[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).................................................
                                                             ---------------------------------------------------
    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