[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 27, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4737-4738]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-1617]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    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 Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).
    Agency: United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
    Title: Rules for Patent Maintenance Fees.
    Form Number(s): PTO/SB/45/47/65/66.
    Agency Approval Number: 0651-0016.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden: 33,426 hours annually.
    Number of Respondents: 470,397 responses per year.
    Avg. Hours per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take the 
public approximately 20 seconds (0.006 hours) to eight hours to 
complete this information, depending on the form or petition. This 
includes time to gather the necessary information, prepare the form or 
petition, and submit the completed request.
    Needs and Uses: Under 35 U.S.C. 41 and 37 CFR 1.20(e)-(i) and 
1.362-1.378, the USPTO charges fees for maintaining in force all 
utility patents based on applications filed on or after December 12, 
1980. Payment of these maintenance

[[Page 4738]]

fees is due at 3\1/2\, 7\1/2\, and 11\1/2\ years after the date the 
patent was granted. If the USPTO does not receive payment of the 
appropriate maintenance fee and any applicable surcharge within a grace 
period of six months following each of the above intervals, the patent 
will expire and no longer be enforceable. The public uses this 
collection to submit patent maintenance fee payments, to file petitions 
regarding delayed or refused payments, and to designate an address to 
be used for fee-related correspondence.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other 
for-profits; and not-for-profit institutions.
    Frequency: On occasion and three times at four-year intervals 
following the grant of the patent.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
    OMB Desk Officer: Nicholas A. Fraser, e-mail: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a8e6c1cbc0c7c4c9dbf7e986f7eedac9dbcddae8c7c5ca86cdc7d886cfc7de"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6b2502080304070a18342a45342d190a180e192b040609450e041b450c041d">[email protected]</span></a>.
    Once submitted, the request will be publicly available in 
electronic format through the Information Collection Review page at 
www.reginfo.gov.
    Paper copies can be obtained by:
    <bullet> E-mail: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a3f0d6d0c2cd8de5c2d4c0c6d7d7e3d6d0d3d7cc8dc4ccd5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fdae888e9c93d3bb9c8a9e988989bd888e8d8992d39a928b">[email protected]</span></a>. Include ``0651-0016 Rules 
for Patent Maintenance Fees copy request'' in the subject line of the 
message.
    <bullet> Fax: 571-273-0112, marked to the attention of Susan K. 
Fawcett.
    <bullet> Mail: Susan K. Fawcett, Records Officer, Office of the 
Chief Information Officer, Customer Information Services Group, Public 
Information Services Division, United States Patent and Trademark 
Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent on or before February 25, 2009 to Nicholas A. 
Fraser, OMB Desk Officer, via e-mail at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#135d7a707b7c7f72604c523d4c556172607661537c7e713d767c633d747c65"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="511f3832393e3d30220e107f0e172330223423113e3c337f343e217f363e27">[email protected]</span></a>, or by fax to 202-395-5167, marked to the attention 
of Nicholas A. Fraser.

    Dated: January 15, 2009.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer, 
Customer Information Services Group, Public Information Services 
Division.
 [FR Doc. E9-1617 Filed 1-26-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P


</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>