[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 84 (Monday, May 3, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23227-23235]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-10288]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Initial Patent Applications
ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.
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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part
of its continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden,
invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this
opportunity to comment on this 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 July 2, 2010.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0032 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, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box
1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to the attention of Raul Tamayo, Legal Advisor,
Office of Patent Legal Administration, U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 571-
272-7728; or by e-mail at [email protected] with ``Paperwork'' in
the subject line.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
I. Abstract
The USPTO is required by Title 35 of the United States Code,
including 35 U.S.C. 131, to examine applications for patents. The USPTO
administers the patent statues through various rules in Chapter 37 of
the Code of Federal Regulations, including 37 CFR 1.16 through 1.84.
The patent statutes and regulations require applicants to provide
sufficient information to allow the USPTO to properly examine the
application to determine whether it meets the criteria set forth in the
patent statutes and regulations to be issued as a patent.
Most applications for patent, including new utility, design, and
provisional applications, can be submitted to the USPTO on paper or
through EFS-Web. EFS-Web is the USPTO's system for electronic filing of
patent correspondence. EFS-Web is accessible via the Internet on the
USPTO Web site. The system utilizes standard Web-based screens and
prompts to enable users to submit patent documents in Portable Document
Format (PDF) directly to the USPTO. The Legal Framework for EFS-Web,
available at http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/New_legal_framework.jsp, provides a listing of patent applications
and documents permitted to be filed via EFS-Web and patent applications
and
[[Page 23228]]
documents not permitted to be filed via EFS-Web.
The USPTO has identified continuation/divisional of an
international application, utility continuation/divisional, design
continuation/divisional, continued prosecution application--design,
utility continuation-in-part, and design continuation-in-part
applications as types of applications that can be filed electronically
that were not identified as being able to be filed electronically in
the last renewal of this collection.
The USPTO has also determined that the papers filed under 37 CFR
1.41 to supply the name or names of the inventor or inventors after the
filing date without a cover sheet as prescribed by 37 CFR 1.51(c)(1) in
a provisional application, 37 CFR 1.48 for correction of inventorship
in a provisional application, and 37 CFR 1.53(c)(2) to convert a
nonprovisional application filed under 37 CFR 1.53(b) to a provisional
application under 37 CFR 1.53(c), which were originally overlooked,
should be added into the collection at this time. These papers also
have a processing fee associated with them that will be added into the
collection as well. All of the other fees remain the same.
In order to get a more specific accounting of the additional fees
and surcharges that can be applied to the various applications and to
simplify the entry of these items into ROCIS, additional application
groups have been broken out in this renewal. Previously, the utility,
design, and plant applications were broken out in a manner that helped
calculate the filing, search, and examination fees, but not in a manner
that help calculate the additional fees and surcharges, which made it
difficult to calculate the total burden for some of these applications.
There are 28 forms in this collection. The petitions and the papers
filed to supply the name or names of the inventor or inventors after
the filing date without a cover sheet in a provisional application, to
correct inventorship in a provisional application, and to convert a
nonprovisional application to a provisional application do not have
forms associated with them.
II. Method of Collection
By mail, facsimile (limited to petitions to accept delayed priority
claims, petitions to accept non-signing inventors or legal
representatives filing by other than all the inventors or a person not
the inventor, petitions to accord applications a national stage entry
date, papers providing the name or names of the inventor or inventors
after the filing date without a cover sheet in a provisional
application, requests for correction of inventorship in a provisional
application, and requests to convert a nonprovisional application to a
provisional application), or hand delivery to the USPTO. As set forth
in the Legal Framework for EFS-Web, available at http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/New legal framework.jsp, many types
of patent applications and documents can also be submitted
electronically through EFS-Web.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-0032.
Form Number(s): PTO/SB/01/01A/02/02LR/03/03A/04/05/06/07/13/PCT/14/
16/17/18/19/29/29A/101-110.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other for
profits; not-for-profit institutions; and the Federal Government.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 513,221 responses per year.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it takes the
public approximately 24 minutes to 33 hours and 12 minutes (0.40 to
33.2 hours) to complete this information, depending on the request.
This includes the time to gather the necessary information, prepare the
application, petition, paper, or CD submission, and submit the
completed request to the USPTO. The USPTO believes that, on balance, it
takes the same amount of time to gather the necessary information,
prepare the new utility, design, or provisional application, and submit
it to the USPTO, whether the applicant submits it in paper form or
electronically.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 11,553,888 hours
per year.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $3,755,013,600 per
year. The USPTO believes that all of the information in this collection
will be prepared by an attorney. Using the professional hourly rate of
$325 for attorneys in private firms, the USPTO estimates that the total
respondent cost burden for this collection is $3,755,013,600 per year.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated annual Estimated annual
Item Estimated time for response responses burden hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Original New Utility 33 hours and 12 minutes.................... 7,450 247,340
Applications--No Application
Data Sheet.
Electronic Original New Utility 33 hours and 12 minutes.................... 98,950 3,285,140
Applications--No Application
Data Sheet.
Original New Plant 7 hours and 36 minutes..................... 660 5,016
Applications--No Application
Data Sheet.
Original New Design 5 hours and 48 minutes..................... 795 4,611
Applications--No Application
Data Sheet.
Electronic Original Design 5 hours and 48 minutes..................... 10,545 61,161
Applications--No Application
Data Sheet.
Original New Utility 33 hours and 12 minutes.................... 11,170 370,844
Applications--Application Data
Sheet.
Electronic Original New Utility 33 hours and 12 minutes.................... 148,430 4,927,876
Applications--Application Data
Sheet.
Original New Plant 7 hours and 36 minutes..................... 350 2,660
Applications--Application Data
Sheet.
Original New Design 5 hours and 48 minutes..................... 970 5,626
Applications--Application Data
Sheet.
Electronic New Design 5 hours and 48 minutes..................... 12,890 74,762
Applications--Application Data
Sheet.
Continuation/Divisional of an 3 hours and 18 minutes..................... 740 2,442
International Application.
Electronic Continuation/ 3 hours and 18 minutes..................... 9,840 32,472
Divisional of an International
Application.
Utility Continuation/Divisional 3 hours and 18 minutes..................... 2,620 8,646
Applications.
Electronic Utility Continuation/ 3 hours and 18 minutes..................... 34,900 115,170
Divisional Applications.
Plant Continuation/Divisional 2 hours and 12 minutes..................... 150 330
Applications.
Design Continuation/Divisional 1 hour and 6 minutes....................... 155 171
Applications.
Electronic Design Continuation/ 1 hour and 6 minutes....................... 2,085 2,294
Divisional Applications.
Continued Prosecution 24 minutes................................. 50 20
Applications--Design (Request
Transmittal and Receipt).
Electronic Continued 24 minutes................................. 665 266
Prosecution Applications--
Design (Request Transmittal
and Receipt).
Utility Continuation-in-Part 16 hours and 30 minutes.................... 780 12,870
Applications.
Electronic Utility Continuation- 16 hours and 30 minutes.................... 10,340 170,610
Part-Applications.
[[Page 23229]]
Plant Continuation-in-Part 3 hours and 48 minutes..................... 35 133
Applications.
Design Continuation-in-Part 2 hours and 42 minutes..................... 40 108
Applications.
Electronic Design Continuation- 2 hours and 42 minutes..................... 520 1,404
in-Part Applications.
Provisional Application for 15 hours................................... 10,330 154,950
Patent Cover Sheet.
Electronic Provisional 15 hours................................... 137,220 2,058,300
Application for Patent Cover
Sheet.
Petition to Accept 1 hour..................................... 1,090 1,090
Unintentionally Delayed
Priority Claim.
Petition to Accept Non-Signing 1 hour..................................... 1,950 1,950
Inventors or Legal
Representatives/Filing by
Other Than all the Inventors
or a Person not the Inventor.
Petition under 37 CFR 1.6(f) to 30 minutes................................. 1 1
Accord the Application under
37 CFR 1.495(b) a National
Stage Entry Date.
Papers filed under the 45 minutes................................. 7,500 5,625
following.
1.41--to supply the name or
names of the inventor or
inventors after the filing
date without a cover sheet
as prescribed by 37 CFR
1.51 (c)(1) in a
provisional application.
1.48--for correction of
inventorship in a
provisional application.
1.53(c)(2)--to convert a
nonprovisional application
filed under 1.53(b) to a
provisional application
filed under 1.53(c).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total...................... ........................................... 513,221 11,553,888
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Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden:
$771,767,698 per year. There are capital start-up, postage,
recordkeeping, and drawing costs, as well as filing fees, associated
with this information. There are no maintenance or operation costs
associated with this collection.
Applicants can use Compact Disk-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM) or
Compact Disk-Recordables (CD-R) to submit patent applications
containing large computer program listing/mega tables to the USPTO.
Therefore, the cost for purchasing blank CD-R media (CDs), cases and
labels for the CDs, and a padded mailing envelope for shipping, are
being added to the annual (non-hour) cost for this collection. The
USPTO researched the costs for these various supplies. Since these
supplies are available in a variety of configurations and since this
collection covers many applicants and their specific filing situation,
the USPTO is using averages of the possible costs for the various
quantities and configurations possible for these items.
Blank CD-R media (with or without plastic jewel cases) can range
from $5.99 to $38.99, depending on the quantity of CD-R purchased. The
USPTO estimates that the average cost for these items is $20.19.
If jewel cases for the CD-R are not included with the discs, they
can be purchased separately in packages ranging from 10 to 100 cases,
ranging in cost from $4.99 to $24.99. The USPTO estimates that the
average cost for these cases is $13.16.
Software to make the disc labels can be purchased with the labels
included along with the software. In some cases, the software can be
downloaded. Various companies, such as Avery, Fellowes, Memorex, etc.,
manufacture this software and prices range from $19.99 to $35.99. The
USPTO estimates that the average cost for the software is $28.
Padded mailing envelopes for sending the discs and applications to
the USPTO are available in many size and quantity options. Looking at
packages of envelopes in the larger 9 and 10 inches sizes, the USPTO
found that the cost ranged from $14.99 to $66.99. The USPTO estimates
that the average cost for the padded mailing envelopes is $35.38.
In sum, the USPTO estimates the total cost for the blank CD-R
media, the jewel cases if needed, software for labeling the CDs, and
the padded mailing envelopes at approximately $96.73. The USPTO
estimates that 232 patent applications will need to be submitted on CD
per year.
The USPTO estimates that the total capital start-up cost for this
collection will be $22,441 per year.
The applications, the petition to accept a delayed priority claim,
the petition to accept non-signing inventors or legal representatives,
and the oversized program listing/mega table CD submissions may be
submitted by mail through the United States Postal Service. The USPTO
recommends that applicants file initial patent applications (which also
include the continued prosecution, continuation and divisional,
continuation-in-part, and provisional applications) by Express Mail to
establish the filing date (otherwise the filing date of the application
will be the date that it is received at the USPTO). The USPTO estimates
that an application package will weigh at least one pound. Averaging
the Express Mail costs for the USPS's eight mailing zones, the USPTO
estimates that the average cost for sending an initial application by
Express Mail will be $22.56. The USPTO estimates that up to 36,295
submissions per year may be mailed to the USPTO at an average Express
Mail rate of $22.56, for a total postage cost of $818,815.
The petitions for delayed priority claim, for acceptance of non-
signing inventors or legal representatives, and for according petitions
under 37 CFR 1.495(b) a National Stage Entry Date can be sent by first-
class mail. The USPTO estimates that these submissions will average two
ounces, for a first-class postage rate of 61 cents. The USPTO estimates
that up to 3,041 submissions may be mailed per year. Therefore, the
USPTO estimates that the average first-class postage cost for these
petitions will be $1,855 per year.
In the case of the oversized program listing/mega table CD
submissions, applicants mail a CD, the application transmittal form,
and the cover letter to the USPTO. The USPTO estimates that these
submissions will average about three ounces and that they will be
mailed in large padded mailing envelopes. The USPTO estimates that the
average postage rate for these submissions will be $1.22 and that 232
oversized program listing/mega table CD submissions will be received
per year. Therefore, the USPTO estimates that the postage costs for
these submissions will be $283 per year.
The USPTO estimates that the total postage cost for this collection
will be $820,953 per year.
There are recordkeeping costs associated with the oversized program
listing/mega table CD submissions and the electronic filing of new
utility,
[[Page 23230]]
design, and provisional applications; the continuation/divisional of
international applications; utility continuation/divisionals; design
continuation/divisionals, continued prosecution applications (design);
utility continuation-in-part applications; and design continuation-in-
part applications. The USPTO advises applicants who submit applications
with oversized computer listings/mega tables on CD to retain a back-up
copy of the CD and a printed copy of the application transmittal form
for their records. The USPTO estimates that it takes an additional 5
minutes for the applicant to produce this back-up CD copy and 2 minutes
to print the copy of the application transmittal form, for a total of 7
minutes (0.12 hours) for each oversized submission. The USPTO estimates
that approximately 232 applications per year will be submitted with
oversized computer program listings/mega tables, for a total of 28
hours per year for retaining the back-up CD and printed application
transmittal form. The USPTO believes that these back-up copies will be
prepared by paraprofessionals with an estimated hourly rate of $100,
for a recordkeeping cost for these back-up copies of $2,800 per year.
In addition, the USPTO also strongly advises applicants who file
these applications electronically to retain a copy of the file
submitted to the USPTO as evidence of authenticity, in addition to
keeping the acknowledgement receipt as clear evidence that the file 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
electronic submission and that approximately 466,385 submissions per
year (292,620 utility, 26,705 design, 137,220 provisional, and 9,840
international applications) will use this option, for a total of 466
hours per year. Using the paraprofessional rate of $100 per hour, the
USPTO estimates that the recordkeeping cost for retaining a copy of the
acknowledgement receipt will be $46,600 per year.
The USPTO estimates that the total recordkeeping cost for this
collection will be $49,400 per year.
Patent applicants can submit drawings with the utility, design,
plant, and provisional applications. Applicants can prepare these
drawings on their own or they can hire patent illustration services
firms to create them. As a basis for calculating the drawing costs, the
USPTO believes that all applicants will have their drawings prepared by
the patent illustration firms. Estimates for the drawings can vary
greatly, depending on the number of figures that need to be produced,
the total number of pages for the drawings, and the complexity of the
drawings. Because there are many variables involved, the USPTO is using
the average of the cost ranges found for the application drawings to
derive the estimated cost per sheet that is then used to calculate the
total drawing costs.
The utility, plant, and design continuation and divisional
applications use the same drawings as the initial filings, so they are
not included in these totals. The continuation-in-part applications may
use some of the same drawings as the initial applications and some new
drawings may be submitted, so those numbers are included in these
estimates. The drawings for the continued prosecution applications are
also included in the drawing cost totals. There are no continuation,
divisional, or continuation-in-part provisional applications.
Costs to produce utility drawings can range from $35 to $135 per
sheet. The USPTO estimates that it can cost $85 per sheet to produce
the utility drawings and that on average, 11 sheets of drawings are
submitted, for an average cost of $935 to produce the utility drawings.
Out of 277,120 utility applications submitted per year, the USPTO
estimates that 91% or 252,179 applications will be submitted with
drawings, for a total of $235,787,365 per year.
Costs to produce design drawings can range from $35 to $155 per
sheet. The USPTO estimates that it can cost $95 per sheet to produce
design drawings and that on average 4.8 sheets of drawings are
submitted, for an average cost of $456 to produce design drawings. Out
of 26,475 design applications submitted per year, the USPTO estimates
that 100% will be submitted with drawings, for a total of $12,072,600
per year.
Photographs are generally submitted for the plant applications,
although drawings can also be submitted. The USPTO therefore estimates
that the costs to produce the photographs or drawings could range from
$35 to $100. The USPTO estimates that it can cost $68 per sheet to
produce plant drawings and that on average 2 sheets of drawings are
submitted, for an average cost of $136 to produce plant drawings. Out
of 1,045 plant application submitted per year, the USPTO estimates that
100% will be submitted with drawings, for a total of $142,120.
Costs to produce the provisional drawings can range from $35 to
$135 per sheet. The USPTO estimates that it can cost $85 per sheet to
produce provisional drawings and that on average 7.5 sheets of drawings
are submitted, for an average cost of $638 to produce provisional
drawings. Out of 147,550 provisional applications submitted per year,
the USPTO estimates that 78% or 115,089 applications will be submitted
with drawings, for a total of $73,426,782 per year.
The USPTO estimates that at least $321,428,867 could be added to
the total non-hour cost burden as a result of patent applicants using
patent illustration firms to produce the drawings for their utility,
design, plant, and provisional applications.
There is also annual non-hour cost burden in the way of filing,
search, examination, processing, and additional fees associated with
this collection. The filing, search, and examination fees for the
utility, plant, design, and provisional applications (including the
continuation and divisional, continued prosecution, and continuation-
in-part applications) are determined by the filing status (other entity
or small entity) the applicant has selected. The filing fees for the
electronically-filed new utility applications for small entities are
$82, but for the rest of the applications the fees are the same as
those for the paper applications. The small entity status does not
apply to the petition to accept a delayed priority claim or to the
petition to accept non-signing inventors or legal representatives/
filing by other than all the inventors or a person not the inventor.
The total estimated filing costs of $449,446,037 for this
collection are calculated in the following charts. The first chart
shows the filing, search, and examination fees for the various
applications. It also includes the processing fee for the papers filed
under 37 CFR 1.41, 1.48, and 1.53(c)(2). The USPTO estimates that this
collection will have $339,365,175 per year in the filing, search,
examination, and processing fees.
[[Page 23231]]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total non-hour
Item Resps (yr) (a) Filing fee Search fee Examination fee Total fees (b) cost burden (yr)
(a) x (b)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Original New Utility Applications--No 5,585 $330.00 $540.00 $220.00 $1,090.00 $6,087,650.00
Application Data Sheet--Other Entity.......
Original New Utility Applications-No 1,865 165.00 270.00 110.00 545.00 1,016,425.00
Application Data Sheet--Small Entity.......
Electronic Original New Utility 74,210 330.00 540.00 220.00 1,090.00 80,888,900.00
Applications--No Application Data Sheet--
Other Entity...............................
Electronic Original New Utility 24,740 82.00 270.00 110.00 462.00 11,429,880.00
Applications--No Application Data Sheet--
Small Entity...............................
Original New Plant Applications--No 495 220.00 330.00 170.00 720.00 356,400.00
Application Data Sheet--Other Entity.......
Original New Plant Applications--No 165 110.00 165.00 85.00 360.00 59,400.00
Application Data Sheet--Small Entity.......
Original New Design Applications--No 415 220.00 100.00 140.00 460.00 190,900.00
Application Data Sheet--Other Entity.......
Original New Design Applications--No 380 110.00 50.00 70.00 230.00 87,400.00
Application Data Sheet--Small Entity.......
Electronic Original New Design Applications-- 5,485 220.00 100.00 140.00 460.00 2,523,100.00
No Application Data Sheet--Other Entity....
Electronic Original New Design Applications-- 5,060 110.00 50.00 70.00 230.00 1,163,800.00
No Application Data Sheet--Small Entity....
Original New Utility Applications-- 8,380 330.00 540.00 220.00 1,090.00 9,134,200.00
Application Data Sheet--Other Entity.......
Original New Utility Applications-- 2,790 165.00 270.00 110.00 545.00 1,520,550.00
Application Data Sheet--Small Entity.......
Electronic Original New Utility 111,325 330.00 540.00 220.00 1,090.00 121,344,250.00
Applications--Application Data Sheet--Other
Entity.....................................
Electronic Original New Utility 37,105 82.00 270.00 110.00 462.00 17,142,510.00
Applications--Application Data Sheet--Small
Entity.....................................
Original New Plant Applications--Application 260 220.00 330.00 170.00 720.00 187,200.00
Data Sheet--Other Entity...................
Original New Plant Applications--Application 90 110.00 165.00 85.00 360.00 32,400.00
Data Sheet--Small Entity...................
Original New Design Applications-- 505 220.00 100.00 140.00 460.00 232,300.00
Application Data Sheet--Other Entity.......
[[Page 23232]]
Original New Design Applications-- 465 110.00 50.00 70.00 230.00 106,950.00
Application Data Sheet--Small Entity.......
Electronic New Design Applications-- 6,700 220.00 100.00 140.00 460.00 3,082,000.00
Application Data Sheet--Other Entity.......
Electronic New Design Applications-- 6,190 110.00 50.00 70.00 230.00 1,423,700.00
Application Data Sheet--Small Entity.......
Continuation/Divisional of an International 570 330.00 540.00 220.00 1,090.00 621,300.00
Application--Other Entity..................
Continuation/Divisional of an International 170 165.00 270.00 110.00 545.00 92,650.00
Application--Small Entity..................
Electronic Continuation/Divisional of an 7,580 330.00 540.00 220.00 1,090.00 8,262,200.00
International Application--Other Entity....
Electronic Continuation/Divisional of an 2,260 82.00 270.00 110.00 462.00 1,044,120.00
International Application--Small Entity....
Utility Continuation/Divisional 1,965 330.00 540.00 220.00 1,090.00 2,141,850.00
Applications--Other Entity.................
Utility Continuation/Divisional 655 165.00 270.00 110.00 545.00 356,975.00
Applications--Small Entity.................
Electronic Utility Continuation/Divisional 26,175 330.00 540.00 220.00 1,090.00 28,530,750.00
Applications--Other Entity.................
Electronic Utility Continuation Divisional 8,725 82.00 270.00 110.00 462.00 4,030,950.00
Applications--Small Entity.................
Plant Continuation/Divisional Applications-- 115 220.00 330.00 170.00 720.00 82,800.00
Other Entity...............................
Plant Continuation/Divisional Applications-- 35 110.00 165.00 85.00 360.00 12,600.00
Small Entity...............................
Design Continuation/Divisional Applications 80 220.00 100.00 140.00 460.00 36,800.00
--Other Entity.............................
Design Continuation/Divisional Applications-- 75 110.00 50.00 70.00 230.00 17,250.00
Small Entity...............................
Electronic Design Continuation/Divisional 1,085 220.00 100.00 140.00 460.00 499,100.00
Applications--Other Entity.................
Electronic Design Continuation/Divisional 1,000 110.00 50.00 70.00 230.00 230,000.00
Applications--Small Entity.................
Continued Prosecution Applications--Design 26 220.00 100.00 140.00 460.00 11,960.00
(Request Transmittal and Receipt)--Other
Entity.....................................
Continued Prosecution Applications--Design 24 110.00 50.00 70.00 230.00 5,520.00
(Request Transmittal and Receipt) Small
Entity.....................................
[[Page 23233]]
Electronic Continued Prosecution 345 220.00 100.00 140.00 460.00 158,700.00
Applications--Design (Request Transmittal
and Receipt)--Other Entity.................
Electronic Continued Prosecution 320 110.00 50.00 70.00 230.00 73,600.00
Applications--Design (Request Transmittal
and Receipt)--Small Entity.................
Utility Continuation-in-Part Applications-- 585 330.00 540.00 220.00 1,090.00 637,650.00
Other Entity...............................
Utility Continuation-In- Part Applications-- 195 165.00 270.00 110.00 545.00 106,275.00
Small Entity...............................
Electronic Utility Continuation-in-Part 7,755 330.00 540.00 220.00 1,090.00 8,452,950.00
Applications--Other Entity.................
Electronic Utility Continuation-in-Part 2,585 82.00 270.00 110.00 462.00 1,194,270.00
Applications--Small Entity.................
Plant Continuation-In-Part Applications-- 26 220.00 330.00 170.00 720.00 18,720.00
Other Entity...............................
Plant Continuation-In-Part Applications-- 9 110.00 165.00 85.00 360.00 3,240.00
Small Entity...............................
Design Continuation-In-Part Applications-- 21 220.00 100.00 140.00 460.00 9,660.00
Other Entity...............................
Design Continuation-In-Part Applications-- 19 110.00 50.00 70.00 230.00 4,370.00
Small Entity...............................
Electronic Design Continuation-in-Part 270 220.00 100.00 140.00 460.00 124,200.00
Applications--Other Entity.................
Electronic Design Continuation-in-Part 250 110.00 50.00 70.00 230.00 57,500.00
Applications--Small Entity.................
Provisional Application for Patent Cover 3,820 220.00 N/A N/A 220.00 840,400.000
Sheets--Other Entity.......................
Provisional Application for Patent Cover 6,510 110.00 N/A N/A 110.00 716,100.00
Sheets--Small Entity.......................
Electronic Provisional Application for 50,770 220.00 N/A N/A 220.00 11,169,400.00
Patent Cover Sheets--Other Entity..........
Electronic Provisional Application for 86,450 110.00 N/A N/A 110.00 9,509,500.00
Patent Cover Sheets--Small Entity..........
Petition to Accept Unintentionally Delayed 1,090 1,410.00 N/A N/A 1,410.00 1,536,900.00
Priority Claims............................
Petition to Accept Non-Signing Inventors or 1,950 200.00 N/A N/A 200.00 390,000.00
Legal Representatives/Filing by Other Than
all the Inventors or a Person not the
Inventor...................................
Petition under 37 CFR 1.6(f) to accord the 1 N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.00
Application under 37 CFR 1.495(b) a
National Stage Entry Date..................
[[Page 23234]]
Processing Fee under 37 CFR 1.17(q) for 7,500 50.00 N/A N/A 50.00 375,000.00
papers filed under the following:..........
1.41--to supply the name or names of the
inventor or inventors after the filing
date without a cover sheet as
prescribed by 37 CFR 1.51(c)(1) in a
provisional application.
1.48--for correction of inventorship in
a provisional application
1.53(c)(2)--to convert a non provisional
application filed under 1.53(b) to a
provisional application filed under
1.53(c)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals.............................. 513,221 ................ ................ ................ ................ 339,365,175.00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The second chart calculates the additional fees incurred when an
application is filed with additional sheets or excess claims. The USPTO
estimates that these fees apply to 252,471 of the 505,721 total
applications filed per year. This chart is a subset of the first chart
and adds an additional $96,203,957 to the annualized (non-hour) costs;
however, it does not change the number of responses. These fees are
also determined by the filing status. Plant applications do not have
independent claims in excess of 3 or 20, so these items are not
included in the chart below.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Filing fee for Total non-hour
Item Responses (yr) additional sheets and Average fee (b) cost burden
(a) claims (Yr) (a) x (b)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Provisional Application Size Fee for 1,837 $270.00 per each 50 $540.00 $991,980.00
Each Provisional Application for Sheets over 100.
Patent Cover Sheet, filed for Each
Additional 50 Sheets Exceeding 100
Sheets--Other Entity.
Provisional Application Size Fee for 1,709 135.00 per each 50 270.00 461,430.00
Each Provisional Application for Sheets over 100.
Patent Cover Sheet, filed for Each
Additional 50 Sheets Exceeding 100
Sheets--Small Entity.
Utility Applications, with 71,363 220.00 for each claim 440.00 31,399,720.00
independent claims in excess of 3-- over 3.
Other Entity.
Utility Applications, with 25,211 110.00 for each claim 220.00 5,546,420.00
independent claims in excess of 3-- over 3.
Small Entity.
Utility Applications, filed with 99,777 52.00 for each claim 416.00 41,507,232.00
Claims in Excess of 20--Other over 20.
Entity.
Utility Applications, filed with 40,894 26.00 for each claim 260.00 10,632,440.00
Claims in Excess of 20--Small over 20.
Entity.
Utility Application Size Fee for 9,301 270.00 for each 540.00 5,022,540.00
Each Original New Utility additional 50 sheets
Application, filed with each over 100.
additional 50 sheets exceeding 100
Sheets--Other Entity.
Utility Application Size Fee for 2,358 135.00 for each 270.00 636,660.00
Each Original New Utility additional 50 sheets
Application, filed with each over 100.
additional 50 sheets exceeding 100
sheets--Small Entity.
Plant Application Size Fee for Each 2 270.00 for each 270.00 540.00
Original New Plant Application, additional 50 sheets
filed with each additional 50 over 100.
sheets exceeding 100 sheets--Other
Entity.
Plant Application Size Fee for Each 1 135.00 for each 135.00 135.00
Original New Plant Application, additional 50 sheets
filed with each additional 50 over 100.
sheets exceeding 100 sheets--Small
Entity.
Design Application Size Fee for Each 14 270.00 for each 270.00 3,780.00
Original New Design Application, additional 50 sheets
filed for each additional 50 sheets over 100.
that exceeds 100 sheets--Other
Entity.
[[Page 23235]]
Design Application Size Fee for Each 4 135.00 for each 270.00 1,080.00
Original New Design Application, additional 50 sheets
filed for each additional 50 sheets over 100.
that exceeds 100 sheets--Small
Entity.
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Totals.......................... 252,471 ....................... ............... 96,203,957.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The third chart calculates the surcharges and fees incurred when an
application, the search or examination fee, or the oath or declaration
is filed late, when the application is filed with multiple dependent
claims, or when the application is filed with a non-English
specification. The USPTO estimates that these fees apply to 111,231 of
the 505,721 applications filed per year. This chart is a subset of the
first chart and adds an additional $13,876,905 to the annualized (non-
hour) costs; however, it does not change the number of responses.
Except for the fee for the non-English specification, these fees are
also determined by the filing status. Plant applications are not filed
with multiple dependent claims so they are not included in this chart.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Surcharge fee
for late
filing,
multiple Total non-hour
Item Responses (yr) dependent cost burden
(a) claims, or non- (yr) (a) x (b)
english
specification
fees
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Surcharge for Late Filing of Provisional Application for 2,588 $50.00 $129,400.00
Patent Cover Sheets--Other Entity...........................
Surcharge for Late Filing of Provisional Application for 4,675 25.00 116,875.00
Patent Cover Sheets--Small Entity...........................
Utility Applications, filed with Multiple Dependent Claims-- 7,101 390.00 2,769,390.00
Other Entity................................................
Utility Applications, filed with Multiple Dependent Claims-- 2,739 195.00 534,105.00
Small Entity................................................
Utility Applications, filed with a Surcharge for Late filing, 55,935 130.00 7,271,550.00
search or examination fee, or oath/declaration--Other Entity
Utility Applications, Filed with a Surcharge for Late Filing, 27,158 65.00 1,765,270.00
search or examination fee, or oath/declaration--Small Entity
Plant Applications, filed with a Surcharge for Late Filing, 172 130.00 22,360.00
Search or Examination Fee, or Oath/Declaration--Other Entity
Plant Applications, filed with a Surcharge for Late Filing, 83 65.00 5,395.00
Search or Examination Fee, or Oath/Declaration--Small Entity
Design Applications, filed with a Surcharge for Late Filing, 4,400 130.00 572,000.00
Search or Examination Fee, or Oath/Declaration--Other Entity
Design Applications, filed with a Surcharge for Late Filing, 2,136 65.00 138,840.00
Search or Examination Fee, or Oath/Declaration--Small Entity
Non-English Specification.................................... 4,244 130.00 551,720.00
--------------------------------------------------
Totals................................................... 111,231 ............... 13,876,905.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The USPTO estimates that the total non-hour respondent cost burden
for this collection, in the form of capital start-up, postage,
recordkeeping, and drawing costs, in addition to the filing fees, is
$771,767,698 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, 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 also will become a matter of public record.
Dated: April 27, 2010.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Office
of Information anagement Services, Data Administration Division.
[FR Doc. 2010-10288 Filed 4-30-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P