[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 42 (Monday, March 4, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14079-14080]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-04867]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

United States Patent and Trademark Office


Legal Processes

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 May 3, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0046 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 Shirley Hassan, Office of General Law, United 
States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 
22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-3000; or by email 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 purpose of this collection is to cover information requirements 
related to civil actions and claims involving current and former 
employees of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The 
rules for these legal processes may be found under 37 CFR Part 104, 
which outlines procedures for service of process, demands for employee 
testimony and production of documents in legal proceedings, reports of 
unauthorized testimony, employee indemnification, and filing claims 
against the USPTO under the Federal Tort Claims Act (28 U.S.C. 2672) 
and the corresponding Department of Justice regulations (28 CFR part 
14). The public may also petition the USPTO Office of General Counsel 
under 37 CFR 104.3 to waive or suspend these rules in extraordinary 
cases.
    The procedures under 37 CFR part 104 ensure that service of process 
intended for current and former employees of the USPTO is handled 
properly. The USPTO will only accept service of process for an employee 
acting in an official capacity. This collection is necessary so that 
respondents or their representatives can serve a summons or complaint 
on the USPTO, demand employee testimony and documents related to a 
legal proceeding, or file a claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act. 
Respondents may also petition the USPTO to waive or suspend these rules 
for legal processes. This collection is also necessary so that current 
and former USPTO employees may properly forward service and demands to 
the Office of General Counsel, report unauthorized testimony, and 
request indemnification. The USPTO covers current employees as 
respondents under this information collection even though their 
responses do not require approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act. In 
those instances where both current and former employees may respond to 
the USPTO, the agency estimates that the number of respondents will be 
small.
    There are no forms provided by the USPTO for this collection. For 
filing claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the public may use 
Standard Form 95 ``Claim for Damage, Injury, or Death,'' which is 
provided by the Department of Justice and approved by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB Control Number 1105-0008.

II. Method of Collection

    By mail or hand delivery to the USPTO.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0046.
    Form Number(s): None.
    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: 299 responses per year. The USPTO

[[Page 14080]]

estimates that approximately 10% of these responses will be from small 
entities.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the public from 5 minutes (0.08 hours) to 6 hours to gather the 
necessary information, prepare the appropriate documents, and submit 
the information required for this collection.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 88 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $32,354. The USPTO 
expects that the information in this collection will be prepared by 
attorneys and former employees, except for the requests for employee 
indemnification, which generally come from professional and supervisory 
staff. Since many of the former employees affected by this collection 
are attorneys, the estimated rate of $371 per hour for attorneys will 
be used for former employees as well. The USPTO estimates that the 
respondent cost burden for attorneys and former employees submitting 
the information in this collection will be $32,277 per year.
    Using the estimate of $77 per hour for professional and supervisory 
staff, the USPTO expects that the respondent cost burden for submitting 
requests for employee indemnification will be $77 per year. Therefore, 
the USPTO estimates that the total respondent cost burden for this 
collection will be approximately $32,354 per year.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                              Estimated annual  Estimated annual
                   Item                       Estimated time for response         responses       burden hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Petition to Waive Rules..................  30 minutes.......................                 5                 3
Service of Process.......................  5 minutes........................               243                19
Forwarding Service.......................  10 minutes.......................                 7                 1
Employee Testimony and Production of       1 hour...........................                23                23
 Documents in Legal Proceedings.
Forwarding Demands.......................  10 minutes.......................                10                 2
Report of Unauthorized Testimony.........  30 minutes.......................                 1                 1
Report of Possible Indemnification Cases.  30 minutes.......................                 3                 2
Employee Indemnification.................  30 minutes.......................                 1                 1
Tort Claims..............................  6 hours..........................                 6                36
                                          ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals...............................                                                  299                88
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden: $3,436. 
There are no capital start-up, maintenance, or recordkeeping costs 
associated with this information collection. However, this collection 
does have annual (non-hour) costs in the form of filing fees and 
postage costs.
    This collection has filing fees associated with the petition to 
waive or suspend the legal process rules under 37 CFR 104.3. The USPTO 
estimates that approximately 5 petitions will be filed per year with a 
fee of $130, for a total fee cost of $650. There are no other fees 
associated with this information collection.
    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 for a mailed submission, other than a 
Service of Process, will be 92 cents and that up to 56 of these 
submissions will be mailed to the USPTO per year, for a postage cost of 
$52. The USPTO estimates that the average postage for a Service of 
Process will be $11.25 and that up to 243 of these submissions will be 
mailed to the USPTO per year, for a postage cost of $2,734. The total 
estimated postage cost for this collection is approximately $2,786 per 
year.
    The total annual (non-hour) respondent cost burden for this 
collection in the form of filing fees and postage costs is estimated to 
be approximately $3,436 per year.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will 
become a matter of public record.
    The USPTO is soliciting public comments to:
    (a) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) 
Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (c) Enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the burden 
of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including 
through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or 
other technological collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

    Dated: February 27, 2013.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-04867 Filed 3-1-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P