[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 230 (Wednesday, December 2, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Page 63118]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-28810]


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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: Requirements for Patent Applications Containing Nucleotide 
Sequence and/or Amino Acid Sequence Disclosures.
    Form Number(s): PTO/SB/93.
    Agency Approval Number: 0651-0024.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden: 103,750 hours annually.
    Number of Respondents: 19,750 responses per year.
    Average Hours Per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the public approximately six minutes (0.10 hours) to six hours to 
gather the necessary information, prepare the form or sequence listing, 
and submit it to the USPTO.
    Needs and Uses: Patent applications that contain nucleotide and/or 
amino acid sequence disclosures must include a copy of the sequence 
listing in accordance with the requirements in 37 CFR 1.821-1.825. 
Applicants may submit sequence listings for both U.S. and international 
patent applications. The USPTO uses the sequence listings during the 
examination process to determine the patentability of the associated 
patent application. Sequence listings are also disclosed as part of the 
published patent application or issued patent. Applicants use sequence 
data when preparing biotechnology patent applications and may also 
search sequence listings after publication.
    Under 37 CFR 1.821(e)-(f), applicants must also submit a copy of 
the sequence listing in ``computer readable form'' (CRF). If the CRF 
sequence listing in a new application is identical to the CRF sequence 
listing of another application that the applicant already has on file 
at the USPTO, the applicant may submit a statement identifying the 
application and CRF sequence listing that is already on file rather 
than having to submit a duplicate copy of the CRF listing for the new 
application. The USPTO is proposing to add a new form to this 
collection, Request for Transfer of a Computer Readable Form Under 37 
CFR 1.821(e) (PTO/SB/93), in order to assist customers in submitting 
this statement.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits; not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
    OMB Desk Officer: Nicholas A. Fraser, e-mail: [email protected].
    Once submitted, the request will be publicly available in 
electronic format through the Information Collection Review page at 
http://www.reginfo.gov.
    Paper copies can be obtained by:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-0024 
Sequence Disclosures 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, 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 January 4, 2010 to Nicholas A. Fraser, 
OMB Desk Officer, via e-mail at [email protected], or by 
fax to 202-395-5167, marked to the attention of Nicholas A. Fraser.

    Dated: November 25, 2009.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. E9-28810 Filed 12-1-09; 8:45 am]
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