[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 27, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12502-12503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-4698]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

United States Patent and Trademark Office


Patent Processing (Updating) (Proposed Addition of Form PTO/SB/32 
``Request for Oral Hearing Before the Board of Patent Appeals and 
Interferences'' and Form PTO/SB/37 ``Request for Deferral of 
Examination 37 CFR 1.103(d)'')

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.

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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part 
of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, 
invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this 
opportunity to comment on the revision of a 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 April 30, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Susan K. Brown, Records 
Officer, Data Administration Division, Office of Data Management, 
United States Patent and Trademark Office, Crystal Park 3, Suite 310, 
Washington, DC 20231; by telephone at (703) 308-7400; or by electronic 
mail at [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to Robert J. Spar, Director, Office of Patent Legal 
Administration, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Washington, 
DC 20231; by telephone at (703) 308-5107; or by electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    Patent applicants or owners of patents under reexamination may 
appeal the decision of a patent examiner by filing a notice of appeal 
to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (the Board). 
Additionally, the appellant may also make a written request for an oral 
hearing before the Board if the appellant believes such a hearing is 
necessary for the proper presentation of the appeal. Effective December 
1, 1997, 37 CFR 1.194(b) was amended to require this written request 
for an oral hearing before the Board to be filed ``in a separate 
paper'' from the appeal itself. See Changes to Patent Practice and 
Procedure, Final Rule, 62 FR 53132, 53170, 53197 (Oct. 10, 1997). In 
accordance with this rule change and in response to requests from the 
public, the USPTO has created Form PTO/SB/32, ``Request for Oral 
Hearing Before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences.'' This 
form will allow the public to comply quickly and easily with the 
requirements set forth in 37 CFR 1.194(b) to request an oral hearing 
before the Board on a separate piece of paper.
    In order to implement the Patent Business Goals, and in accordance 
with the eighteen-month publication provisions of the American 
Inventors Protection Act of 1999, the USPTO has amended 37 CFR 1.103 to 
permit applicants to request deferred examination for up to three years 
from the earliest filing date for which a benefit is claimed under 
title 35 of the United States Code. See Changes to Implement Eighteen-
Month Publication of Patent Applications, Final Rule, 65 FR 57024, 
57033, 57056 (Sept. 20, 2000). Section 1.103(d) now allows applicants 
to request deferred examination under the following conditions: (1) The 
application is filed on or after November 29, 2000 (or is an 
application for which the applicant requests voluntary publication), 
and is an original utility or plant application filed under 
Sec. 1.53(b) or an application resulting from entry of an international 
application into the national stage after compliance with Sec. 1.494 or 
Sec. 1.495; (2) the applicant has not filed a nonpublication request 
under Sec. 1.213(a), or has filed a request under Sec. 1.213(b) to 
rescind a previously filed nonpublication request; (3) the application 
is in condition for publication as provided in Sec. 1.211(c); and (4) 
the USPTO has not issued either an Office action under 35 U.S.C. 
Sec. 132 or a notice of allowance under 35 U.S.C. Sec. 151. To assist 
applicants in making a request for deferred examination under 
Sec. 1.103(d), the USPTO has developed a new form for submitting the 
required information, Form PTO/SB/37 ``Request for Deferral of 
Examination 37 CFR 1.103(d).''
    The USPTO proposes to add these two forms, PTO/SB/32 and PTO/SB/37, 
to the information collection previously approved under OMB control 
number 0651-0031, Patent Processing (Updating).

II. Method of Collection

    By mail, facsimile, or hand delivery when the applicant wishes to 
request an oral hearing under 37 CFR 1.194(b) or a deferral of 
examination under 37 CFR 1.103(d).

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0031.
    Form Number(s): PTO/SB/32 and PTO/SB/37.
    Type of Review: Addition to an existing information collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other 
for-profits; not-for-profit institutions; farms; the Federal 
Government; and state, local or tribal governments.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: The USPTO estimates receiving 
1,224 responses per year using Form PTO/SB/32 and 50 responses per year 
using Form PTO/SB/37, for a total of 1,274 responses per year. These 
1,274 responses are in addition to the previously approved 2,231,365 
responses, increasing the total number of responses for this collection 
to 2,232,639 per year.
    Estimated Time Per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the public 12 minutes (.2 hours) to complete the request for an oral 
hearing and 12 minutes (.2 hours) to complete the request for deferred 
examination. These estimates include the time to gather the necessary 
information and submit the completed form.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: The USPTO estimates 
that the total annual burden hours will be 245 hours per year for Form 
PTO/SB/32 and 10 hours per year for Form PTO/SB/37, for a total of 255 
hours per year. These 255 hours are in addition to the previously 
approved annual burden of 1,018,736 hours, increasing the total annual 
burden for this collection to 1,018,991 hours.

[[Page 12503]]

    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: Of the 1,224 
estimated annual responses for Form PTO/SB/32, the USPTO expects to 
receive 275 responses from small entities (Sec. 1.9(f)) and 949 
responses from others. Under 37 CFR 1.17(d), the processing fee for 
filing a request for an oral hearing before the Board of Patent Appeals 
and Interferences is $135 for small entities and $270 for others. 
Therefore, the total annual nonhour cost burden associated with this 
form is $293,355.
    When filing a request for deferral of examination, the applicant 
must pay the processing fee of $130 indicated by 37 CFR 1.17(i) and the 
publication fee of $300 indicated by 37 CFR 1.18(d). The combined 
filing cost of $430 for each request results in a total annual nonhour 
cost burden of $21,500 associated with this form.
    Using the professional hourly rate of $175 per hour for associate 
attorneys in private firms, the USPTO estimates $42,840 per year for 
salary costs associated with respondents using Form PTO/SB/32, and 
$1,750 per year for salary costs associated with respondents using Form 
PTO/SB/37.

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                                                                  Estimated time     Estimated       Estimated
                 Item                         Form number          for response       annual       annual burden
                                                                     (minutes)       responses         hours
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Request for Oral Hearing Before the    POT/SB/32                              12           1,224             245
 Board of Patent Appeals and
 Interferences.
Request for Deferral of Examination    PTO/SB/37                              12              50              10
 37 CFR 1.103(d).
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    Total............................  .........................  ..............           1,274             255
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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 also will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: February 20, 2001.
Susan K. Brown,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of Data Management, Data Administration 
Division.
[FR Doc. 01-4698 Filed 2-26-01; 8:45 am]
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