[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 26 (Tuesday, February 9, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6350-6351]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-2760]
[[Page 6350]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Post Allowance and Refiling
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 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 12, 2010.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-0033
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, United States Patent and Trademark Office,
P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to Raul Tamayo, Legal Advisor, Office of Patent
Legal Administration, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O.
Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-7728; or
by e-mail to [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is required
by 35 U.S.C. 131 and 151 to examine applications and, when appropriate,
allow applications and issue them as patents. When an application for a
patent is allowed by the USPTO, the USPTO issues a notice of allowance
and the applicant must pay the specified issue fee (including the
publication fee, if applicable) within three months to avoid
abandonment of the application. If the appropriate fees are paid within
the proper time period, the USPTO can then issue the patent. If the
fees are not paid within the designated time period, the application is
abandoned and the applicant may petition the Director to accept a
delayed payment with a satisfactory showing that the delay was
unavoidable or unintentional. The Petition for Revival of an
Application for Patent Abandoned Unavoidably (Form PTO/SB/61) and the
Petition for Revival of an Application for Patent Abandoned
Unintentionally (Form PTO/SB/64) are approved under information
collection 0651-0031. The rules outlining the procedures for payment of
the issue fee and issuance of a patent are found at 37 CFR 1.18 and
1.311-1.317.
Chapter 25 of Title 35 U.S.C. provides that there are several
actions that the applicant may take after issuance of a patent,
including requesting the correction of errors in a patent. For original
patents that are deemed wholly or partly inoperative, applicants may
file a reissue application, which entails several formal requirements
including an oath or declaration stating that the errors in the patent
were not the result of any deceptive intention on the part of the
applicant. The rules outlining these procedures are found at 37 CFR
1.171-1.178 and 1.322-1.325.
The public uses this information collection to pay fees for issued
patents, to request corrections of errors in issued patents, and to
submit applications for reissue patents. This collection previously
included information requirements related to patent reexaminations.
These items are being removed from this collection and have been
submitted as a separate new collection, 0651-00XX Patent
Reexaminations, which is currently under review by OMB.
II. Method of Collection
By mail, facsimile, hand delivery, or electronically to the USPTO.
Electronic submissions are made through EFS-Web, the USPTO's online
filing system for patent applications and related documents.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-0033.
Form Number(s): PTO/SB/44/50/51/51S/52/53/56 and PTOL-85B.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other
for-profits; and not-for-profit institutions.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 217,184 responses per year.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take
the public from 1.8 minutes (0.03 hours) to 2 hours to gather the
necessary information, prepare the appropriate form or other document,
and submit the information to the USPTO.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 65,832 hours per
year.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $13,053,750 per
year. The USPTO expects that the information in this collection will be
prepared by attorneys, except for the Issue Fee Transmittal, which will
be prepared by paraprofessionals. Using the professional rate of $325
per hour for attorneys in private firms, the USPTO estimates that the
respondent cost burden for attorneys submitting the information in this
collection will be $9,346,350 per year. Using the paraprofessional rate
of $100 per hour, the USPTO expects that the respondent cost burden for
submitting the Issue Fee Transmittal will be $3,707,400 per year.
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Estimated Estimated
Item Estimated time for response annual annual burden
responses hours
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Certificate of Correction (PTO/SB/44)......... 1 hour.......................... 26,000 26,000
Reissue Documentation......................... 2 hours......................... 850 1,700
Reissue Patent Application Transmittal (PTO/SB/ 12 minutes...................... 850 170
50).
Reissue Application Declaration by the 30 minutes...................... 1,135 568
Inventor or the Assignee (PTO/SB/51/52).
Supplemental Declaration for Reissue Patent 1.8 minutes..................... 900 27
Application to Correct ``Errors'' Statement
(37 CFR 1.175) (PTO/SB/51S).
Reissue Application: Consent of Assignee; 6 minutes....................... 1,230 123
Statement of Non-assignment (PTO/SB/53).
Reissue Application Fee Transmittal Form (PTO/ 12 minutes...................... 850 170
SB/56).
Issue Fee Transmittal (PTOL-85B).............. 12 minutes...................... 12,975 2,595
Issue Fee Transmittal (EFS-Web) (PTOL-85B).... 12 minutes...................... 172,394 34,479
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[[Page 6351]]
Totals.................................... ................................ 217,184 65,832
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Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden:
$284,329,886 per year. There are no capital start-up or maintenance
costs associated with this information collection. However, this
collection does have annual (non-hour) costs in the form of fees,
postage costs, and recordkeeping costs.
The total estimated fees for this collection are calculated in the
accompanying table. The Reissue Application Fee Transmittal Form (PTO/
SB/56) includes the fees for the reissue application under 37 CFR 1.16,
including the basic filing fee, search fee, and examination fee. These
fees cover all parts of the application, including reissue
documentation, reissue application transmittal, reissue application
declarations, and consent of assignee or statement of non-assignment.
There is no fee for the supplemental declaration for a reissue patent
application to correct an ``errors'' statement. Additionally, there are
several different issue fees under 37 CFR 1.18 depending on the type of
patent being issued, whether a publication fee is required, and whether
the inventor is entitled to the discounted small entity fee. The USPTO
estimates that the total fees associated with this collection will be
$284,296,310 per year.
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Estimated
Item annual Fee amount Estimated annual
responses fees
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Certificate of Correction (PTO/SB/44)....................... 26,000 $100.00 $2,600,000.00
Reissue Documentation....................................... 850 0.00 0.00
Reissue Patent Application Transmittal (PTO/SB/50).......... 850 0.00 0.00
Reissue Application Declaration by the Inventor or the 1,135 0.00 0.00
Assignee (PTO/SB/51/52)....................................
Supplemental Declaration for Reissue Patent Application to 900 0.00 0.00
Correct ``Errors'' Statement (37 CFR 1.175) (PTO/SB/51S)...
Reissue Application: Consent of Assignee; Statement of Non- 1,230 0.00 0.00
assignment (PTO/SB/53).....................................
Reissue Application Fee Transmittal Form (PTO/SB/56)........ 510 1,520.00 775,200.00
Reissue Application Fee Transmittal Form (small entity) (PTO/ 340 760.00 258,400.00
SB/56).....................................................
Issue Fee (utility patent, no publication fee) (PTOL-85B)... 11,162 1,510.00 16,854,620.00
Issue Fee (utility patent, no publication fee, small entity) 2,712 755.00 2,047,560.00
(PTOL-85B).................................................
Issue Fee (utility patent, with publication fee) (PTOL-85B). 118,518 1,810.00 214,517,580.00
Issue Fee (utility patent, with publication fee, small 28,802 1,055.00 30,386,110.00
entity) (PTOL-85B).........................................
Issue Fee (design patent, no publication fee) (PTOL-85B).... 13,218 860.00 11,367,480.00
Issue Fee (design patent, no publication fee, small entity) 9,976 430.00 4,289,680.00
(PTOL-85B).................................................
Issue Fee (plant patent, no publication fee) (PTOL-85B)..... 50 1,190.00 59,500.00
Issue Fee (plant patent, no publication fee, small entity) 34 595.00 20,230.00
(PTOL-85B).................................................
Issue Fee (plant patent, with publication fee) (PTOL-85B)... 533 1,490.00 794,170.00
Issue Fee (plant patent, with publication fee, small entity) 364 895.00 325,780.00
(PTOL-85B).................................................
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Totals.................................................. 217,184 .............. 284,296,310.00
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Customers may incur postage costs when submitting the information
in this collection to the USPTO by mail. The USPTO estimates that the
average first-class postage cost for a mailed submission will be 88
cents and that approximately 15,200 submissions will be mailed to the
USPTO per year. The total estimated postage cost for this collection is
$13,376 per year.
When submitting the information in this collection to the USPTO
electronically, the customer is strongly urged to retain a copy of the
acknowledgment receipt as evidence that the submission was received by
the USPTO on the date noted. The USPTO estimates that it will take 5
seconds (0.001 hours) to print and retain a copy of the acknowledgment
receipt and that approximately 201,984 responses per year will be
submitted electronically, for a total of approximately 202 hours per
year for printing this receipt. Using the paraprofessional rate of $100
per hour, the USPTO estimates that the recordkeeping cost associated
with this collection will be $20,200 per year.
The total non-hour respondent cost burden for this collection in
the form of fees, postage costs, and recordkeeping costs is
$284,329,886 per year.
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, e.g., 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 also will become a matter of public record.
Dated: February 2, 2010.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2010-2760 Filed 2-8-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P