[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 68 (Monday, April 11, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 18377]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-7149]


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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: Recording Assignments.
    Form Number(s): PTO-1594, PTO-1595.
    Agency Approval Number: 0651-0027.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden: 165,648 hours annually.
    Number of Respondents: 331,294 responses per year.
    Avg. Hours Per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take the 
public approximately 30 minutes (0.5 hours) to gather the necessary 
information, prepare the forms, and submit a completed request to 
record an assignment document for a patent or trademark property.
    Needs and Uses: Under 35 U.S.C. 261 and 262 and 15 U.S.C. 1057 and 
1060, the USPTO records patent and trademark assignment documents that 
show the transfer of ownership of applications, patents, and trademark 
registrations from one entity to another. The USPTO administers these 
statutes through 37 CFR Part 3 (3.1-3.85) for patents and trademarks, 
and also 37 CFR 2.146 and 2.171 for trademarks. To record an 
assignment, the respondent must submit an appropriate cover sheet along 
with copies of the assignment documents to be recorded and payment of 
the appropriate fee. The recorded documents are available for public 
inspection except for those documents that are sealed under secrecy 
orders or related to unpublished patent applications. The USPTO is 
adding two new online forms to this collection for the Electronic 
Patent Assignment System (EPAS) and Electronic Trademark Assignment 
System (ETAS), which enable customers to submit patent and trademark 
assignment documents electronically through the USPTO Web site.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households, businesses or other 
for-profits, 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 any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-0027 copy 
request'' in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: 571-273-0112, 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.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent on or before May 11, 2005 to David Rostker, 
OMB Desk Officer, Room 10202, New Executive Office Building, 725 17th 
Street NW., Washington, DC 20503.

    Dated: April 4, 2005.
Susan K. Brown,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Office 
of Data Architecture and Services, Data Administration Division.
[FR Doc. 05-7149 Filed 4-8-05; 8:45 am]
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