[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 174 (Tuesday, September 9, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 53144]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-22883]


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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 Term Extension.
    Form Number(s): No forms associated.
    Agency Approval Number: 0651-0020.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden: 30,905 hours annually.
    Number of Respondents: 26,859 responses per year.
    Avg. Hours Per Response: The time needed to respond is estimated to 
range from 1 to 25 hours, depending upon the complexity of the 
situation. It is estimated that the time needed to complete the 
applications, petitions, declarations, and requests associated with the 
patent term and interim extensions ranges from 1 to 25 hours. This time 
range also includes the Petition to Accord a Filing Date to an 
Application under 1.740 for Extension of a Patent Term, which the USPTO 
estimates will take 2 hours to complete. This includes the time to 
gather the necessary information, create the documents, and submit the 
completed requests.
    Needs and Uses: The USPTO is submitting this information collection 
in support of the notice of proposed rulemaking, ``Changes to Support 
Implementation of the United States Patent and Trademark Office 21st 
Century Strategic Plan'' (RIN 0651-AB64), which the USPTO will forward 
to the Federal Register for publication. This proposed rule increases 
the filing fee from $130 to $400 for the Petition to Accord a Filing 
Date to an Application under 1.740 for Extension of a Patent Term and 
adds this petition into the collection. This petition is used by the 
public to request review of a notice of an incomplete application for 
extension of a patent term and to request a filing date. The USPTO uses 
this information to determine the filing date for the application for 
extension of a patent term.
    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), together 
with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Department of 
Agriculture, administers the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, 35 
U.S.C. 156. This Act permits the USPTO to restore the patent term lost 
due to certain types of regulatory review by the Federal Food and Drug 
Administration or the Department of Agriculture. Only patents for drug 
products, medical devices, food additives, and color additives are 
eligible for extension. The maximum length that a patent may be 
extended (the maximum of patent term that may be restored) is five 
years.
    Under 35 U.S.C. 156, the USPTO extends the term of various patents 
past their original expiration dates, grants interim extensions, 
reviews applications for patent term extension and final eligibility 
decisions, obtains additional information from the public that might 
influence the extension of the patent term, and withdraws applications 
for patent term extensions. The USPTO administers 35 U.S.C. 156 through 
37 CFR 1.705-1.791, which permits the public to submit applications to 
the USPTO to extend the patent term past its original expiration date; 
to petition for reviews of informal extensions of applications, final 
eligibility decisions, and interim extensions; and to withdraw an 
application requesting a patent term extension after it is submitted.
    Use of the USPTO's information allows the Director of the USPTO, 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of 
Agriculture to access the information required to determine whether the 
applicant is eligible for a patent term extension or reconsideration of 
patent term adjustment determination and, if so, the period of the 
extension or adjustment.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; individuals or 
households; not-for-profit institutions; farms; the Federal Government; 
and State, local, or tribal government.
    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, 
Data Administration Division, 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 the Chief Information Officer, Office 
of Data Architecture and Services, Data Administration Division.
[FR Doc. 03-22883 Filed 9-8-03; 8:45 am]
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