[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 185 (Thursday, September 24, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51056-51057]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-25615]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office


Patent and Trademark Office In-Process Telephone Survey

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (DoC), as part of its continuing 
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general 
public and other Federal agencies to comment on the continuing and 
proposed information collection, 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 November 23, 
1998.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Linda Engelmeier, 
Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 
5327, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to the attention of Cathy Kern, Director, Center for 
Quality Services, Crystal Park 1--Suite 812, 2011 Crystal Drive, 
Arlington, VA 22202, by telephone at (703) 305-4203, by facsimile 
transmission to (703) 308-8002, or by e-mail to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has established customer-
focused goals and objectives in each business area. The Patent business 
area has established the following goal: Exceed Our Customer's Quality 
Expectations Through the Competencies and Empowerment of Our Employees. 
In addition, based on customer feedback, the following four objectives 
have been identified as key drivers of overall customer satisfaction: 
(1) direct the customer promptly to the proper office or person; (2) 
return telephone calls within one business day, or provide

[[Page 51057]]

another contact; (3) set forth clearly in written communications the 
technical, procedural, and legal position of the examiner; and (4) 
conduct a thorough search of all relevant information.
    An internal review program, called an In-Process Review, has been 
established to focus on performance against the last two standards. To 
ensure that the internal reviews accurately reflect customer 
perceptions of quality, the PTO staff will conduct telephone interviews 
with customers following the same In-Process Review. The results from 
this review will enable the Patent business area to identify any 
discrepancies between the internal and customer perceptions of quality. 
In addition, this information will be used to develop training to 
address specific weaknesses.
    The telephone surveys will be based on the patent applications 
reviewed by the PTO's Quality Assurance Specialists and Supervisory 
Patent Examiners. The PTO is drawing the survey sample from a 
respondent pool of 2,280 applications reviewed each year by the Quality 
Assurance Specialists and Supervisory Patent Examiners. This breaks 
down to 380 applications from each of the six Technology Centers that 
review patent applications. The PTO estimates that from this total of 
380 applications, they will be able to successfully review 80 from each 
of the six technology centers. The PTO estimates that it will have a 
random sample of 480 applications.

II. Method of Collection

    The survey will be conducted by telephone. A random sample is used 
to collect the data. Statistical methods will be followed.

III. Data

    OMB Number: None.
    Form Number: There are no forms associated.
    Type of Review: New collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households, businesses or other 
for-profit, not-for-profit institutions, farms, state, local or tribal 
governments, and the Federal Government.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 480 responses per year.
    Estimated Time Per Response: It is estimated to take approximately 
30 minutes to complete the telephone survey.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 240 hours per year.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $42,000 per year.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    Estimated    Estimated
                                     time for      annual     Estimated
          Title of form              response      burden       annual
                                    (minutes)      hours      responses
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Patent and Trademark Office In-
 Process Telephone Survey........           30          240          480
                                  --------------------------------------
      Totals.....................  ...........          240          480
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Note: The PTO is pulling a random sample of 480 applications as 
part of the survey effort. Out of this sample, the PTO estimates 
that they will receive 408 completed surveys, or that they will 
receive 85% of the sample. This rate is based on previous telephone 
interviews that resulted in response rates ranging from 80-95%. 
Depending on the number of surveys completed, the burden to the 
public will range from 204 to 240 hours.

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; 
(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.
    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: September 20, 1998.
Linda Engelmeier,
Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer.
[FR Doc. 98-25615 Filed 9-23-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P