[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 52 (Monday, March 17, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14230-14231]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-5277]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office


Patent Examiner Employment Application (Formerly Patent Examiner 
Employment Application--Job Application Rating System (JARS))

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 May 16, 2008.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-0042 
comment'' 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.
     Federal Rulemaking Portal:3 http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to the attention of Howard Staik, Chief of the 
Workforce Employment Division, Office of Human Resources, U.S. Patent 
and Trademark Office (USPTO), P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; 
by telephone at 571-272-2846; or by e-mail to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    The USA Staffing system provided by the Office of Personnel 
Management (OPM) is an automated on-line system that allows the USPTO 
to rapidly review applications for employment of entry-level patent 
examiners. The Office of Human Resources (OHR), armed with a 
recommendation from a Supervisory Patent Examiner (SPE), can use the 
system to rapidly make an offer of employment and take the necessary 
administrative action to support the hiring process. In FY 2007, USA 
Staffing enabled the Patent Corps to hire more than 1,216 entry-level 
patent examiners.
    Since the inception of USA Staffing in January 2007, the hiring 
process has become more effective and compliant with the examining 
requirements established by OPM. In the current employment environment, 
information technology professionals and engineering graduates are in 
great demand. The USPTO is in direct competition with private industry 
for the same caliber of candidates with the requisite knowledge and 
skills to perform patent examination work. Consequently, it is 
imperative that every available technology be employed if the USPTO is 
to remain competitive, meet hiring goals, and fulfill the agency's 
Congressional commitment to reduce the pendency rate for the 
examination of patent applications. The information supplied by an 
applicant seeking a patent examiner position with the USPTO assists the 
Human Resources Specialists and hiring managers in determining whether 
an applicant possesses the basic qualification requirements for the 
patent examiner position.
    USA Staffing provides the USPTO with a user-friendly on-line 
employment application process for applicants and enables the USPTO to 
process hiring actions in an efficient and timely manner. The on-line 
application creates an electronic real-time candidate inventory that 
allows the USPTO to review applications from potential applicants 
almost instantaneously. Given the immediate hiring need of the Patent 
Examining Corps, time consumed in the mail distribution system or paper 
review of applications delays the decision-making process by several 
weeks. The USA Staffing system results in increased speed and accuracy 
in the employment process, in addition to streamlining labor and 
reducing costs.
    The use of the USA Staffing on-line application fully complies with 
5 U.S.C. 2301, which requires adequate public notice to assure open 
competition by

[[Page 14231]]

guaranteeing that necessary employment information will be accessible 
and available to the public on inquiry. It is also fully compliant with 
Section 508 (29 U.S.C. 794(d)), which requires agencies to provide 
disabled employees and members of the public access to information that 
is comparable to the access available to others.

II. Method of Collection

    With the use of USA Staffing, the application information is 
collected electronically from the applicant. Applicants contact the OPM 
USA Jobs Web site where they will find the on-line job announcement 
that links them to the application. The application is completed on-
line and then transmitted to the USPTO via the Internet. For those 
applicants who do not have access to a personal computer, applications 
may be faxed to the OPM computer facility for processing.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0042.
    Form Number(s): N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 7,000 responses per year.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the public approximately 30 minutes (0.5 hours) to complete the 
employment application, depending upon the situation.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 3,500 hours per 
year.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $134,540. Using the 
median hourly rate for scientists and engineers of $38.44 as listed by 
the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the USPTO estimates $134,540 per year 
in cost burden associated with respondents. This is a fully-loaded 
hourly rate.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Estimated       Estimated
                     Item                          Estimated time for response        annual       annual burden
                                                                                     responses         hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Patent Examiner Employment Application........  30 minutes......................           7,000           3,500
                                                                                 -------------------------------
    Total.....................................  ................................           7,000           3,500
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden: $0. There 
are no capital start-up, maintenance, or record keeping costs, as well 
as no filing fees associated with this information collection. However 
there are annual (non-hour) costs in the form of postage costs.
    Not every applicant can supply all of the required information 
electronically. The applicant does have the option to submit a `Paper 
Qualifications Questionnaire' and any supporting documents, such as 
resumes to the USPTO either by fax, mail or in person. The transcripts 
and other supporting materials are submitted to the USPTO the same way. 
These additional documents may be submitted to the USPTO by first-class 
mail through the United States Postal Service. The USPTO estimates that 
the average first-class postage is 97 cents. Therefore the USPTO 
estimates that it will receive 7,000 responses per year, for a total 
cost of $6,790 (7,000 x $0.97) in postage fees.

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: March 10, 2008.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer, 
Customer Information Services Group, Public Information Services 
Division.
 [FR Doc. E8-5277 Filed 3-14-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P