[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 116 (Friday, June 15, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32602-32603]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-15094]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

United States Patent and Trademark Office


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
    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).
    Title: Initial Patent Application (Elimination of Continued 
Prosecution Application Practice as to Utility and Plant Patent 
Applications).
    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: 2,984,360 hours per year.
    Number of Respondents: 319,350 responses per year.
    Avg. Hours Per Response: The USPTO 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

[[Page 32603]]

the USPTO estimates that it takes the public to gather, prepare, and 
submit a Request for Continued Examination. If the proposed rule to 
eliminate the Continued Prosecution Application in favor of the Request 
for Continued Examination for utility and plant applications is 
approved, fewer Continued Prosecution Applications will be submitted 
per year. The USPTO estimates that the elimination of the Continued 
Prosecution Applications in the case of utility and plant applications 
will decrease the burden associated with the continued examination of 
applications by 5,900 hours.
    Needs and Uses: This collection of information is required by 35 
U.S.C. 131 and 37 CFR 1.16 through 1.84. An applicant must provide 
sufficient information to allow the USPTO to properly examine the 
application to determine whether it meets the requirements outlined in 
the patent statutes and regulations. The American Inventors Protection 
Act of 1999 amended 35 U.S.C. 132 to provide that the USPTO may 
prescribe regulations for the continued examination of applications 
(for a fee) at the request of the applicant. As a result of the 
American Inventors Protection Act of 1999, the USPTO implemented a new 
practice called a Request for Continued Examination as an alternative 
to the existing Continued Prosecution Application practice. Applicants 
can request the continued examination of a previously submitted utility 
or plant application, instead of submitting a Continued Prosecution 
Application. The USPTO is proposing to eliminate the use of Continued 
Prosecution Applications in the case of utility and plant applications. 
Applicants will continue to use Continued Prosecution Applications to 
request additional examination of a previously submitted design 
application. The USPTO will continue to use the Continued Prosecution 
Applications to process and initiate the additional examination of a 
previously submitted design application.
    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 Susan K. Brown, Records Officer, Data 
Administration Division, Office of Data Management, United States 
Patent and Trademark Office, Crystal Park 3, 3rd Floor, Suite 310, 
Washington, D.C. 20231, by phone at (703) 308-7400, 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 8, 2001.
Susan K. Brown,
Records Officer, Data Administration Division, Office of Data 
Management.
[FR Doc. 01-15094 Filed 6-14-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P