[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 118 (Tuesday, June 21, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35639-35641]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-12189]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office


Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Certificate Action Form

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.

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

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, Public Law 104-13 (44 
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before August 22, 2005.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-0045 
comment'' in the subject line of the message.

[[Page 35640]]

     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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to Chris Rutherford, Information Technology Security 
Program Office, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Madison Building 
West--Room 5A19, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA 22314; by telephone 
at 571-272-5357; or by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    The Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA) directs federal 
agencies to implement electronic commerce systems that enable the 
collection and dissemination of information while also ensuring the 
security and validity of the information that is transmitted. In 
support of the GPEA and its own electronic filing initiatives, the 
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) uses Public Key 
Infrastructure (PKI) technology to support electronic commerce between 
the USPTO and its customers. PKI is a set of hardware, software, 
policies, and procedures that provide several important security 
services for the electronic business activities of the USPTO, including 
protecting the confidentiality of unpublished patent applications in 
accordance with 35 U.S.C. 122 and international patent applications in 
accordance with Article 30 of the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
    In order to provide the necessary security for its electronic 
commerce systems, the USPTO uses PKI technology to protect the 
integrity and confidentiality of information submitted to the USPTO. 
PKI employs public and private encryption keys to authenticate the 
customer's identity and support secure electronic communication between 
the customer and the USPTO. Customers may submit a request to the USPTO 
for a digital certificate, which enables the customer to create the 
encryption keys necessary for electronic identity verification and 
secure transactions with the USPTO. This digital certificate is 
required in order to access secure online systems that are provided by 
the USPTO for transactions such as electronic filing of patent 
applications and accessing confidential information about unpublished 
patent applications.
    This information collection includes the Certificate Action Form 
(PTO-2042), which is available for download from the USPTO Web site. 
This form is used by the public to request a new digital certificate, 
the revocation of a current certificate, or the recovery of a lost or 
corrupted certificate. Customers may also change the name listed on the 
certificate or associate the certificate with one or more previously 
assigned Customer Numbers. A certificate request must include a 
notarized signature in order to verify the identity of the applicant. 
The Certificate Action Form also has an accompanying subscriber 
agreement to ensure that customers understand their obligations 
regarding the use of the digital certificates and cryptographic 
software.
    The USPTO has revised the Certificate Action Form to accommodate 
its use by limited recognition practitioners who have been granted 
status to act as representatives in specific patent applications. The 
revised form allows customers to identify themselves as limited 
recognition practitioners when requesting a digital certificate. The 
USPTO is also upgrading its PKI software, which will enable customers 
to recover their own lost certificates instantly over the Internet 
without having to contact support staff at the USPTO Electronic 
Business Center. When generating a new certificate, the customer will 
have the option of providing additional information for a set of 
security questions and answers that will be invoked as part of the 
online verification process in the event the customer uses the 
certificate self-recovery feature. The electronic Certificate Self-
Recovery Form is being added to this collection.

II. Method of Collection

    The Certificate Action Form may be mailed or hand delivered to the 
USPTO. The Certificate Self-Recovery Form is submitted electronically 
over the Internet.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0045.
    Form Number(s): PTO-2042.
    Type of Review: Revision 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: 4,126 responses per year.
    Estimated Time Per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the public approximately 30 minutes (0.5 hours) to read the 
instructions and subscriber agreement, gather the necessary 
information, prepare the Certificate Action Form (PTO-2042), and submit 
the completed request. The USPTO estimates that it will take the public 
approximately 25 minutes (0.42 hours) to complete and electronically 
submit the information required for Certificate Self-Recovery.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 1,898 hours per 
year.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $197,392 per year. 
For this information collection, the USPTO expects that 70% of the 
submissions will be prepared by paraprofessionals, 15% by attorneys, 
and 15% by independent inventors. Using those proportions and the 
estimated rates of $81 per hour for paraprofessionals, $286 per hour 
for associate attorneys in private firms, and $30 per hour for 
independent inventors, the USPTO estimates that the average hourly rate 
for all respondents will be approximately $104 per hour. Therefore, the 
estimated total respondent cost burden for this collection will be 
$197,392 per year.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  Estimated time     Estimated       Estimated
                              Item                                 for response       annual       annual burden
                                                                     (minutes)       responses         hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Certificate Action Form (including Subscriber Agreement) (PTO-                30           2,063           1,032
 2042)..........................................................
Certificate Self-Recovery Form..................................              25           2,063             866
                                                                 -----------------
    Total.......................................................  ..............           4,126           1,898
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden: $4,889. 
There are no capital start-up costs, maintenance costs, or filing fees 
associated with this information collection. Authorized users may

[[Page 35641]]

download the necessary cryptographic software from the USPTO at no 
cost. However, this collection does have annual (non-hour) cost burden 
in the form of recordkeeping costs and postage costs associated with 
the Certificate Action Form (PTO-2042).
    This collection has recordkeeping costs due to the notarization 
requirement for authenticating the customer's signature on the 
Certificate Action Form. The USPTO estimates that the average fee for 
having a signature notarized is $2 and that 2,063 signed Certificate 
Action Forms will be submitted annually, for a total recordkeeping cost 
of $4,126 per year.
    This collection also has postage costs for submitting the 
Certificate Action Form to the USPTO by mail. The Certificate Action 
Form cannot be submitted electronically because it requires an original 
notarized signature as verification of the customer's identity. The 
USPTO estimates that the first-class postage cost for a mailed 
Certificate Action Form will be 37 cents and that it will receive 2,063 
Certificate Action Forms annually, for a total postage cost of $763 per 
year.
    The total (non-hour) respondent cost burden for this collection in 
the form of recordkeeping costs and postage costs is estimated to be 
$4,889 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: June 15, 2005.
Susan K. Brown,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Office 
of Data Architecture and Services, Data Administration Division.
[FR Doc. 05-12189 Filed 6-20-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P