[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 98 (Monday, May 22, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29318-29319]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-7737]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent And Trademark Office


Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Program

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 new 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 July 21, 2006.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
    E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-00XX PPH Pilot 
Program 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 
should be directed to Robert J. Spar, Director, Office of Patent Legal 
Administration, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, 
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-7700; or by e-mail 
at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program is being 
established between the United States Patent and Trademark Office 
(USPTO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO). This program will allow 
applicants whose claims are determined to be patentable in the office 
of first filing to have the corresponding application that is filed in 
the office of second filing be advanced out of turn for examination. At 
the same time, this program will allow the office of second filing to 
exploit the search and examination results of the office of first 
filing. The one-year pilot program will begin on July 3, 2006.
    In order to participate in this program, applicants must meet 
certain requirements. Some of the requirements are: (1) The U.S. 
application must validly claim foreign priority to the JPO application; 
(2) the JPO application must have at least one claim that was 
determined to be patentable; (3) all the claims in the U.S. application 
must be amended to sufficiently correspond to the patentable claims in 
the JPO application; (4) examination of the U.S. application has not 
begun; (5) applicant must submit copies of the JPO office actions and 
English translations thereof; and (6) applicant must file a petition to 
make special along with the required petition fee.
    This information collection includes one proposed form, Request for 
Participation in the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Program 
Between the JPO and the USPTO (PTO/SB/20), which may be used by 
applicants to request participation in the pilot program and to ensure 
that they meet the program requirements.

II. Method of Collection

    Requests to participate in the PPH pilot program must be submitted 
by fax to the Office of the Commissioner for Patents (571-273-0125) to 
ensure that the request is processed in a timely manner. The USPTO will 
consider alternative methods of submission under this program after the 
one-year pilot period is concluded.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-00XX.
    Form Number(s): PTO/SB/20.
    Type of Review: New collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other 
for-

[[Page 29319]]

profits; not-for-profit institutions; farms; the Federal Government; 
and state, local or tribal governments.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 500 responses per year.
    Estimated Time Per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the public approximately two hours (2.0 hours) to gather the necessary 
information, prepare the form, and submit the completed request to the 
USPTO.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 1,000 hours per 
year.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $304,000 per year. 
The USPTO expects that the information in this collection will be 
prepared by attorneys. Using the professional rate of $304 per hour for 
associate attorneys in private firms, the USPTO estimates that the 
respondent cost burden for this collection will be approximately 
$304,000 per year.

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                                                                                     Estimated       Estimated
                     Item                         Estimated time for  response        annual       annual burden
                                                                                     responses         hours
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Request for Participation in the Patent        2.0 hours........................             500           1,000
 Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Program
 Between the JPO and the USPTO.
                                                                                 -------------------------------
    Total....................................  .................................             500           1,000
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    Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden: $65,000 per 
year. There are no capital start-up, maintenance, postage, or 
recordkeeping costs associated with this collection. However, this 
collection does have annual (non-hour) costs in the form of filing 
fees. The filing fee for a request to participate in the PPH pilot 
program is $130 under 37 CFR 1.17(h), and up to 500 filings are 
expected per year. Therefore, the total non-hour respondent cost burden 
for this collection is estimated to be $65,000 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: May 16, 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. E6-7737 Filed 5-19-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P