[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 159 (Wednesday, August 18, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51267-51269]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-18929]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office


Disclosure Document Program

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part 
of its

[[Page 51268]]

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 and proposed 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 October 18, 
2004.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-0030 
comment'' in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: 703-308-7407, marked to the attention of Susan Brown.
     Mail: Susan K. Brown, Records Officer, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer, Office of Data Architecture and Services, Data 
Administration Division, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 
1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to the attention of Robert J. Spar, Director, Office 
of Patent Legal Administration, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. 
Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 703-308-5107; or 
by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    A service provided by the USPTO is the acceptance and preservation 
for two years of a ``disclosure document'' as evidence of the date of 
conception of an invention. A disclosure document is a paper disclosing 
an invention, signed by the inventor or inventors, and submitted to the 
USPTO. The document should contain a clear and complete explanation of 
the manner and process of making and using the invention in sufficient 
detail to enable a person having ordinary knowledge in the field of the 
invention to make and use the invention. The disclosure document 
request must be accompanied by a separate signed cover letter stating 
that it is submitted by, or on behalf of, the inventor, and requesting 
that the material be received into the Disclosure Document Program. 
These documents will be kept in confidence by the USPTO without 
publication in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 122(b).
    The disclosure document will be preserved by the USPTO for two 
years after its receipt, and then destroyed unless it is referred to in 
a separate letter in a related patent application filed within the two 
year period. The disclosure document is not a patent application, and 
the date of its receipt in the USPTO will not become the effective 
filing date of any patent application subsequently filed.
    The information supplied to the USPTO by an applicant seeking to 
prove the date of conception for an invention is used by the USPTO as 
evidence of the date of conception of an invention.
    There is one form associated with this information collection, Form 
PTO/SB/95, Disclosure Document Deposit Request.

II. Method of Collection

    By mail, facsimile, or hand carried to the USPTO when the inventor 
desires to participate in the Disclosure Document Program.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0030.
    Form Number(s): PTO/SB/95.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; business or other for-
profit; not-for-profit institutions; farms; the Federal government; and 
State, local or tribal governments.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 22,225 responses.
    Estimated Time Per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the public approximately 12 minutes, depending upon the complexity of 
the situation, to gather, prepare, and submit a disclosure document 
deposit request.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 4,445 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $1,271,270. The 
USPTO expects that the information in this collection will be prepared 
by attorneys. Using the professional hourly rate of $286 per hour for 
associate attorneys in private firms, the USPTO estimates that the 
respondent cost burden for submitting the information in this 
collection will be $1,271,270 per year.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Estimated       Estimated
                     Item                         Estimated time for response         annual       annual burden
                                                                                     responses         hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclosure Document Deposit Request..........  12 minutes.......................          22,225           4,445
                                              ------------------------------------
    TOTAL....................................  .................................          22,225           4,445
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden: $235,585. 
There are no capital start-up, maintenance or recordkeeping costs 
associated with this information collection.
    There is annual non-hour cost burden in the way of a filing fee for 
the disclosure document deposit request. Following is a chart listing 
this filing fee/non-hour cost burden. The total annual filing fee/non-
hour cost burden is estimated to be $222,250.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                  Total non-hour
                     Item                                Responses (a)              Filing fee      cost burden
                                                                                      ($) (b)        (a) x (b)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclosure Document Deposit Request..........  22,225...........................          $10.00     $222,250.00
                                              ------------------------------------
    TOTAL....................................  22,225...........................           10.00      222,250.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 60 
cents and that up to 22,225 submissions will be mailed to the USPTO per 
year. The total estimated postage cost for this collection is $13,335.
    The total non-hour respondent cost burden for this collection in 
the form of filing fees and postage costs is estimated to be $235,585.

[[Page 51269]]

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: August 12, 2004.
Susan K. Brown,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Office 
of Data Architecture and Services, Data Administration Division.
[FR Doc. 04-18929 Filed 8-17-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P