Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 200 / Wednesday, October 18, 2017 / Notices 48489 

prepare an environmental assessment or 

environmental impact statement. 

Concurrent with the publication of 

this notice in the Federal Register, 

NMFS is forwarding copies of the 

application to the Marine Mammal 

Commission and its Committee of 

Scientific Advisors. 

Dated: October 13, 2017. 

Julia Harrison, 

Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–22565 Filed 10–17–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

United States Patent and Trademark 

Office 

Representative and Address 

Provisions 

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment 

request. 

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO), as required 

by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), invites 

comment on a proposed extension of an 

existing information collection: 0651– 

0035 (Representative and Address 

Provisions). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before December 18, 

2017. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• Email: InformationCollection@

uspto.gov. Include ‘‘0651–0035 

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 Raul Tamayo, 

Senior 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 Raul.Tamayo@uspto.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

This information collection includes 

the information necessary to submit a 

request to grant or revoke power of 

attorney for an application, patent, or 

reexamination proceeding, and for a 

registered practitioner to withdraw as 

attorney or agent of record. This 

collection also includes the information 

necessary to change the correspondence 

address for an application, patent, or 

reexamination proceeding, to request a 

Customer Number and manage the 

correspondence address and list of 

practitioners associated with a Customer 

Number, and to designate or change the 

correspondence address or fee address 

for one or more patents or applications 

by using a Customer Number. 

Under 35 U.S.C. 2 and 37 CFR 1.31– 

1.32, power of attorney may be granted 

to one or more joint inventors or a 

person who is registered to practice 

before the USPTO to act in an 

application or a patent. In particular, for 

an application filed before September 

16, 2012, or for a patent which issued 

from an application filed before 

September 16, 2012, power of attorney 

may be granted by the applicant for 

patent (as set forth in 37 CFR 1.41(b) 

(pre-AIA)) or the assignee of the entire 

interest of the applicant. For an 

application filed on or after September 

16, 2012, or for a patent which issued 

from an application filed on or after 

September 16, 2012, power of attorney 

may be granted by the applicant for 

patent (as set forth in 37 CFR 1.42) or 

the patent owner. 

The rules of practice (37 CFR 1.33) 

also provide for a correspondence 

address and daytime telephone number 

to be supplied for receiving notices, 

official letters, and other 

communications from the USPTO. For 

an application filed before September 

16, 2012, the address and number may 

be supplied by a practitioner of record, 

all of the applicants, or an assignee. In 

addition, a practitioner not of record 

may supply the address and number for 

an application filed before September 

16, 2012, if the practitioner is named in 

the transmittal papers accompanying 

the original application and if an oath 

or declaration by any of the inventors 

has yet to be filed. For an application 

filed on or after September 16, 2012, the 

address and number may be supplied by 

a practitioner of record or the applicant. 

A practitioner not of record who acts in 

a representative capacity may supply 

the address and number for an 

application filed on or after September 

16, 2012, if the practitioner is named in 

the application transmittal papers and if 

any power of attorney has yet to be 

appointed. 

37 CFR 1.36 provides for the 

revocation of a power of attorney at any 

stage in the proceedings of a case. 37 

CFR 1.36 also provides a path by which 

a registered patent attorney or patent 

agent who has been given a power of 

attorney may withdraw as attorney or 

agent of record. 

The USPTO’s Customer Number 

practice permits applicants, patent 

owners, assignees, and practitioners of 

record, or the representatives of record 

for a number of applications or patents, 

to change the correspondence address of 

a patent application or patent with one 

change request instead of filing separate 

requests for each patent or application. 

Customers may request a Customer 

Number from the USPTO and associate 

this Customer Number with a 

correspondence list or a list of registered 

practitioners. Any changes to the 

address or practitioner information 

associated with a Customer Number will 

be applied to all patents and 

applications associated with said 

Customer Number. 

The Customer Number practice is 

optional, in that changes of 

correspondence address or power of 

attorney may be filed separately for each 

patent or application without using a 

Customer Number. However, a 

Customer Number associated with the 

correspondence address for a patent 

application is required in order to 

access private information about the 

application using the Patent Application 

Information Retrieval (PAIR) system, 

which is available through the USPTO 

Web site. The PAIR system gives 

authorized individuals secure online 

access to application status information, 

but only for patent applications that are 

linked to a Customer Number. Customer 

Numbers may be associated with U.S. 

patent applications as well as 

international Patent Cooperation Treaty 

(PCT) applications. The use of a 

Customer Number also is required in 

order to grant power of attorney to more 

than ten practitioners or to establish a 

separate ‘‘fee address’’ for maintenance 

fee purposes that is different from the 

correspondence address for a patent or 

application. 

Customers may use a Customer 

Number Upload Spreadsheet to 

designate or change the correspondence 

address or fee address for a list of 

patents or applications by associating 

them with a Customer Number. The 

Customer Number Upload Spreadsheet 

may not be used to change the power of 

attorney for patents or applications. 

Customers may download a Microsoft 

Excel template with instructions from 

the USPTO Web site to assist them in 

preparing the spreadsheet in the proper 

format. 


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48490 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 200 / Wednesday, October 18, 2017 / Notices 

II. Method of Collection 

By mail, facsimile, hand delivery, or 

electronically to the USPTO. 

III. Data 

OMB Number: 0651–0035. 

Form Numbers: PTO/AIA/80, PTO/ 

AIA/81, PTO/AIA/81B, PTO/AIA/82A, 

PTO/AIA/82B, PTO/AIA/122, PTO/ 

AIA/123, PTO/SB/80, PTO/SB/81, PTO/ 

SB/81A, PTO/SB/81B, PTO/SB/81C, 

PTO/SB/83, PTO/SB/84, PTO/SB/124, 

PTO/SB/124, and PTO–2248. 

Type of Review: Revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households; business or other forprofits; and not-for-profits institutions. 

Estimated Number of Annual 

Respondents: 501,905 responses per 

year. Estimates for numbers of responses 

are based on previous respondent 

numbers and the anticipated 

participation trends over the next three 

years. 

Estimated Time per Response: The 

USPTO estimates that the response time 

for activities related to Representative 

Address Provisions will take the public 

between 0.05 hours (3 minutes) to 1.5 

hours (90 minutes) to complete (See 

Table 1). This includes the time to 

gather the necessary information, create 

the document, and submit the 

completed request to the USPTO. The 

USPTO calculates that, on balance, it 

takes the same amount of time to do 

this, regardless of whether the public is 

submitting the information in paper 

form or electronically. 

Estimated Total Annual Respondent 

Burden Hours: 28,479.25 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Respondent 

Cost Burden: $4,369,751.25. The USPTO 

expects that Requests for Withdrawal as 

Attorney or Agent and the two petitions 

in this collection will be prepared by 

attorneys, while the other items in this 

collection will be prepared by 

paraprofessionals. The professional 

hourly rate for attorneys is $438 and the 

professional hourly rate for 

paraprofessionals is $145. These rates 

are established by estimates in the 2017 

Report on the Economic Survey, 

published by the Committee on 

Economics of Legal Practice of the 

American Intellectual Property Law 

Association. Using this hourly rate, the 

USPTO estimates that the total 

respondent cost burden for this 

collection is $4,369,751.25 per year. 

IC No. Items 

Estimated 

time for response 

(hours) 

Estimated 

annual 

responses 

Estimated 

annual burden 

Rate 

($) 

Estimated 

hourly cost 

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

1 ............... Power of Attorney to Prosecute Applications Before the 

USPTO.

0.05 (3 minutes) ............. 4,000 200.00 145.00 $29,000.00 

2 ............... Power of Attorney or Revocation of Power of Attorney with 

a New Power of Attorney and Change of Correspondence.

0.05 (3 minutes) ............. 350,000 17,500.00 145.00 2,537,500.00 

3 ............... Patent—Power of Attorney or Revocation of Power of Attorney with a New Power of Attorney and Change of Correspondence Address.0.05 (3 minutes) ............. 300 15.00 145.00 2,175.00 

4 ............... Reexamination—Patent Owner Power of Attorney or Revocation of Power of Attorney with a New Power of Attorney and Change of Correspondence Address.0.05 (3 minutes) ............. 100 5.00 145.00 725.00 

5 ............... Reexamination—Third Party Requester Power of Attorney 

or Revocation of Power of Attorney with a New Power of 

Attorney and Change of Correspondence Address.

0.05 (3 minutes) ............. 70 3.50 145.00 507.50 

6 ............... Request for Withdrawal as Attorney or Agent and Change 

of Correspondence Address.

0.20 (12 minutes) ........... 4,000 800.00 438.00 350,400.00 

7 ............... Authorization to Act in a Representative Capacity ................ 0.05 (3 minutes) ............. 750 37.50 145.00 5,437.50 

8 ............... Petition Under 37 CFR 1.36(a) to Revoke Power of Attorney by Fewer than All the Applicants.1.00 (60 minutes) ........... 10 10.00 438.00 4,380.00 

9 ............... Petition to Waive 37 CFR 1.32(b)(4) and Grant Power of Attorney by Fewer than All the Applicants.1.00 (60 minutes) ........... 10 10.00 438.00 4,380.00 

10 ............. Change of Correspondence Address for Application or Patent.0.05 (3 minutes) ............. 130,000 6,500.00 145.00 942,500.00 

11 ............. Patent Owner Change of Correspondence Address—Reexamination Proceeding.0.05 (3 minutes) ............. 25 1.25 145.00 18.25 

12 ............. Third Party Requester Change of Correspondence Address—Reexamination Proceeding.0.05 (3 minutes) ............. 40 2.00 145.00 290.00 

13 ............. Request for Customer Number Data Change ....................... 0.20 (12 minutes) ........... 1,600 320.00 145.00 46,400.00 

14 ............. Request for Customer Number .............................................. 0.20 (12 minutes) ........... 8,500 1,700.00 145.00 246,500.00 

15 ............. Customer Number Upload Spreadsheet ............................... 1.50 (90 minutes) ........... 600 900.00 145.00 130,500.00 

16 ............. Request to Update a PCT Application with a Customer 

Number.

0.25 (15 minutes) ........... 1,900 475.00 145.00 68,875.00 

Totals ................................................................................................ ......................................... 501,905 28,479.25 .................... 4,369,751.25 

Estimated Total Annual Non-hour 

Respondent Cost Burden: $13,950.74. 

There are no capital start-up, 

maintenance, or recordkeeping costs 

associated with this information 

collection. However, this collection 

does have annual (non-hour) cost 

burden in the form of filing fees and 

postage costs. 

Filing Fees 

The two petitions in this collection 

have associated filing fees under 37 CFR 

1.17(f), resulting in $8,000 in filing fees. 

IC No. Item 

Estimated 

annual 

responses 

Filing fee 

($) 

Total non-hour 

cost burden 

(a) (b) (c) = (a) × (b) 

8 ............. Petitions Under 37 CFR 1.36(a) to Revoke Power of Attorney by Fewer than All 

the Applicants.

10 400.00 $4,000.00 


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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 200 / Wednesday, October 18, 2017 / Notices 48491 

IC No. Item 

Estimated 

annual 

responses 

Filing fee 

($) 

Total non-hour 

cost burden 

(a) (b) (c) = (a) × (b) 

9 ............. Petitions to Waive 37 CFR 1.32(b)(4) and Grant Power of Attorney by Fewer 

than All the Applicants.

10 400.00 4,000.00 

Total .................................................................................................................................. 20 ........................ 8,000.00 

Postage Costs 

Although the USPTO prefers that the 

items in this collection be submitted 

electronically, responses may be 

submitted by mail through the United 

States Postal Service (USPS). The 

USPTO estimates that 2% of the 501,305 

items will be submitted in the mail and 

that all 600 of the customer number 

upload spreadsheets will be submitted 

by mail. The existing first-class postage 

costs are $0.49 per submission. In 

addition, the customer number 

uploaded spreadsheets are submitted to 

the USPTO by mail, with a postage rate 

of $1.73 per submission. 

There is a total of $5,950.74 in postage 

costs associated with this collection. 

Item Responses Postage cost Total postage 

costs 

Non-electronic Responses ........................................................................................................... 10,026 0.49 4,912.74 

Customer Number Upload Spreadsheets ................................................................................... 600 1.73 1,038.00 

Totals .................................................................................................................................... 10,626 ........................ 5,950.74 

Therefore, the USPTO estimates that 

the total annual (non-hour) cost burden 

for this collection, in the forms of filing 

fees ($8,000) and postage costs 

($5,950.74), is $13,950.74 per year. 

IV. Request for Comments 

Comments submitted in response to 

this 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 required 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 costs) 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. 2017–22618 Filed 10–17–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Patent and Trademark Office 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request; ‘‘Patent Examiner 

Employment Application’’ 

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, Commerce. 

Title: Patent Examiner Employment 

Application. 

OMB Control Number: 0651–0042. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Request: Regular. 

Number of Respondents: 10,660 

responses per year. 

Average Hours per Response: The 

USPTO estimates that the response time 

for the employment application will 

take the public approximately 30 

minutes (0.50 hours) to complete. This 

includes the time to gather the 

necessary information, create the 

document, and submit the completed 

request to the USPTO. 

Burden Hours: 5,330 hours. 

Cost Burden: $0.00. There are no 

filing fees or start-up, maintenance, 

record keeping, or postage costs 

associated with this information 

collection. 

Needs and Uses: The use of 

automated application submissions 

provides a user-friendly electronic 

candidate inventory that allows 

management to review potential 

applications in real time. An applicant 

seeking a patent examiner position 

supplies information to the USPTO that 

assists Human Resource Specialists and 

hiring managers and demonstrates 

whether or not the applicant possess the 

basic qualifications for the position for 

which they are applying. 

Affected Public: Individuals. 

Frequency: On occasion. 

Respondents: Required to obtain or 

retain benefits. 

OMB Desk Officer: Nicholas A. Fraser, 

email: Nicholas_A._Fraser@

omb.eop.gov. 

Once submitted, the request will be 

publicly available in electronic format 

through reginfo.gov. Follow the 

instructions to view Department of 

Commerce collections currently under 

review by OMB. 

Further information can be obtained 

by: 

• Email: InformationCollection@

uspto.gov. Include ‘‘0651–00## copy 

request’’ 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. 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent on 

or before November 17, 2017 to 

Nicholas A. Fraser, OMB Desk Officer, 

via email to Nicholas_A._Fraser@

omb.eop.gov, or by fax to 202–395– 


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