*                     14,192 hours.                

*Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-Hourly Cost Burden:*                     $8,419.                

                    This information collection request may be viewed at                     *www.reginfo.gov.*                     Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce, USPTO information collections currently under review by OMB.                

                    Written comments and recommendations for this information collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on the following website                     *www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain.*                     Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function and entering either the title of the information collection or the OMB Control Number 0651-0017.                

Further information can be obtained by:
    -  Email: InformationCollection@uspto.gov.                      Include “0651-0017 information request” in the subject line of the message.                
    -  Mail:                      Kimberly Hardy, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.                

Kimberly Hardy,

Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.

[FR Doc. 2022-08730 Filed 4-22-22; 8:45 am]

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