[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 4, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23098-23100]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-8879]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Patent Examiner Employment Application--Job Application Rating
System (JARS) (Formerly Electronic Application for Patent Examiners--
Job Application Rating System (JARS))
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 comment on the
submission of a extension of a currently approved 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 July 5, 2005.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-0042
comment'' in the subject line of the message.
Fax: 571-273-0221; 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 Theresa Hall, Supervisor, Patent
Branch, Office of Human Resources, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
(USPTO), Alexandria, VA 22314; by telephone at 571-272-6144; or by e-
mail to [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The Job Application Rating System (JARS) is a system by which the
USPTO can rapidly review applications for employment of entry-level
patent examiners. The Office of Human Resources (OHR), armed with a
recommendation from a Supervisory Patent Examiner (SPE) can, in turn,
rapidly make an offer of employment and support hiring actions with
necessary administrative action. Over the past three fiscal years, JARS
has enabled the Patent Corps to hire more than 1,600 entry-level patent
examiners.
Since the inception of JARS, upgrades have increased the
flexibility of the system and the speed and ease with which the Office
of Human Resources can support hiring recommendations.
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Specifically, JARS allows applicants to update personal information
without submitting a new application. Additional form letters and
reports are available, date tracking of previous employment is
significantly improved; and status tracking improvements enable users
to tell who has previously updated the record and when. Future
enhancements will allow JARS to collect demographic data, upgrade the
Windows server from 2000 to 2003, migrate JARS to a J2EE environment,
perform pre-employment testing, provide integration with Recruitment
One-Stop (e-Government Initiative), and allow for category ranking. The
above upgrades to JARS will begin in FY 05 and extend to FY 07. These
enhancements and upgrades will increase and improve the capabilities of
the JARS system.
In the current employment environment, information technology
professionals and engineering graduates are in great demand. The USPTO
is in direct competition with private industry for the same caliber of
candidates with the requisite knowledge and skills to perform patent
examination work. Consequently, it is imperative that every available
technology be employed if the USPTO is to remain competitive, meet the
hiring goal, and fulfill the agency's congressional commitment to
reduce the pendency rate for the examination of patent applications.
The information supplied to the USPTO by an applicant seeking a patent
examiner position with the USPTO assists the Human Resources
Specialists and hiring managers in determining whether an applicant
possesses the basic qualification requirements for the patent examiner
position.
JARS provides the USPTO a user-friendly on-line employment
application process for applicants and enables the USPTO to process
hiring actions in an efficient and timely manner. The on-line
application provides an electronic real-time candidate inventory that
allows the USPTO to review applications from potential applicants
almost instantaneously. Given the immediate hiring need of the Patent
Examining Corps, time consumed in the mail distribution system or paper
review of applications delays the decision-making process by several
weeks. The JARS system results in increased speed and accuracy in the
employment process, in addition to streamlining labor and reducing
costs.
The use of the JARS on-line application fully complies with 5
U.S.C. 2301, which requires adequate public notice to assure open
competition by guaranteeing that necessary employment information will
be accessible and available to the public on inquiry. The JARS on-line
application is fully compliant with Section 508 (29 U.S.C. 794(d)),
which requires agencies to provide disabled employees and members of
the public access to information that is comparable to the access
available to others.
Since the JARS on-line application is used as an alternative form
of employment application, the collection and use of the information
requires OMB approval as outlined in Section 5.1 of the Delegated
Examining Operations Handbook. The Handbook provides guidance to
agencies under a delegated examining authority by the Office of
Personnel Management (OPM), under the provisions of Title 5, U.S. Code,
Chapter 11, Section 1104.
II. Method of Collection
The application information is collected electronically from the
applicant. The application form may be completed on-line and then
transmitted to the USPTO electronically, via the Internet. For those
applicants who do not have access to a personal computer, applications
are available in the Personnel Office at the USPTO, or the applicant
can go to the local library to complete an application.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-0042.
Form Number(s): PTO-2041.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; farms; the Federal
Government; and State, local or tribal governments.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 7,000 responses per year.
Estimated Time Per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take
the public approximately 30 minutes to complete the employment
application, depending upon the situation. There is one form associated
with this information collection, Form PTO-2041.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 3,500 hours per
year.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $110,250. Using the
median hourly rate for scientists and engineers of $31.50, according to
the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the USPTO estimates $110,250 per year
for salary costs associated with respondents. This is a fully loaded
rate.
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Estimated Estimated
Item Estimated time for response annual annual burden
responses hours
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Patent Examiner Employment Application....... 30 minutes....................... 7,000 3,500
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Total.................................... ................................. 7,000 3,500
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Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden: $4,200.
There are no capital start-up, maintenance, or record keeping costs, as
well as no filing fees associated with this information collection.
However, this collection does have annual (non-hour) costs in the form
of postage costs.
Not every applicant can supply all of the required information
electronically. For example, in order to apply for a patent examiner
position, the applicant must possess a minimum of a bachelor degree. A
resume and an official college or university transcript must be
submitted separately with this application and mailed to the USPTO. The
college or university transcript must be an official/original copy and
include the university stamp or seal. When responding to the veteran's
preference claim field, additional information may be required. The
applicant may be required to submit Form DD214 or SF-15, which must be
completed separately and either mailed, faxed or delivered to the
USPTO. The OF-306 (Declaration of Federal Employment) and the SF-85
(Security Background Information) must be printed, signed and dated,
and provided to the USPTO via mail prior to reporting for duty. These
additional required documents may be submitted to the USPTO by first-
class mail through the United States Postal Service. The USPTO
estimates that the average first-class postage is 60 cents. Therefore,
the USPTO estimates that it will receive 7,000 responses to the JARS
on-line application per year, for a total cost of
[[Page 23100]]
$4,200 (7,000 x $0.60 = $4,200) in postage fees.
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: April 27, 2005.
Susan K. Brown,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Office
of Data Architecture and Services, Data Administration Division.
[FR Doc. 05-8879 Filed 5-3-05; 8:45 am]
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