[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 117 (Tuesday, June 18, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41400-41402]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-15233]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

United States Patent and Trademark Office


Representative and Address Provisions

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 August 19, 2002.

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 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, USPTO, Washington, DC 20231; by telephone at (703) 308-
5107; or by electronic mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    Under 35 U.S.C. 2 and 37 CFR 1.31-1.36 and 1.363, a patent 
applicant or assignee of record may grant power of attorney or 
authorization of agent to a person who is registered to practice before 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to act for them 
in a representative capacity on a patent or application. A power of 
attorney or authorization of agent may also be revoked, and a 
registered representative may also withdraw as attorney or agent of 
record under 37 CFR 1.36. The rules of practice (37 CFR 1.33) also 
provide for the applicant, patentee, assignee, or representative of 
record to supply a correspondence address and daytime telephone number 
for receiving notices, official letters, and other communications from 
the USPTO. Further, the rules of practice (37 CFR 1.33(d) and 1.363) 
permit the applicant, patentee, assignee, or representative of record 
to specify a separate ``fee address'' for correspondence related to 
maintenance fees, which is covered under OMB Control Number 0651-0016 
``Rules for Patent Maintenance Fees.'' Maintaining a correct and 
updated correspondence address is necessary so that correspondence from 
the USPTO related to a patent or application will be properly received 
by the applicant, patentee, assignee, or authorized representative.
    The USPTO's Customer Number practice permits applicants, patentees, 
assignees, and registered representatives to efficiently change the 
correspondence address or registered representatives for a number of 
patents or applications with one change request instead of filing 
separate change requests for each patent or application. Customers may 
request a customer number from the USPTO and associate this customer 
number with a correspondence address or a list of registered 
practitioners. Customers may then use this customer number to designate 
or change the correspondence address or to grant power of attorney to 
the list of registered practitioners for any number of patents or 
applications. Any changes to the address or practitioner information 
associated with a customer number will be applied to all patents and 
applications associated with that customer number.
    The Customer Number practice is optional, in that changes of

[[Page 41401]]

correspondence address or appointments of registered representatives 
may be filed separately for each patent or application. However, a 
customer number associated with the correspondence address for a patent 
application is required in order to access information about the 
application using the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) 
system, which is available through the USPTO web site. The PAIR system 
allows authorized individuals secure access to application status 
information over the Internet, but only for patent applications that 
are linked to a customer number. Increased access to the PAIR system 
over the Internet has resulted in an increase in requests for a 
customer number. This increase in submissions of customer number 
requests due to a program change was submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) as part of a change worksheet and approved 
by OMB on November 29, 2001.
    This information collection includes the information necessary to 
submit a request to grant or revoke power of attorney or authorization 
of agent for a patent application and for a registered representative 
to withdraw as attorney or agent of record for a patent application. 
This collection also includes the information necessary to request a 
customer number and associate a correspondence address or list of 
practitioners with this customer number, to change the correspondence 
address or practitioners associated with a customer number, and to 
designate or change the correspondence address or registered 
representatives for one or more patents or applications.
    In addition to the forms offered by the USPTO to assist customers 
with providing the information covered by this collection, customers 
may also use a spreadsheet format (Customer Number Upload Spreadsheet) 
to designate or change the correspondence address, fee address, or 
power of attorney information for a list of patents or applications. 
The Customer Number Upload Spreadsheet must be submitted to the USPTO 
on a computer-readable diskette as specified in the notice entitled 
``Extension of the Payor Number Practice (Through `Customer Numbers') 
to Matters Involving Pending Patent Applications,'' published in the 
Federal Register at 61 FR 54622, 54623-54624 (October 21, 1996). The 
diskette must be accompanied by a paper copy of the spreadsheet and a 
signed cover letter requesting entry of the address and representative 
changes for the listed patents and applications. The spreadsheet and 
printed materials must be mailed to the USPTO and cannot be filed 
electronically over the Internet. Customers may download a Microsoft 
Excel template with instructions from the USPTO web site to assist them 
in preparing the spreadsheet in the proper format. The USPTO expects 
that the number of Customer Number Upload Spreadsheet submissions will 
increase as the use of customer numbers and electronic filing of patent 
applications increases.
    This collection previously included a means to authorize an 
attorney or agent to take instructions from an intermediate 
representative without directly contacting the applicant or assignee 
(Instruction Authorization Form PTO/SB/84), but this form is being 
deleted because the corresponding USPTO policy is no longer in force.

II. Method of Collection

    By mail, facsimile, or hand delivery to the USPTO.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0035.
    Form Number(s): PTO/SB/81/82/83/121/122/123/124A/124B/125A/125B.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other 
for-profits; not-for-profit institutions; and the Federal Government.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 338,280 responses per year.
    Estimated Time Per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the public approximately 3 to 12 minutes (0.05 to 0.2 hours) to 
complete this information, depending on the form. This includes time to 
gather the necessary information, prepare the form, and submit the 
completed request. The USPTO estimates that it will take the public 
approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes (1.75 hours) to submit a Customer 
Number Upload Spreadsheet, including the time for preparing the 
spreadsheet file on diskette, printing the copy of the spreadsheet, and 
producing the signed cover letter.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 31,259 hours per 
year.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $957,750 per year. 
The USPTO expects that Requests for Withdrawal as Attorney or Agent 
will be prepared by an attorney and that the other items in this 
collection will be prepared by paraprofessionals. Using the 
professional hourly rate of $252 per hour for associate attorneys in 
private firms, the USPTO estimates that the respondent cost burden for 
submitting Requests for Withdrawal as Attorney or Agent (PTO/SB/83) 
will be $22,680 per year. Using the paraprofessional hourly rate of $30 
per hour, the USPTO estimates that the respondent cost burden for 
submitting the other forms in this collection and the Customer Number 
Upload Spreadsheets will be $935,070 per year. The total respondent 
cost burden is $957,750 per year.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Estimated       Estimated
                     Item                          Estimated time for response        annual       annual burden
                                                                                     responses         hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Power of Attorney or Authorization of Agent...  3 minutes.......................         312,700          15,635
Revocation of Power of Attorney or              3 minutes.......................             615              31
 Authorization of Agent.
Request for Withdrawal as Attorney or Agent...  12 minutes......................             450              90
Correspondence Address Indication Form........  12 minutes......................              55              11
Change of Correspondence Address..............  3 minutes.......................          12,000             600
Request for Customer Number Data Change.......  12 minutes......................             560             112
Request for Customer Number...................  12 minutes......................           3,900             780
Customer Number Upload Spreadsheet............  1 hour and 45 minutes...........           8,000          14,000
                                                                                 -------------------------------
    Total.....................................  ................................         338,280          31,259
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    Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden: $356. There 
are no maintenance costs or filing fees associated with this 
information collection. However, this collection does have annual (non-
hour) cost burden in the form of capital start-up costs associated with 
using the Customer Number Upload Spreadsheet

[[Page 41402]]

to change the correspondence address or power of attorney for a list of 
patents or applications. The spreadsheet must be submitted to the USPTO 
on a computer-readable diskette. The retail price of the latest version 
of the Microsoft Excel software for creating the spreadsheet file is 
$339, although this software is commonly purchased as part of a bundle 
with other Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Outlook, and 
PowerPoint. A box of ten 3.5-inch diskettes can be purchased for 
approximately $5, or 50 cents per diskette. Padded mailing envelopes 
for safely shipping the diskettes can be purchased for approximately 
$12 for a package of 12, or $1 per envelope. The total non-hour 
respondent cost burden in the form of capital start-up costs is $356 
per year.

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: June 12, 2002.
Susan K. Brown,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of Data Management, Data Administration 
Division.
[FR Doc. 02-15233 Filed 6-17-02; 8:45 am]
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