[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 174 (Tuesday, September 9, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53143-53144]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-22882]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    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).
    Agency: United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
    Title: Patent Processing (Updating).
    Form Number(s): PTO/SB/08a/08b/21/22/23/24/24A/25/26/27/30/31/32/
35/36/37/42/43/61/62/63/64/64a/67/68/91/92/96/97, PTO-2053-A/B, PTO-
2054-A/B, PTO-2055-A/B, PTOL/413A, eIDS, EFS form.
    Agency Approval Number: 0651-0031.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Burden: 2,724,329 hours annually.
    Number of Respondents: 2,215,789 responses per year.
    Avg. Hours Per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
anywhere from one hour to four hours, depending on the amount of 
information that the applicant needs to submit to the USPTO, to 
complete the requirements associated with this information collection. 
This includes time to gather the necessary information, create the 
documents, and submit the completed request.
    Needs and Uses: During the pendency of a patent application or the 
period of enforceability of a patent, situations arise that require 
collection of information for the USPTO to further process the patented 
file or the patent application. This information can be used by the 
USPTO to continue the processing of the patent or application or to 
ensure that applicants are complying with the patent regulations. The 
USPTO is submitting this collection in support of a proposed 
rulemaking, ``Changes to Support Implementation of the USPTO's 21st 
Century Plan'' (RIN

[[Page 53144]]

0651-AB64) that would allow the use of electronic signatures on 
documents, require photographs of any exhibit so that the exhibit can 
be included in the file, and also allow the USPTO to adjust the fees 
for many petitions in order to more accurately reflect the actual cost 
to the USPTO of processing these petitions, among other things.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; business or other for-
profit; not-for-profit institutions; farms, the Federal Government, and 
State, local, or tribal governments.
    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, Office of the 
Chief Information Officer, Office of Data Architecture and Services, 
(703) 308-7400, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, 
Alexandria, Virginia 22313, Attn: CPK 3 Suite 310, or by e-mail at 
[email protected].
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent on or before October 9, 2003, to David 
Rostker, OMB Desk Officer, Room 10202, New Executive Office Building, 
Washington, DC 20503.

    Dated: September 2, 2003.
Susan K. Brown,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of Data Architecture and Services, Data 
Administration Division.
[FR Doc. 03-22882 Filed 9-8-03; 8:45 am]
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