[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 37 (Monday, February 26, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8356-8357]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-3209]



[[Page 8356]]

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PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE


Practitioner Records Maintenance, Disclosure, and Discipline 
Before the Patent and Trademark Office

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 revision of a 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 April 27, 2007.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-0017 
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 the attention of Christine Nucker, U.S. Patent 
and Trademark Office, Mail Stop OED, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 
22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-6071; or by e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office 
(USPTO) has the authority to establish regulations governing the 
conduct and discipline of agents, attorneys, or other persons 
representing applicants and other parties before the USPTO (35 U.S.C. 
2, 32 and 33). The USPTO Code of Professional Responsibility (37 CFR 
10.20 to 10.112) describes how attorneys or practitioners should 
conduct themselves professionally and outlines their responsibilities 
for recordkeeping and reporting violations or complaints of misconduct 
to the USPTO, while the Investigations and Disciplinary Proceedings 
rules (37 CFR 10.130 to 10.170) dictate how the USPTO can discipline 
attorneys and practitioners.
    The USPTO Code of Professional Responsibility requires an attorney 
or agent to maintain complete records of all funds, securities, and 
other properties of clients coming into his or her possession, and to 
render appropriate accounts to the client regarding the funds, 
securities, and other properties. These recordkeeping requirements are 
necessary to maintain the integrity of client property. Each State Bar 
requires its attorneys to perform similar record keeping.
    The Code also requires an attorney or agent to report knowledge of 
certain violations of the Code to the USPTO. If the complaint is found 
to have merit, the USPTO will investigate and possibly prosecute 
violations of the Code. The Director of the Office of Enrollment and 
Discipline (OED) may, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, 
suspend, exclude, or disqualify any practitioner from further practice 
before the USPTO based on noncompliance with the regulations.
    Practitioners who have been excluded or suspended from practice 
before the USPTO must keep and maintain records of their steps to 
comply with the suspension or exclusion order. These records serve as 
the practitioner's proof of compliance with the order.
    Some existing information requirements that were added into the 
last renewal of this collection are now being deleted in compliance 
with the Terms of Clearance issued by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) with the previous Notice of Action for this collection on 
July 2, 2004. The Terms of Clearance stated that ``the agency is 
reminded of the statutory exemptions from the PRA in 44 U.S.C. 
3518(c)(2)(B)(ii) for the conduct of administrative action or 
investigation involving an agency against specific individuals or 
entities.'' Therefore, the Responses to Requests/Requirements for 
Information, Requests for Extensions of Time to Respond, Responses to 
Settlement Offers, and Responses to Show Cause are being deleted from 
this collection.

II. Method of Collection

    By mail, facsimile, or hand delivery to the USPTO when an 
individual is required to participate in the information collection.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0017.
    Form Number(s): There are no forms associated with this collection.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Business or other for profit; not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 485 responses.
    Estimated Time Per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the public approximately 2 to 60 hours, depending upon the complexity 
of the situation, to gather the necessary information, maintain the 
required records, prepare the complaint, and submit the various 
documents in this information collection to the USPTO.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 9,180 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $328,200. At $30 per 
hour for a para-professional/clerical worker, the USPTO estimates 
$266,400 per year for salary costs associated with respondents for the 
record keeping requirements in this collection. For complaint/violation 
reporting, the USPTO predicts that half of the complaints will be filed 
by practitioners and that the remaining complaints will be split evenly 
between non-legal professionals and semi-professionals or skilled 
trades persons. The USPTO estimates that it will cost practitioners 
$304 per hour, non-legal professionals $156 per hour, and semi-
professionals or skilled trades persons $60 per hour to submit a 
complaint, for a weighted average hourly rate of $206 per hour. 
Considering these factors, the USPTO estimates $61,800 per year for 
salary costs associated with filing a complaint, for a total annual 
respondent cost burden of $328,200 per year.

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                                                                  Estimated time     Estimated       Estimated
                              Item                                 for response       annual       annual burden
                                                                      (hours)        responses         hours
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Record Keeping Maintenance (including financial books and                     26             330           8,580
 records such as trust accounts, fiduciary accounts, operating
 accounts, and advertisements)..................................
Record Keeping Maintenance Under Suspension or Exclusion from                 60               5             300
 the USPTO......................................................
Complaint/Violation Reporting...................................               2             150             300
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------

[[Page 8357]]

 
    Total.......................................................  ..............             485           9,180
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    Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden: $95. 
There are no capital start-up costs, maintenance costs or filing fees 
associated with this information collection. There are, however, 
postage costs.
    The public may submit the complaints in this collection to the 
USPTO by mail through the United States Postal Service. If these 
documents are sent by first-class mail, a certificate of mailing for 
each piece of correspondence, stating the date of deposit or 
transmission to the USPTO, may also be included.
    The USPTO expects that the complaints will be mailed to the USPTO 
with first-class postage, at an average cost of 63 cents. The USPTO 
estimates that up to 150 responses may be submitted by first-class 
mail, for a postage cost of $95 per year.
    Therefore, this information collection has a total of $95 in annual 
(non-hour) respondent cost burden.

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: February 8, 2007.
Susan K. Brown,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer, 
Architecture, Engineering and Technical Services, Data Architecture and 
Services Division.
 [FR Doc. E7-3209 Filed 2-23-07; 8:45 am]
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