[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 103 (Thursday, May 29, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32018-32020]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-13316]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office


Practitioner Records Maintenance, Disclosure, and Discipline 
Before the Patent and Trademark Office (Formerly Practitioner Records 
Maintenance and Disclosure Before the Patent and Trademark Office)

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 July 28, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Susan K. Brown, Records 
Officer, Office of Data Architecture and Services, Data Administration 
Division, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Suite 310, 2231 Crystal 
Drive, Arlington, VA 22202, 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 Nora Cordova, Mail Stop OED, 
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, PO Box 1450, 
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by

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telephone at (703) 306-4097; or by electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office 
(USPTO), under the direction of the Department of Commerce, has the 
authority to establish regulations for the conduct of proceedings 
before the agency and to prescribe regulations governing the conduct 
and discipline of agents, attorneys, or other persons representing 
applicants and other parties before the USPTO (35 U.S.C. 2, 32 and 33). 
The USPTO Code of Professional Responsibility (37 CFR 10.20 to 10.112) 
describes how attorneys or practitioners should conduct themselves 
professionally and outlines their responsibilities for record keeping 
and reporting violations or complaints of misconduct to the USPTO, 
while the Investigations and Disciplinary Proceedings rules (37 CFR 
10.130 to 10.170) outline how the USPTO can discipline attorneys and 
practitioners.
    The USPTO Code of Professional Responsibility requires that an 
attorney or agent maintain complete records of all funds, securities, 
and other properties of clients coming into his or her possession, and 
to render appropriate accounts to the client regarding the funds, 
securities, and other properties. These record keeping requirements are 
necessary to maintain the integrity of client property. Similar record 
keeping is required by each State Bar of its attorneys.
    The Code also requires that an attorney or agent will report 
knowledge of certain violations of the Code to the USPTO. This 
collection requirement is necessary to investigate and possibly 
prosecute violations of the USPTO Code. If the complaint is found to 
have merit, the USPTO will provide the practitioner with the 
opportunity to respond to the complaint. The practitioner can request 
one 30-day extension of time to respond to the complaint. The USPTO 
also provides practitioners with the opportunity to respond to 
settlement offers. The Director may, after notice and opportunity for a 
hearing, suspend, exclude, or disqualify any practitioner from further 
practice before the USPTO based on noncompliance with the regulations 
established under the United States Code.
    The information collected (reports of alleged violations of the 
USPTO Code of Professional Responsibility) is used by the Director of 
Enrollment and Discipline (OED) to conduct investigations and prosecute 
violations as appropriate. If this information is not collected, the 
Director of OED would have no knowledge of alleged violations and would 
be unable to enforce this provision of the USPTO Code.
    The USPTO plans to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking, 
``Changes to Representation of Others Before the United States Patent 
and Trademark Office'' in the Federal Register. This proposed 
rulemaking expands existing record keeping requirements. Under this 
proposed rulemaking, practitioners must keep copies or recordings of 
advertisements or communications disseminated in print or electronic 
media for two years after the last use of the advertisement, along with 
a record of when and where the advertisement was used. Additionally, 
practitioners who have been excluded or suspended from practice before 
the USPTO must keep and maintain records of their steps to comply with 
the suspension or exclusion order. These records serve as the 
practitioner's proof of compliance with the order.
    Existing information requirements overlooked in previous 
submissions are being added to this collection for the first time. The 
USPTO has reviewed these requirements and determined that they should 
be submitted to OMB for review. Therefore, the Responses to Requests/
Requirements for Information, Requests for Extensions of Time to 
Respond, Responses to Settlement Offers, and Responses to Show Cause 
are being incorporated into this collection.

II. Method of Collection

    By mail, facsimile, or hand delivery to the USPTO when an 
individual is required to participate in the information collection.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0017.
    Form Number(s): There are no forms associated with this collection.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; business or other for-
profit; not-for-profit institutions, the Federal Government, and State, 
Local, or Tribal Government.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 582 responses per year.
    Estimated Time Per Response: The USPTO estimates that practitioners 
spend 26 hours per year keeping and maintaining records concerning 
their client's cases. The USPTO estimates that practitioners seeking 
reinstatement to practice before the agency will spend 60 hours per 
year keeping and maintaining records showing their compliance with the 
suspension or exclusion orders. It is estimated that it takes 2 hours 
to report a complaint and that it takes 5 minutes (0.08 hours) to 4 
hours to respond to a complaint and provide other information as 
necessary. The estimated times will vary, depending upon the request. 
These estimates include the time to gather the necessary information, 
prepare the complaint, response or request, to maintain records, and to 
submit the requests or responses to the USPTO.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 8,334 hours per 
year.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $388,864 per year. 
Using the professional hourly rate of $252 per hour for associate 
attorneys in private firms, and the hourly rate of $30 for a para-
professional/clerical worker, the USPTO estimates $355,464 per year for 
salary costs associated with respondents for all of the information and 
recordkeeping requirements in this collection, with the exception of 
the complaint/violation reporting. The USPTO predicts that half of the 
complaints will be filed by practitioners and that the remaining 
complaints will be split evenly between non-legal/professionals and 
semi-professionals or skilled trade. The USPTO estimates that it will 
cost practitioners $252 per hour, non-legal/professionals $156 per 
hour, and semi-professionals or skilled trade $60 per hour to submit a 
complaint, for a weighted average hourly rate of $180 per hour. 
Considering these factors, the USPTO estimates $36,000 per year for 
salary costs associated with filing a complaint, for a total annual 
respondent cost burden of $391,464 per year.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    Estimated                 Estimated
                                     time for    Estimated      annual
               Item                  response      annual       burden
                                     (hours)     responses      hours
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Record Keeping Maintenance                  26          282        7,332
 (including financial books and
 records such as trust accounts,
 fiduciary accounts, operating
 accounts, and advertisements)...

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Record Keeping Maintenance Under            60            5          300
 Suspension or Exclusion from the
 USPTO...........................
Complaint/Violation Reporting....            2          100          200
Responses to Requests/                       3          150          450
 Requirements for Information....
Requests for Extension of Time to        \1\ 5           30            2
 Respond.........................
Responses to Settlement Offers...            3           10           30
Responses to Show Cause..........            4            5           20
                                  --------------
      Total......................  ...........          582       8,334
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Minutes.

    Estimated Total Annual Nonhour Respondent Cost Burden: $661. There 
are no capital start-up or maintenance costs associated with this 
information collection. However, there are postage costs associated 
with this collection.
    The public may submit the complaints, responses, and requests in 
this collection to the USPTO by mail through the United States Postal 
Service. If these documents are sent by first-class mail, a certificate 
of mailing for each piece of correspondence, stating the date of 
deposit or transmission to the USPTO, may also be included.
    The USPTO expects that the complaints will be mailed to the USPTO 
by first-class postage, for an average cost of 49 cents. The USPTO 
estimates that up to 100 responses may be mailed by first-class mail 
(49 cents), for a total postage cost of $49 per year.
    The USPTO believes that the responses to requests/requirements for 
information and the responses to show cause will be mailed to the USPTO 
by first-class or priority mail. Since these submissions are frequently 
bulky in nature, the USPTO estimates that they could weigh up to one 
pound, for an average postage cost of $3.85. The USPTO estimates that 
up to 155 responses may be mailed by first-class or priority mail 
($3.85), for a total postage cost of $597 per year.
    The USPTO believes that the requests for extension of time to 
respond and the responses to settlement offers will be mailed to the 
USPTO by first-class postage, for an average cost of 37 cents. The 
USPTO estimates that up to 40 responses may be mailed by first-class 
mail (37 cents), for a total postage cost of $15 per year.
    Therefore, this information collection has a total of $661 in 
postage costs.

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: May 21, 2003.
Susan K. Brown,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of Data Architecture and Services, Data 
Administration Division.
[FR Doc. 03-13316 Filed 5-28-03; 8:45 am]
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