[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 57 (Wednesday, March 24, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13815-13816]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-6526]


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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: Practitioner Records Maintenance, Disclosure, and Discipline 
Before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
    Form Number(s): None.
    Agency Approval Number: 0651-0017.
    Type of Request: Reinstatement, with change, of a previously 
approved collection for which approval has expired.
    Burden: 8,334 hours annually.
    Number of Respondents: 582 responses per year.
    Avg. Hours 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

[[Page 13816]]

estimated that it takes 2 hours to report a complaint/violation and 
that it takes 5 minutes (0.08 hours) to 4 hours, depending upon the 
nature of the complaint/violation, to respond 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; to prepare the complaint/violation, response or 
request; to maintain records; and to submit the requests or responses 
to the USPTO.
    Needs and Uses: This information is required by 35 U.S.C. 
Sec. Sec.  2(b)(2)(D) and 32, and administered by the USPTO through the 
USPTO Code of Professional Responsibility (37 CFR 10.20 to 10.112) and 
the Investigations and Disciplinary Proceedings rules (37 CFR 10.130 to 
10.170). This information is used by the Director of the Office of 
Enrollment and Discipline (OED) to investigate and, where appropriate, 
prosecute for violations of the USPTO Code of Professional 
Responsibility. Registered practitioners are mandated to maintain 
proper documentation so that they can fully cooperate with an 
investigation in the event of a report of an alleged violation. The 
USPTO is submitting this collection in support of a proposed 
rulemaking, ``Changes to Representation of Others Before the United 
States Patent and Trademark Office'' (RIN 0651-AB55), which expands 
existing record keeping requirements. Under this proposed rulemaking, 
practitioners must keep copies of 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.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; business or other for-
profit; the Federal Government; and State, Local or Tribal Governments.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    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 April 23, 2004 to David Rostker, 
OMB Desk Officer, Room 10202, New Executive Office Building, 
Washington, DC 20503.

    Dated: March 18, 2004.
Susan K. Brown,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of Data Architecture and Services, Data 
Administration Division.
[FR Doc. 04-6526 Filed 3-23-04; 8:45 am]
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