[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 153 (Tuesday, August 9, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48807-48808]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-20097]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Certificate Action Form
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 October 11,
2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0045 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
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 Rod Turk, Office of Organizational Policy and
Governance, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450,
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-1975; or by e-mail
to [email protected]. Additional information about this collection is
also available at http://www.reginfo.gov under ``Information Collection
Review.''
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) uses Public
Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology to support electronic commerce
between the USPTO and its customers. PKI is a set of hardware,
software, policies, and procedures that provide important security
services for the electronic business activities of the USPTO, including
protecting the confidentiality of unpublished patent applications in
accordance with 35 U.S.C. 122 and 37 CFR 1.14, as well as protecting
international patent applications in accordance with Article 30 of the
Patent Cooperation Treaty.
In order to provide the necessary security for its electronic
commerce systems, the USPTO uses PKI technology to protect the
integrity and confidentiality of information submitted to the USPTO.
PKI employs public and private encryption keys to authenticate the
customer's identity and support secure electronic communication between
the customer and the USPTO. Customers may submit a request to the USPTO
for a digital certificate, which enables the customer to create the
encryption keys necessary for electronic identity verification and
secure transactions with the USPTO. This digital certificate is
required in order to access secure online systems that are provided by
the USPTO for transactions such as electronic filing of patent
applications and viewing confidential information about unpublished
patent applications.
This information collection includes the Certificate Action Form
(PTO-2042), which is used by the public to request a new digital
certificate, the revocation of a current certificate, or the recovery
of a lost or corrupted certificate. Customers may also change the name
listed on the certificate or associate the certificate with one or more
Customer Numbers. A certificate request must include a notarized
signature in order to verify the identity of the applicant. The
Certificate Action Form has an accompanying subscriber agreement to
ensure that customers understand their obligations regarding the use of
the digital certificates and cryptographic software. When generating a
new certificate, customers register to get a set of seven codes that
will enable customers to recover a lost certificate online without
having to contact USPTO support staff.
II. Method of Collection
The Certificate Action Form must be notarized and may be mailed or
hand delivered to the USPTO.
[[Page 48808]]
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-0045.
Form Number(s): PTO-2042.
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: 1,857 responses per year.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take
the public approximately 30 minutes (0.5 hours) to read the
instructions and subscriber agreement, gather the necessary
information, prepare the Certificate Action Form, and submit the
completed request.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 929 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $129,131. The USPTO
expects that 70% of the submissions for this collection will be
prepared by paraprofessionals, 15% by attorneys, and 15% by independent
inventors. Using those proportions and the estimated rates of $122 per
hour for paraprofessionals, $325 per hour for attorneys in private
firms, and $30 per hour for independent inventors, the USPTO estimates
that the average rate for those respondents will be approximately $139
per hour. Therefore, the estimated total respondent cost burden for
this collection will be approximately $129,131 per year.
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Estimated Estimated
Item Estimated time for annual annual burden
response responses hours
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Certificate Action Form (including Subscriber 30 minutes 1,857 929
Agreement) (PTO-2042)..............................
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Totals.......................................... ........................ 1,857 929
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Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden: $4,531.
There are no capital start-up costs, maintenance costs, or fees
associated with this information collection. However, this collection
does have annual (non-hour) cost burden associated with the Certificate
Action Form.
This collection has costs due to the notarization requirement for
authenticating the signatures on the Certificate Action Form. The USPTO
estimates that the average fee for having a signature notarized is $2
and that 1,857 responses for these forms will be submitted annually,
for a total cost of $3,714 per year.
This collection also has postage costs for submitting the
Certificate Action Form to the USPTO by mail. The form cannot be faxed
or submitted electronically because it requires an original notarized
signature. The USPTO estimates that the first class postage cost for
these forms will be 44 cents and that it will receive 1,857 mailed
responses annually, for a total postage cost of approximately $817 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: August 4, 2011.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011-20097 Filed 8-8-11; 8:45 am]
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