[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 19 (Monday, January 30, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 4509-4510]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-1939]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

United States Patent and Trademark Office

37 CFR Chapter I

[Docket No.: PTO-P-2012-0002]


Patent Public Advisory Committee Public Hearings on the Proposed 
Patent Fee Schedule

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Public Hearings.

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SUMMARY: Under Section 10 of the America Invents Act (AIA), the United 
States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) may set or adjust by rule 
any patent or trademark fee established, authorized, or charged under 
Title 35 of the United States Code or the Trademark Act of 1946, 
respectively. The USPTO currently is planning to set or adjust patent 
fees pursuant to its Section 10 fee setting authority. As part of the 
rulemaking process to set or adjust patent fees, the Patent Public 
Advisory Committee (PPAC) is required under Section 10 of the AIA to 
hold a public hearing about any proposed patent fees, and the USPTO is 
required to assist PPAC in carrying out that hearing. To that end, the 
USPTO will make its proposed patent fees available as set forth in the 
Supplementary Information section of this Notice before any PPAC 
hearing and will help the PPAC to notify the public about the hearing. 
Accordingly, this document announces the dates and logistics for two 
PPAC public hearings regarding USPTO proposed patent fees. Interested 
members of the public are invited to testify at the hearing and/or 
submit written comments about the proposed patent fees and the 
questions posed on PPAC's Web site about the proposed fees.

DATES: Public hearings: February 15 and 23, 2012.
    Comments: For those wishing to submit written comments, but not 
requesting an opportunity to testify at either public hearing, the 
deadline for receipt of those written comments is February 29, 2012.
    Oral testimony: Those wishing to present oral testimony at either 
hearing must request an opportunity to do so in writing no later than 
February 8, 2012.
    Pre-scheduled speakers: Pre-scheduled speakers providing testimony 
at the hearings should submit a written copy of their testimony for 
inclusion in the record of the proceedings no later than February 29, 
2012.

ADDRESSES: Public hearings: The PPAC will hold public hearings on 
Wednesday, February 15, 2012, beginning at 8 a.m., Eastern Standard 
Time (EST), and ending at 3 p.m., EST, at the USPTO, Madison 
Auditorium, Concourse Level, Madison Building, 600 Dulany Street, 
Alexandria, Virginia 22314, and on Thursday, February 23, 2012, 
beginning at 8 a.m., Pacific Standard Time (PST), and ending at 3 p.m., 
PST, at the Sunnyvale Public Library, 665 W. Olive Avenue, Sunnyvale, 
California 94086.
    Email: Written comments should be sent by email addressed to 
[email protected].
    Postal mail: Comments may also be submitted by postal mail 
addressed to: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Mail Stop CFO, 
P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450, ATTN: Michelle Picard. 
Although comments may be submitted by postal mail, the USPTO prefers to 
receive comments via email. Written comments should be identified in 
the subject line of the email or postal mailing as ``Fee Setting.'' 
Because comments will be made available for public inspection, 
information that is not desired to be made public, such as an address 
or telephone number, should not be included in the comments.
    Web cast: The public hearings will be available via Web cast. 
Information about the Web cast will be posted on the USPTO's Internet 
Web site (address: www.uspto.gov/americainventsact) before the public 
hearing.
    Transcripts: Transcripts of the hearings will be available on the 
USPTO Internet Web site (www.uspto.gov/americainventsact) shortly after 
the hearings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Picard, Office of the Chief 
Financial Officer, by phone (571) 272-6354, or by email at 
[email protected]; or Janet Gongola, Office of the Under 
Secretary and Director, by phone at (571) 272-8734, or by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Requests to testify should indicate the 
following: (1) The name of the person wishing to testify; (2) the 
person's contact information (telephone number and email address); (3) 
the organization(s)

[[Page 4510]]

the person represents, if any; and (4) an indication of the amount of 
time needed for the testimony. Requests to testify must be submitted by 
email to Jennifer Lo at [email protected]. Based upon the requests 
received, an agenda for witness testimony will be sent to testifying 
requesters and posted on the USPTO Internet Web site (address: 
www.uspto.gov/americainventsact). If time permits, the PPAC may permit 
unscheduled testimony as well.
    Effective September 16, 2011, with the passage of the AIA, the 
USPTO is authorized under Section 10 of the AIA to set or adjust by 
rule all patent and trademark fees established, authorized, or charged 
under Title 35 of the United States Code and the Trademark Act of 1946, 
respectively. Patent and trademark fees set or adjusted by rule under 
Section 10 of the AIA may only recover the aggregate estimated costs to 
the Office for processing, activities, services, and materials relating 
to patents and trademarks, respectively, including administrative costs 
of the Office with respect to each as the case may be.
    Congress set forth the process for the USPTO to follow in setting 
or adjusting patent and trademark fees by rule under Section 10 of the 
AIA. Congress requires the relevant advisory committee to hold a public 
hearing about the USPTO fee proposals after receiving them from the 
agency. Congress likewise requires the relevant advisory committee to 
prepare a written report on the proposed fees and the USPTO to consider 
the relevant advisory committee's report before finally setting or 
adjusting the fees. Further, Congress requires the USPTO to publish its 
proposed fees and supporting rationale in the Federal Register and give 
the public not less than 45 days in which to submit comments on the 
proposed change in fees. Finally, Congress requires the USPTO to 
publish its final rule setting or adjusting fees also in the Federal 
Register.
    Presently, the USPTO is planning to exercise its fee setting 
authority to set or adjust patent fees. The USPTO will publish a 
proposed patent fee schedule and related supplementary information for 
public viewing no later than February 7, 2012, on the USPTO Internet 
Web site (address: www.uspto.gov/americainventsact). In turn, the PPAC 
will hold two public hearings about the proposed patent fee schedule on 
the dates indicated herein. The USPTO will assist the PPAC in holding 
those hearings by providing resources to organize the hearings and by 
notifying the public about the hearings, such as through this Federal 
Register Notice.
    To gather information from the public about the USPTO's proposed 
patent fees, the PPAC will post specific questions for the public's 
consideration on the PPAC's Internet Web site (address: http://www.uspto.gov/about/advisory/ppac) after the USPTO publishes its 
proposed patent fee schedule. The public may wish to address those 
questions in its hearing testimony and/or in written comments submitted 
to PPAC as described herein.
    Following the PPAC public hearing, the USPTO will publish a Notice 
of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register, setting forth its 
proposed patent fees. The publication of that Notice will open a 
comment window through which the public may provide written comments 
directly to the USPTO. Additional information about public comment to 
the USPTO will be provided in the USPTO's Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking.

    Dated: January 24, 2012.
David J. Kappos,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2012-1939 Filed 1-27-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P