[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 123 (Monday, June 26, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 39370]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-16023]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

United States Patent and Trademark Office


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has submitted 
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: Initial Patent Application.
    Form Numbers: PTO/SB/01/01A/02A/02B/02C/03/03A/04/05/06/07/13PCT/
17/18/19/29/29A/101/102/103/104/105/106/107/108/109/110.
    Agency Approval Number: 0651-0032.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden: 2,990,260 hours.
    Number of Respondents: 344,100 responses.
    Avg. Hours Per Response: The PTO estimates that it takes an average 
of 24 minutes to gather, prepare, and submit a continued prosecution 
application. This is in contrast to the 12 minutes that the USPTO 
estimates that it will take the public to gather, prepare, and submit a 
request for continued examination. The USPTO estimates that 
approximately 10,000 of the 25,000 continued prosecution applications 
will be filed as requests for continued examination. The estimated use 
of the request for continued examination will decrease the burden 
associated with this information collection. The USPTO estimates that 
it takes an average of 8.0 hours to complete the specification, claim, 
drawing, and cover sheet required for a provisional application, and 
that it takes an average of 10.8 hours to complete the specification, 
claim, drawing, declaration, and transmittal forms required for a 
nonprovisional utility, plant or design application. If applicants 
choose to submit their patent application using the application data 
sheet, the USPTO estimates that it will take an average of 10.6 hours 
to complete the application using either the paper or electronic 
format, unless it is the first time that the applicant is using the 
PrintEFS format. If that is the case, the USPTO estimates that it will 
take an average of 11.3 hours to complete the application. This takes 
into account the time that the USPTO estimates it will take the 
applicant to download and install the viewer that is necessary to use 
the electronic template. Continuing applications require varying burden 
hours, based on how much information must be added to or duplicated 
from the initial application. In the case of continuation requests for 
international applications, the entire application must be provided 
because it had not been submitted previously as a national application.
    Needs and Uses: This collection of information is required by 35 
U.S.C. Secs. 131 and 37 CFR 1.16 through 1.84. The public uses the 
forms in this information collection to submit the information 
necessary for a new utility, design, or plant applications. This 
includes such information as the declaration, fee transmittal sheets, 
and the bibliographic data. The USPTO uses the information collected 
through this information collection to review and issue new utility, 
design, and plant applications and to process requests for continuation 
or provisional applications.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households, businesses or other 
for-profit, not-for-profit institutions, farms, Federal government, and 
state, local or tribal government.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
    OMB Desk Officer: David Rostker, (202) 395-3897.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Thao Nguyen, Manager, Data Administration 
Division (Acting Records Officer), (703) 308-7397, Data Administration 
Division, Office of Data Management, United States Patent and Trademark 
Office, Crystal Park 3, 3rd Floor, Suite 310, Washington, D.C. 20231 or 
via the Internet at ([email protected]).
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication to David 
Rostker, OMB Desk Officer, Room 10236, New Executive Office Building, 
725 17th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20503.

    Dated: June 16, 2000.
Thao Nguyen,
Manager, Data Administration Division (Acting Records Officer), Office 
of Data Management.
[FR Doc. 00-16023 Filed 6-23-00; 8:45 am]
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