[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 194 (Tuesday, October 9, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57310-57311]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-19793]


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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) will submit 
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), 
Department of Commerce.
    Title: United States Patent Applicant Survey.
    Form Number(s): None. The surveys contained in this information 
collection do not have USPTO form numbers assigned to them. When the 
surveys are approved, they will carry the OMB Control Number and the 
date on which OMB's approval of the information collection expires.
    Agency Approval Number: 0651-0052.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Burden: 140 hours annually.
    Number of Respondents: 400 responses per year with an estimated 267 
responses filed electronically.
    Average Hours Per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the public 30 minutes (0.50 hours) to complete the surveys, with the 
exception of the surveys for the independent inventors, which are 
estimated to take 15 minutes (0.25 hours) to complete. This includes 
the time to gather the necessary information, respond to the surveys, 
and submit them to the USPTO. The USPTO believes that it will take the 
same amount of time to respond to the surveys, whether they are 
completed online or mailed to the USPTO.
    Needs and Uses: The USPTO developed the United States Patent 
Applicant Survey as part of a continuing effort to better predict the 
future growth of patent application filings by understanding applicant 
intentions. The main purpose of this survey is to determine the number 
of application filings that the USPTO can expect to receive over the 
next three years from patent-generating entities, ranging from large 
domestic corporations to independent inventors. The USPTO also uses 
this survey in response to the Senate Appropriations Report 106-404 
(September 8, 2000), which directed the USPTO to ``develop a workload 
forecast with advice from a representative sample of industry and the 
inventor community.'' There are two versions of the survey: one for 
large domestic corporations and small and medium-sized businesses and 
one for universities, non-profit research organizations, and 
independent inventors. The large domestic corporations, small and 
medium-sized businesses, universities, non-profit research 
organizations, and independent inventors responding to these surveys 
will provide the USPTO with the number of application filings that they 
plan to submit, in addition to providing general feedback concerning 
industry trends and the survey itself. The USPTO will use this feedback 
to anticipate demand and estimate future revenue flow more reliably; to 
identify input and output triggers and allocate resources to meet and 
understand customer needs; and to reassess output and capacity goals 
and re-align organization quality control measures with applicant 
demand by division.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits and not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    OMB Desk Officer: David Rostker, (202) 395-3897.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by any of the following:
    E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-0052 copy request'' 
in the subject line of the message.
    Fax: 571-273-0112, marked to the attention of Susan K. Fawcett.
    Mail: Susan K. Fawcett, Records Officer, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer, Customer Information Services Group, Public 
Information Services 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 November 8, 2007 to David 
Rostker, OMB Desk Officer, Room 10202, New Executive Office Building, 
725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503.


[[Page 57311]]


    Dated: October 2, 2007.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer, 
Customer Information Services Group, Public Information Services 
Division.
 [FR Doc. E7-19793 Filed 10-5-07; 8:45 am]
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