[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 174 (Monday, September 8, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 52028]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-20695]


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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).
    Title: Representative and Address Provisions.
    Form Number(s): PTO/SB/80/81/83/84/122/123/124/125 and PTO-2248.
    Agency Approval Number: 0651-0035.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden: 33,357 hours annually.
    Number of Respondents: 568,902 responses per year.
    Avg. Hours per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take the 
public approximately 3 minutes (0.05 hours) to 1.5 hours to submit the 
information in this collection, including the time to gather the 
necessary information, prepare the appropriate form or document, and 
submit the completed request.
    Needs and Uses: Under 35 U.S.C. 2 and 37 CFR 1.31-1.36, this 
information collection is used by the public to grant or revoke power 
of attorney in a patent application, to withdraw as attorney or agent 
of record, to authorize a practitioner to act in a representative 
capacity, to change the correspondence address for one or more 
applications or patents, to request a Customer Number, to designate or 
change the correspondence address or list of practitioners associated 
with a Customer Number, and to associate a patent application with a 
Customer Number. The USPTO's Customer Number practice permits 
authorized individuals to change the correspondence address or 
representatives of record for a number of applications or patents with 
one change request instead of filing separate requests for each 
application or patent. The USPTO uses the information in this 
collection to determine who is authorized to take action in an 
application or patent on behalf of the applicant or assignee and where 
to send correspondence regarding an application or patent.
    The USPTO is revising the Power of Attorney and Correspondence 
Address Indication Form (PTO/SB/81) to include revocations of power of 
attorney and to eliminate the need for the separate form Revocation of 
Power of Attorney With New Power of Attorney and Change of 
Correspondence Address (PTO/SB/82). Consequently, Form PTO/SB/81 will 
be renamed ``Power of Attorney or Revocation of Power of Attorney With 
a New Power of Attorney and Change of Correspondence Address'' and Form 
PTO/SB/82 will be deleted from this collection. The USPTO is revising 
another form in this collection, Request for Withdrawal as Attorney or 
Agent and Change of Correspondence Address (PTO/SB/83), to allow the 
practitioner requesting withdrawal to certify that proper notice has 
been given to the client and that all papers and property to which the 
client is entitled have been delivered.
    The USPTO is deleting two additional items from this collection. 
The electronic power of attorney forms that were previously included in 
this collection are being deleted due to the retirement of the USPTO's 
previous electronic filing system (EFS) software in favor of a new Web-
based online submission system (EFS-Web). The Customer Number Upload 
Spreadsheet for PCT Applications is being deleted from this collection 
because it is no longer in use. Applicants seeking to associate an 
established PCT application with an existing Customer Number may submit 
a Request to Update a PCT Application With a Customer Number (PTO-
2248).
    Affected Public: Individuals or households, businesses or other 
for-profits, and not-for-profit institutions.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
    OMB Desk Officer: David Rostker, (202) 395-3897.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-0035 copy 
request'' in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: 571-273-0112, marked to the attention of Susan 
Fawcett.
     Mail: Susan K. Fawcett, Records Officer, Office of the 
Chief Information Officer, Customer Information Services Group, Public 
Information Services Division, United States 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 October 8, 2008 to David 
Rostker, OMB Desk Officer, Room 10202, New Executive Office Building, 
725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503.

    Dated: August 29, 2008.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer, 
Customer Information Services Group, Public Information Services 
Division.
[FR Doc. E8-20695 Filed 9-5-08; 8:45 am]
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