[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 203 (Friday, October 19, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53211-53212]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-26326]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Disclosure Document Program

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 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 December 18, 
2001.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Susan K. Brown, Records 
Officer, Office of Data Management, Data Administration Division, 
USPTO, Suite 310, 2231 Crystal Drive, Washington, DC 20231; by 
telephone 703-308-7400; by e-mail at [email protected]; or by 
facsimile at 703-308-7400.

[[Page 53212]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to the attention of Robert J. Spar, Office of Patent 
Legal Administration, United States Patent and Trademark Office 
(USPTO), Washington, DC 20231; by telephone at 703-305-9285.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    A service provided by the USPTO is the acceptance and preservation 
for two years of a ``disclosure document'' as evidence of the date of 
conception of an invention. A disclosure document is a paper disclosing 
an invention, signed by the inventor or inventors, and submitted to the 
USPTO. The document should contain a clear and complete explanation of 
the manner and process of making and using the invention in sufficient 
detail to enable a person having ordinary knowledge in the field of the 
invention to make and use the invention. The disclosure document 
request must be accompanied by a separate signed cover letter stating 
that it is submitted by, or on behalf of, the inventor, and requesting 
that the material be received into the Disclosure Document Program.
    The disclosure document will be preserved by the USPTO for two 
years after its receipt, and then destroyed unless it is referred to in 
a separate letter in a related patent application filed within the two 
year period. The disclosure document is not a patent application, and 
the date of its receipt in the USPTO will not become the effective 
filing date of any patent application subsequently filed.
    The information supplied to the USPTO by an applicant seeking to 
prove the date of conception for an invention is used by the USPTO to 
establish evidence of the date of conception of an invention.

II. Method of Collection

    By mail, facsimile, or hand carried to the USPTO when the inventor 
desires to participate in the Disclosure Document Program.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0030.
    Form Number(s): PTO/SB/95.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; business or other for-
profit; not-for-profit institutions; farms; the Federal Government; and 
state, local or tribal governments.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 20,250 responses per year.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the public approximately 12 minutes, depending upon the complexity of 
the situation, to gather, prepare, and submit a disclosure document 
deposit request. There is one form associated with this information 
collection, Form PTO/SB/95.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 4,050 hours per 
year.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: Using the 
professional hourly rate of $252 per hour for associate attorneys in 
private firms, the USPTO estimates $1,020,600 per year for salary costs 
associated with respondents.

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                                                                                     Estimated       Estimated
                              Item                                Estimated time      annual       annual burden
                                                                   for response      responses         hours
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Disclosure Document Deposit Request.............................              12          20,250           4,050
                                                                         minutes
                                                                                 -------------------------------
    Total.......................................................                         202,250           4,050
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    Estimated Total Annual Nonhour Respondent Cost Burden: $202,500.00. 
(There are no capital start-up or maintenance costs associated with 
this information collection.)
    There is annual nonhour cost burden in the way of a filing fee 
associated with this collection. The filing fee related to this 
collection is considered part of the nonhour cost burden of the 
collection. Following is a chart listing this filing fee/nonhour cost 
burden. The total annual filing fee/nonhour cost burden is $202,500.00.

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                                                                                                  Total non-hour
                              Item                                Responses  (a)    Filing fee      cost burden
                                                                                      ($)(b)        (a)  x  (b)
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Disclosure Document Deposit Request.............................          20,250          $10.00     $202,500.00
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................          20,250           10.00      202,500.00
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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, 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: October 12, 2001.
Thao Nguyen,
Acting Records Officer, USPTO, Office of Data Management, Data 
Administration Division.
[FR Doc. 01-26326 Filed 10-18-01; 8:45 am]
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