[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 18 (Friday, January 27, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4570-4571]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-1025]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office


Public User ID Badging

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 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 March 28, 2006.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
    E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-0041 comment'' 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, Architecture, Engineering and Technical Services, 
Data Architecture and Services Division, U.S. Patent and Trademark 
Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
    Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
regarding online access cards or user training should be directed to 
Diane Lewis, Manager, Public Search Facilities, U.S. Patent and 
Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by 
telephone at 571-272-8714; or by electronic mail at 
[email protected].
    Requests for additional information regarding security 
identification badges should be directed to J.R. Garland, Director, 
Security Office, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, 
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-6247; or by 
electronic mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is required 
by 35 U.S.C. 41(i)(1) to maintain a Public Search Facility to provide 
patent and trademark collections for searching and retrieval of 
information. The Public Search Facilities are maintained for public use 
with paper and electronic search files and trained staff to assist 
searchers. The USPTO also offers training courses to assist the public 
with using the advanced electronic search systems available at the 
facilities.
    In order to manage the patent and trademark collections that are 
available to the public, the USPTO issues online access cards to 
customers who wish to use the electronic search systems at the Public 
Search Facility. Customers may obtain an online access card by 
completing the application at the Public Search Facility reference desk 
and providing proper identification. The plastic online access cards 
include a bar-coded user number and an expiration date. Users may renew 
their cards by validating and updating the required information and may 
obtain a replacement for a lost card by providing proper 
identification.
    Under the authority provided in 41 CFR Part 102-81, the USPTO 
issues security identification badges to members of the public who wish 
to use the facilities at the USPTO. Public users may apply for a 
security badge in person at the USPTO Office of Security by providing 
the necessary information and presenting a valid form of identification 
with photograph. The security badges include a color photograph of the 
user and must be worn at all times while at the USPTO facilities.
    The USPTO is updating this information collection to include the 
renewal of security identification badges for public users. The 
security badges must be renewed annually and there is no fee. The USPTO 
is also deleting the previous $15 fee for obtaining a replacement 
online access card from this collection because that fee has been 
eliminated. Finally, the USPTO is revising the estimated annual 
responses for this collection to reflect current submissions related to 
online access cards, training courses, and security badges for users of 
the Public Search Facilities.

II. Method of Collection

    The applications for online access cards and security 
identification badges are completed on site and handed to a USPTO staff 
member for issuance. User training application forms may be mailed, 
faxed, or hand delivered to the USPTO.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0041.
    Form Number(s): PTO-2030, PTO-2224.
    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: 11,369 responses per year.
    Estimated Time Per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the public approximately five to 10 minutes (0.08 to 0.17 hours) to 
complete the information in this collection, including gathering the 
necessary information, preparing the appropriate form, and submitting 
the completed request.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 1,097 hours per 
year.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $163,453 per year. 
The USPTO estimates that approximately \1/3\ of the users responding to 
this collection are attorneys and \2/3\ are paraprofessionals. Using 
\1/3\ of the professional rate of $286 per hour for associate attorneys 
in private firms and \2/3\ of the paraprofessional rate of $81 per 
hour, the estimated rate for respondents to this collection is 
approximately $149 per hour.

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                                                           Estimated time
                          Item                              for response     Estimated annual   Estimated annual
                                                             (minutes)          responses         burden hours
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Application for Public User ID (Online Access Card)                      5              2,951                236
 (PTO-2030)............................................
Issue Online Access Card...............................                 10              1,975                336
Renew Online Access Card...............................                  5              1,975                158

[[Page 4571]]

 
Replace Online Access Card.............................                  5                 70                  6
User Training Application Forms........................                 10                 98                 17
Security Identification Badges for Public Users (PTO-                    5              1,000                 80
 2224).................................................
Renew Security Identification Badges for Public Users..                  5              3,200                256
Replace Security Identification Badge..................                  5                100                  8
                                                        --------------------
    Total..............................................  .................             11,369              1,097
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    Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden: $4,152. 
There are no capital start-up, maintenance, or recordkeeping costs 
associated with this information collection. However, this collection 
does have annual (non-hour) costs in the form of filing fees and 
postage costs.
    There are no application or renewal fees for online access cards or 
security identification badges. However, there is a $15 fee for issuing 
a replacement security identification badge. The previous $15 fee for 
obtaining a replacement online access card has been eliminated. The 
USPTO estimates that it will reissue approximately 100 security badges 
annually that have been lost or need to be replaced, for a total of 
$1,500 per year in replacement fees.
    There are registration fees for the user training courses offered 
at the Public Search Facilities. The regular cost for a public course 
is $25 per class, and individual instruction may also be arranged for 
$120 per class. The USPTO estimates that it will receive 96 
registrations for public courses and 2 registrations for individual 
instruction per year, for a total of $2,640 in training registration 
fees. Therefore, this collection has a total of $4,140 per year in 
filing fees in the form of security badge replacement fees and training 
registration fees.

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                                                          Estimated annual                      Estimated annual
                          Item                               responses          Fee amount         fee costs
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Application for Public User ID (Online Access Card)                  2,951              $0.00              $0.00
 (PTO-2030)............................................
Issue Online Access Card...............................              1,975               0.00               0.00
Renew Online Access Card...............................              1,975               0.00               0.00
Replace Online Access Card.............................                 70               0.00               0.00
User Training Application Forms (Public Course)........                 96              25.00           2,400.00
User Training Application Forms (Individual Course)....                  2             120.00             240.00
Security Identification Badges for Public Users (PTO-                1,000               0.00               0.00
 2224).................................................
Renew Security Identification Badges for Public Users..              3,200               0.00               0.00
Replace Security Identification Badge..................                100              15.00           1,500.00
                                                        --------------------
    Total..............................................             11,369  .................           4,140.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Users may incur postage costs when submitting a user training 
application form to the USPTO by mail. The USPTO expects that 
approximately 30 of the estimated 98 training forms received per year 
will be submitted by mail. The USPTO estimates that the average first-
class postage cost for a mailed training form will be 39 cents, for a 
total postage cost of approximately $12 per year for this collection.
    The total annual (non-hour) respondent cost burden for this 
collection in the form of filing fees and postage costs is estimated to 
be $4,152 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: January 23, 2006.
Susan K. Brown,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer, 
Architecture, Engineering and Technical Services, Data Architecture and 
Services Division.
[FR Doc. E6-1025 Filed 1-26-06; 8:45 am]
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