[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 241 (Monday, December 16, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77054-77055]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-31574]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office


Statutory Invention Registration

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, Pub. L. 
104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before February 14, 
2003.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Susan K. Brown, Records 
Officer, Office of Data Architecture and Services, Data Administration 
Division, USPTO, Suite 310, 2231 Crystal Drive, Washington, DC 20231; 
by telephone at (703) 308-7400; by e-mail at [email protected]; or 
by facsimile at (703) 308-7407.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    A statutory invention registration is not a patent. It has the 
defensive attributes of a patent but does not have the enforceable 
attributes of a patent. In other words, a person occasionally invents 
something solely for personal use (not for production or sale) and does 
not want to go through the effort and expense of obtaining a patent on 
the invention. At the same time, the inventor wants to prevent someone 
else from later obtaining a patent on a like invention. In that 
situation, the inventor can register a statutory invention and have it 
published. Once published, it cannot be claimed by another person.
    37 U.S.C. 157 authorizes the United States Patent and Trademark 
Office (USPTO) to publish a statutory invention registration containing 
the specifications and drawings of a regularly filed application for a 
patent without examination, providing the patentee meets all the 
requirements for printing, waives the right to receive a patent on the 
invention within a certain period of time prescribed by the USPTO, and 
pays all application, publication and other processing fees.
    The USPTO administers 35 U.S.C. 157 through 37 CFR 1.293-1.297. 
Under these rules, an applicant for an original patent may request, at 
any time during the pendency of the applicant's pending complete 
application, that the specifications and drawings be published as a 
statutory invention registration. Any request for a statutory invention 
registration may be examined to determine if the requirements have been 
met, if the subject matter of the application is appropriate for 
publication, and if the requirements for publication are met.
    The public may petition the USPTO to review rejection decisions 
within one month or such other time as is set forth in the decision 
refusing publication. The public may also petition the USPTO to 
withdraw a request to publish a statutory invention registration prior 
to the date of the notice of the intent to publish.
    If the request for a statutory invention registration is approved, 
a notice to that effect will be published in the USPTO's Official 
Gazette. Each statutory invention registration published will include a 
statement relating to the attributes of a statutory invention 
registration.
    A Change Worksheet was approved by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) on November 29, 2001, which decreased the number of 
responses for this collection by 10 (from 83 to 73) due to the 
availability of 18-month publications of patent applications. 
Consequently, the total burden hours were also reduced by 4, (from 33 
to 29) as a program change.
    The public uses form PTO/SB/94, Request for Statutory Invention 
Registration, to request and authorize publication of a regularly-filed 
patent application as a Statutory Invention Registration, to waive the 
right to receive a United States patent on the same invention claimed 
in the identified patent application, to agree that the waiver will be 
effective upon publication of the statutory invention registration, and 
to state that the identified patent application complies with the 
requirements for printing. No forms are associated with the petition 
for a review of the refusal to publish a statutory invention 
registration or the petition to withdraw the request for publication of 
a statutory invention registration.

[[Page 77055]]

II. Method of collection

    By mail, facsimile, or hand delivery to the USPTO when the 
applicant or agent files a statutory invention registration with the 
USPTO.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0036.
    Form Number(s): PTO/SB/94.
    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: 73 responses per year.
    Estimated Time Per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
approximately 24 minutes each to gather, prepare, and submit the 
request for statutory invention registration, the petition to review 
the rejection decision, and the petition to withdraw the publication 
request, depending upon the complexity of the situation. This 
collection contains 1 form and 2 petitions.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 29 hours per year.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $7,308. Using the 
professional hourly rate of $252 per hour for associate attorneys in 
private firms, the USPTO estimates $7,308 per year for salary costs 
associated with respondents.

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                                                                                     Estimated       Estimated
                      Item                         Estimated time for response        annual       annual burden
                                                                                     responses         hours
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Statutory Invention Registration...............  24 minutes.....................              70            28.0
Petition to Review Rejection Decision..........  24 minutes.....................               1             0.4
Petition to Withdraw Publication Request.......  24 minutes.....................               2             0.8
                                                ----------------------------------
      Total....................................  ...............................              73            29.2
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    Estimated Total Annual Nonhour Respondent Cost Burden: $107,146. 
There are no capital start-up costs or maintenance costs associated 
with this information collection. However this collection does have 
postage costs and filing fees.
    The public may submit the paper forms and petitions in this 
collection to the USPTO by mail through the United States Postal 
Service. The USPTO estimates that the average first-class postage cost 
for a mailed submission will be 49 cents, and that customers filing the 
documents associated with this information collection may choose to 
mail their submissions to the USPTO. Therefore, the USPTO estimates 
that up to 73 submissions per year may be mailed to the USPTO at an 
average first-class postage cost of 49 cents, for a total postage cost 
of $36.
    There is annual nonhour cost burden in the way of filing fees 
associated with this collection. Since the filing fees have not 
previously been included in this collection, the total number of 
filings is being used to calculate these costs.
    The estimated filing costs for this collection of $107,110 are 
calculated in the accompanying chart.

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                                                                                                  Total non-hour
                              Item                                 Response  (a)  Filing fee ($)    cost burden
                                                                                        (b)          (a) x (b)
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Statutory Invention Registration (requested prior to mailing of               24         $920.00      $22,080.00
 first office action, 37 CFR 1.17(n))...........................
Statutory Invention Registration (requested after mailing of                  46        1,840.00       84,640.00
 first office action, 37 CFR 1.17(o))...........................
Petition to Review Rejection Decision...........................               1          130.00          130.00
Petition to Withdraw Publication Request........................               2          130.00          260.00
                                                                 -----------------
      Total.....................................................              73  ..............      107,110.00
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    The USPTO estimates that the total non-hour respondent cost burden 
for this collection in the form of postage costs and filing fees 
amounts to $107,146.

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: December 9, 2002.
Susan K. Brown,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of Data Architecture and Services, Data 
Administration Division.
[FR Doc. 02-31574 Filed 12-13-02; 8:45 am]
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