[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 244 (Monday, December 21, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70396-70397]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-33698]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office


Electronic Application for Patent Examiners--Job Application 
Rating System (JARS)

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 
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 February 19, 
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 Vivian Clark at P.O. Box 171, 
Washington, DC, 20231, by telephone at (703) 305-8227, or by facsimile 
transmission to (703) 305-9864.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) is developing an electronic 
Job Application Rating System (JARS) to assist in the hiring of 550 new 
patent examiners in FY 1999.
    The PTO has received hiring assistance from the Office of Personnel 
Management (OPM) through the use of their electronic application system 
called MARS. The PTO has found that the services provided by MARS do 
not meet current hiring needs.
    In the current employment environment, Information Technology 
professionals and Engineering graduates are in great demand. The PTO is 
in direct competition with private industry for the same caliber of 
candidates with the requisite knowledge and skills to perform patent 
examination work. Consequently, it is imperative that every available 
technology be employed if the PTO is to remain competitive, meet the 
hiring goal, and fulfill the agency's congressional commitment to 
reduce the pendency rate for the examination of patent applications. 
The information supplied to the PTO by an applicant seeking a Patent 
Examiner position with the PTO will assist the Human Resources 
Specialists and hiring managers in determining whether an applicant 
possesses the basic qualification requirements for the Patent Examiner 
position. In addition, the electronic transmission of this information 
will expedite the hiring process by eliminating the time used in the 
mail distribution process.
    JARS will provide the PTO a more user friendly online employment 
application process for applicants and will enable the PTO to process 
hiring actions in a more efficient and timely manner. The online 
application will provide an electronic real time candidate inventory 
that will allow the PTO to review applications from potential 
applicants almost instantaneously. Given the immediate hiring need of 
the Patent Examining Corps, time consumed in the mail distribution 
system or paper review of applications delays the decision making 
process by several weeks. The implementation of the JARS system will 
result in increased speed and accuracy in the employment process. It 
will also streamline labor and reduce costs.
    The use of the JARS online application fully meets the intent of 5 
U.S.C. 2301, which requires adequate public notice to assure open 
competition by guaranteeing that necessary employment information will 
be accessible and available to the public on inquiry.
    Since the JARS online application will be used as an alternative 
form of employment application, the collection and use of the 
information requires OMB approval as outlined in section 5.1 of the 
Delegated Examining Operations Handbook. The Handbook provides guidance 
to agencies under a delegated examining authority by OPM, under the 
provisions of Title 5, U.S. Code, Chapter 11, Section 1104.

II. Method of Collection

    The application information is collected electronically from the 
applicant. Applicants may contact the PTO Web site on the Internet 
where they will find the application form. They can fill the form out 
while connected to the web site. For those applicants who do not have 
access to a personal computer, applications are available in the 
Personnel Office at the PTO or the applicant can go to the local 
library to complete an application.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-XXXX.
    Type of Review: New information 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: 3,700 respondents per year.
    Estimated Time Per Response: It is estimated that it will take from 
20 minutes to one hour to complete the application, depending on the 
situation. On average, the time to complete the online application is 
estimated to be 30 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 1,850 hours per 
year.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $323,750 per year.

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                                                                                         Estimated
                                                                            Estimated      annual     Estimated
          Title of form                           Form Nos.                  time for      burden       annual
                                                                             response      hours       response
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Electronic Employment Application  New Form #########....................   30 minutes        1,850        3,700
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[[Page 70397]]

 
    Totals.......................  ......................................  ...........        1,850        3,700
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    Note: The burden hours estimated above are based on the average 
time (30 minutes) that the PTO expects it will take to complete the 
online application. Depending on the situation, it could take as 
little as 20 minutes or as much as one hour to complete the online 
application. The burden hours for this information collection could 
range from 1,233 to 3,700 burden 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, including through 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: December 15, 1998.
Linda Engelmeier,
Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer.
[FR Doc. 98-33698 Filed 12-18-98; 8:45 am]
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