[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 249 (Thursday, December 29, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 77146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-8018]


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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: Patent Processing (Updating).
    Form Number(s): PTO/SB/08, PTO/SB/17i, PTO/SB/17P, PTO/SB/21-27, 
PTO/SB/24B, PTO/SB/30-32, PTO/SB/35-39, PTO/SB/42-43, PTO/SB/61-64, 
PTO/SB/64a, PTO/SB/67-68, PTO/SB/91-92, PTO/SB/96-97, PTO-2053-A/B, 
PTO-2054-A/B, PTO-2055-A/B, PTOL/413A.
    Agency Approval Number: 0651-0031.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden: 2,807,641 hours.
    Number of Respondents: 2,317,539 responses.
    Avg. Hours per Response: 1 minute 48 seconds to 12 hours. The USPTO 
estimates that it will take 12 hours to complete the examination 
support document covering the independent claims and the designated 
dependent claims; 2 hours to complete the petition (filed in a 
continuation or continuation-in-part application) containing a showing 
as to why the amendment, argument, or evidence could not have been 
submitted prior to the close of prosecution in the prior-filed 
application; 2 hours to complete the petition (filed with a request for 
continued examination) with a showing as to why the amendment, 
argument, or evidence could not have been submitted prior to the close 
of prosecution in the application; and 1 hour to complete the 
explanation (filed in a nonprovisional application) of either how the 
claims are patentably distinct or why there are patentably indistinct 
claims filed in multiple applications. This includes time to gather the 
necessary information, create the documents, and submit the completed 
request.
    Needs and Uses: The proposed examination support document covering 
the independent claims and designated dependent claims will assist the 
applicant in preparing a schedule of claims that are patentable (i.e., 
novel and non-obvious) over the prior art, and will assist the USPTO in 
the examination process in determining whether the claims are 
patentable over the prior art. The proposed petition for a continuation 
or continuation-in-part application showing why the amendment, 
argument, or evidence could not have been submitted prior to the close 
of prosecution in the application will assist the USPTO in determining 
whether the continuation or continuation-in-part application or request 
for continued examination is a bona fide attempt to advance the 
application to final agency action or is simply being filed to delay 
examination. The proposed explanation in nonprovisional applications, 
when multiple applications having a common inventor and a common 
assignee have been filed on the same day, of either how the claims are 
patentably distinct or why there are patentably indistinct claims filed 
in multiple applications, will assist the USPTO in determining whether 
double patenting exists and whether the USPTO should merge the 
applications. The USPTO is submitting this collection in support of a 
notice of proposed rulemaking entitled ``Changes to Practice for the 
Examination of Claims in Patent Applications'' (RIN 0651-AB94); and a 
notice of proposed rulemaking entitled ``Changes to Practice for 
Continuing Applications, Requests for Continued Examination Practice, 
and Applications Containing Patentably Indistinct Claims'' (RIN 0651-
AB93). There are no forms associated with this final rulemaking.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; business or other for-
profit; 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 ``0651-0031 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 January 30, 2006, to David 
Rostker, OMB Desk Officer, Room 10202, New Executive Office Building, 
725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503.

    Dated: December 22, 2005.
Susan K. Brown,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of Data Architecture and Services, Data 
Administration Division.
 [FR Doc. E5-8018 Filed 12-28-05; 8:45 am]
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