[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 214 (Wednesday, November 5, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62564-62565]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-27793]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

United States Patent and Trademark Office


Legal Processes

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 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 January 5, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to 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, VA 22313, 
Attn: CPK 3 Suite 310; 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 Office of General Counsel, USPTO, P.O. Box 
1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; or by telephone at 703-308-2000.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The purpose of this collection is to cover information requirements 
related to civil actions and claims involving both current and former 
employees of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The 
rules for these legal processes may be found under 37 CFR part 104, 
which outlines procedures for service of process, employee testimony 
and production of documents in legal proceedings, employee 
indemnification, and filing claims against the USPTO under the Federal 
Tort Claims Act (28 U.S.C. 2672) and the corresponding Department of 
Justice regulations (28 CFR art 14). The public may also petition the 
Office of General Counsel under 37 CFR 104.3 to waive or suspend these 
rules in extraordinary cases.
    The procedures under 37 CFR part 104 ensure that service of process 
intended for current and former employees of the USPTO is handled 
properly. The public uses this collection to submit information 
required by USPTO regulations covering legal processes, including 
service of process, employee testimony and production of documents in 
legal proceedings, employee indemnification, and claims under the 
Federal Tort Claims Act. There are no forms provided by the USPTO for 
this collection. For filing tort claims, the public may use Standard 
Form 95 ``Claim for Damage, Injury, or Death,'' which is provided by 
the Department of Justice and approved by

[[Page 62565]]

the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB Control Number 
1105-0008.
    This information collection was previously approved by OMB in March 
2001 in conjunction with a proposed rulemaking by the USPTO entitled 
``Legal Processes,'' published in the Federal Register on December 22, 
2000 (Vol. 65, No. 247). The final rule notice was published in the 
Federal Register on September 12, 2001 (Vol. 66, No. 177).

II. Method of Collection

    By mail or hand delivery to the USPTO.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0046.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other 
for-profits; not-for-profit institutions; farms; the Federal 
Government; and State, local or tribal governments.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 157 responses per year.
    Estimated Time Per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the public from 5 minutes (0.08 hours) to 1 hour to gather the 
necessary information, prepare the appropriate documents, and submit 
the information required for the legal processes in this collection.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 29 hours per year.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $8,054 per year. The 
USPTO expects that the information in this collection will be prepared 
by attorneys and former employees, except for the requests for employee 
indemnification, which generally come from professional and supervisory 
staff. Since many of the former employees affected by this collection 
are attorneys, the attorney rate will be used for former employees as 
well. Using the professional rate of $286 per hour for associate 
attorneys in private firms, the USPTO estimates that the respondent 
cost burden for attorneys and former employees submitting the 
information in this collection will be $8,008 per year. Using the 
estimate of $45.99 per hour for professional and supervisory staff, the 
USPTO expects that the respondent cost burden for submitting requests 
for employee indemnification will be $46 per year. Therefore, the 
respondent cost burden for this collection will be $8,054 per year.

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                                                                                                       Estimated
                                                                                           Estimated    annual
                   Item                             Estimated time for  response            annual      burden
                                                                                           responses     hours
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Petition to Waive Rules...................  30 minutes..................................           5           3
Service of Process........................  5 minutes...................................         120          10
Forwarding Service........................  10 minutes..................................           5           1
Employee Testimony and Production of        30 minutes..................................          15           8
 Documents in Legal Proceedings.
Forwarding Demands........................  10 minutes..................................           5           1
Report of Unauthorized Testimony..........  30 minutes..................................           1           1
Report of Possible Indemnification Cases..  30 minutes..................................           3           2
Employee Indemnification..................  30 minutes..................................           1           1
Tort Claims...............................  1 hour......................................           2           2
                                                                                         -------------
      Total...............................  ............................................         157          29
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    Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden: $727 per 
year. There are no capital start-up, maintenance, or recordkeeping 
costs associated with this information collection. However, this 
collection does have annual (non-hour) costs in the form of filing fees 
and postage costs.
    This collection has filing fees associated with the petition to 
waive or suspend the legal process rules under 37 CFR 104.3. The filing 
fee for this petition is $130. There are no other filing fees 
associated with this information collection. The USPTO estimates that 
the total filing costs associated with this collection will be $650 per 
year.
    Customers may incur postage costs when submitting the information 
in this collection to the USPTO by mail. The USPTO estimates that the 
average first-class postage cost for a mailed submission will be 49 
cents and that up to 157 submissions will be mailed to the USPTO per 
year. The total estimated postage cost for this collection is $77 per 
year.
    The total non-hour respondent cost burden for this collection in 
the form of filing fees and postage costs is $727 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: October 30, 2003.
Susan K. Brown,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Office 
of Data Architecture and Services, Data Administration Division.
[FR Doc. 03-27793 Filed 11-4-03; 8:45 am]
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