[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 169 (Wednesday, September 1, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53631-53632]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-21767]



[[Page 53631]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office


Missing Parts Practice

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 this new 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 November 1, 
2010.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
00xx Missing Parts Practice comment'' 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, 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 
(USPTO), P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone 571-
272-7728; or by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    In response to a number of requests to reduce the costs due one 
year after filing a provisional application, the USPTO published a 
Federal Register notice titled ``Request for Comments on Proposed 
Change to Missing Parts Practice'' proposing a change that would 
provide applicants with an extended time period to reply to a Notice to 
File Missing Parts requiring certain fees in a nonprovisional 
application if certain conditions were met. Based on public feedback, 
the USPTO is implementing an extended missing parts pilot program which 
will permit applicants to request a 12-month time period to reply to a 
Notice to File Missing Parts of Nonprovisional Application to pay 
certain fees. The pilot program would be scheduled to run for one year.
    The extended missing parts pilot program is expected to benefit 
applicants by permitting additional time to determine if patent 
protection should be sought at a relatively low cost and by permitting 
applicants to focus efforts on commercialization during this period. 
The extended missing parts pilot program is also expected to benefit 
the USPTO and the public by adding publications to the body of prior 
art, and by removing from the USPTO's workload those nonprovisional 
applications for which the applicants will later decide not to pursue 
examination.
    There is one form associated with this collection of information. 
The USPTO has created PTO/SB/421, Request for Extended Missing Parts 
Pilot Program, for applicants to request participation in the program.

II. Method of Collection

    By mail or electronically through EFS-Web using Form PTO/SB/421 to 
request participation in the extended missing parts pilot program.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-00xx.
    Form Number(s): PTO/SB/421.
    Type of Review: New information collection.
    Affected Public: Business or other for profit; not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 10,000 responses per year.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
15 minutes (0.25 hours) to gather the information, prepare the form, 
and submit it to the USPTO, depending upon the complexity of the 
situation. The USPTO expects that it will take the same amount of time 
to complete and submit the form, whether it is mailed or submitted 
electronically.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 2,500 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $812,500. Using the 
professional hourly rate of $325 for attorneys in private firms, the 
USPTO estimates $812,500 per year for salary costs associated with 
respondents.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                              Estimated annual  Estimated annual
                   Item                        Estimated time for response        responses       burden hours
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Request for Extended Missing Parts Program  15 minutes......................               700               175
Request for Extended Missing Parts Program  15 minutes......................             9,300             2,325
 (EFS-Web).
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    Totals................................  ................................            10,000             2,500
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    Estimated Total Annual Non-Hour Respondent Cost Burden: $0. There 
are no capital start-up or maintenance costs associated with this 
information collection. The request does not have filing or other fees 
associated with it. There are postage and recordkeeping costs 
associated with this form; however, these costs are covered under OMB 
Control Number 0651-0032 Initial Patent Applications. Since the 
requests for participation in the extended missing parts pilot program 
must be filed with the nonprovisional applications, which are covered 
under 0651-0032, the USPTO has concluded that the postage costs and 
filing fees for these requests are part of the cost calculations for 
0651-0032 and do not need to be calculated separately for this 
collection.

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;

[[Page 53632]]

they will also become a matter of public record.

Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2010-21767 Filed 8-31-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P