[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 190 (Tuesday, October 1, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60256-60260]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-23790]


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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.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before December 2, 
2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0032 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 the attention of Raul Tamayo, Senior Legal 
Advisor, Office of Patent Legal Administration, United States Patent 
and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by 
telephone at 571-272-7728; 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 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 statutes 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 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 Legal Framework for EFS-Web, available at http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/fiie/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 documents 
not permitted to be filed via EFS-Web.
    There are 69 forms in this collection. This total includes versions 
of the inventor's oath and declaration forms that were created to 
comply with the changes resulting from the Leahy-Smith America Invents 
Act, e.g., forms AIA/01, AIA/02, etc., as well as pre-America Invents 
Act versions of the oath and declaration forms, e.g., forms SB/01, SB/
02, etc., and foreign language translations of the oath and declaration 
forms, e.g., forms AIA/01CN, SB/02CN, etc. On the other hand, 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.
    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved this collection 
on January 8, 2011, but the Notice of Action included terms of 
clearance stating that the USPTO should conduct outreach to 
stakeholders regarding the burden of 0651-0032 Initial Patent 
Applications and ways to potentially reduce it before the next renewal 
of the

[[Page 60257]]

collection. The terms of clearance also instructed the USPTO to include 
the results of this outreach in the next Information Collection Request 
submission. To fulfill this requirement, the USPTO will be conducting a 
special roundtable session later this year to collect feedback 
regarding the burden of the collection and ways to potentially reduce 
it. The results will be included in the Information Collection Request 
for the renewal of the collection. A subsequent notice will be 
published in the Federal Register detailing the date and format of the 
roundtable.
    The petitions and the papers filed under 37 CFR 1.41, 1.48, and 
1.53(c)(2) can be filed electronically as well as in paper. The 
electronic options for these items are being added into the collection.
    This collection currently has capital start-up costs associated 
with the compact disc copies of patent applications containing large 
computer program listings or mega tables, postage costs for these 
oversized submissions, and recordkeeping costs approved as part of the 
annual (non-hour) cost burden. As part of this renewal, the capital 
start-up costs are being deleted because these costs are usual and 
customary costs that are part of everyday business activities. The 
postage costs for the CD submissions for the oversized program listing 
or mega table applications are being deleted from this collection 
because the USPTO is projecting that a negligible number of them will 
be submitted. The recordkeeping costs associated with keeping a copy of 
the electronically-submitted patent application files and 
acknowledgment receipts are being deleted because the USPTO only 
suggests, but does not require, that applicants keep copies of their 
electronically-filed applications. In addition, the recordkeeping costs 
for retaining a copy of the application transmittal form and a back-up 
copy of the CD submissions of applications with oversized computer 
program listings and mega tables are also being deleted at this time.
    The USPTO is removing the fees associated with the majority of the 
information requirements in this collection because these fees have 
been moved into information collection 0651-0072 America Invents Act 
Section 10 Patent Fee Adjustments, which was approved by OMB in January 
2013 in conjunction with the USPTO rulemaking ``Setting and Adjusting 
Patent Fees'' (RIN 0651-AC54). The corresponding fees are now being 
deleted from 0651-0032 to avoid double-counting these annual (non-hour) 
costs in the USPTO's inventory.

II. Method of Collection

    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, most of the items in this collection can be submitted 
electronically through EFS-Web. The USPTO will also accept submissions 
by mail, facsimile (limited to petitions to accept unintentionally 
delayed priority/benefit claims, petitions to accept a filing by other 
than all the inventors or a person not the inventor, petitions to 
accord the application under 37 CFR 1.495(b) a receipt date, and papers 
filed under 37 CFR 1.41, 1.48, and 1.53(c)(2)), or hand delivery to the 
USPTO.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0032.
    Form Number(s): PTO/SB/01, 01A, 02, 02A, 02B, 02CN, 02DE, 02ES, 
02FR, 02IT, 02JP, 02KR, 02LR, 02NL, 02RU, 02SE, 03, 03A, 04, 06, 07, 14 
EFS-Web, 16, 16 EFS-Web, 17, 29, 29A, and 101-110. This collection also 
includes the following AIA forms: PTO/AIA01 through AIA04, AIA08 
through AIA11, AIA14 and 15, AIA18 and 19, and AIA01CN and 01DE, 01ES, 
01FR, 01IT, 01JP, 01KR, 01NL, 01RU, 01SE, 02CN, 02DE, 02ES, 02FR, 02IT, 
02JP, 02KR, 02NL, 02RU, and 02SE.
    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: 597,047 responses per year. The 
USPTO estimates that approximately 157,950 of these responses will be 
from small entities (this estimate reflects a 25% small entity response 
rate for all items in the collection, except for design-related items 
in the collection, for which a 50% small entity response rate is 
estimated). The USPTO estimates that 577,624 of the responses will be 
filed electronically.
    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 complexity 
of the request. This includes the time to gather the necessary 
information, prepare the application, petition, or paper submission, 
and submit the completed request to the USPTO. The USPTO calculates 
that, on balance, it takes the same amount of time to gather the 
necessary information, prepare the applications, petitions, and other 
papers and submit them to the USPTO, whether the applicant submits it 
in paper form or electronically.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 12,522,680 hours 
per year.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $4,871,322,520 per 
year. The USPTO expects that all of the information in this collection 
will be prepared by an attorney. Using the professional hourly rate of 
$389 for attorneys in private firms, the USPTO estimates that the total 
respondent cost burden for this collection is $4,871,322,520 per year.

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                                                                                     Estimated       Estimated
                    Item                          Estimated time for response         annual      annual  burden
                                                                                     responses         hours
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Original New Utility Applications--No         33 hours and 12 minutes...........             800          26,560
 Application Data Sheet.
Electronic Original New Utility               33 hours and 12 minutes...........          26,500         879,800
 Applications--No Application Data Sheet.
Original New Plant Applications--No           7 hours and 36 minutes............             100             760
 Application Data Sheet.
Original New Design Applications--No          5 hours and 48 minutes............             100             580
 Application Data Sheet.
Electronic Original Design Applications--No   5 hours and 48 minutes............           2,900          16,820
 Application Data Sheet.
Original New Utility Applications--           33 hours and 12 minutes...........           7,500         249,000
 Application Data Sheet.
Electronic Original New Utility               33 hours and 12 minutes...........         238,200       7,908,240
 Applications--Application Data Sheet.
Original New Plant Applications--Application  7 hours and 36 minutes............           1,200           9,120
 Data Sheet.
Original New Design Applications--            5 hours and 48 minutes............             800           4,640
 Application Data Sheet.
Electronic New Design Applications--          5 hours and 48 minutes............          26,500         153,700
 Application Data Sheet.
Continuation/Divisional of an International   3 hours and 18 minutes............             300             990
 Application.

[[Page 60258]]

 
Electronic Continuation/Divisional of an      3 hours and 18 minutes............          10,200          33,660
 International Application.
Utility Continuation/Divisional Applications  3 hours and 18 minutes............           2,200           7,260
Electronic Utility Continuation/Divisional    3 hours and 18 minutes............          71,600         236,280
 Applications.
Plant Continuation/Divisional Applications..  2 hours and 12 minutes............             200             440
Design Continuation/Divisional Applications.  1 hour and 6 minutes..............             100             110
Electronic Design Continuation/Divisional     1 hour and 6 minutes..............           2,700           2,970
 Applications.
Continued Prosecution Applications--Design    24 minutes........................              25              10
 (Request Transmittal and Receipt).
Electronic Continued Prosecution              24 minutes........................             800             320
 Applications--Design (Request Transmittal
 and Receipt).
Utility Continuation-in-Part Applications...  16 hours and 30 minutes...........             400           6,600
Electronic Utility Continuation-in-Part-      16 hours and 30 minutes...........          13,100         216,150
 Applications.
Plant Continuation-in-Part Applications.....  3 hours and 48 minutes............               1               4
Design Continuation-in-Part Applications....  2 hours and 42 minutes............              20              54
Electronic Design Continuation-in-Part        2 hours and 42 minutes............             800           2,160
 Applications.
Provisional Application for Patent Cover      15 hours..........................           5,500          82,500
 Sheet.
Electronic Provisional Application for        15 hours..........................         178,600       2,679,000
 Patent Cover Sheet.
Petition to Accept Unintentionally Delayed    1 hour............................              30              30
 Priority/Benefit Claim.
Electronic Petition to Accept                 1 hour............................             970             970
 Unintentionally Delayed Priority/Benefit
 Claim.
Petition to Accept a Filing by Other Than     1 hour............................              33              33
 all the Inventors or a Person not the
 Inventor.
Electronic Petition to Accept a Filing by     1 hour............................           1,067           1,067
 Other Than all the Inventors or a Person
 not the Inventor.
Petition under 37 CFR 1.6(g) to Accord the    30 minutes........................               1               1
 Application under 37 CFR 1.495(b) a Receipt
 Date.
Papers filed under the following:...........  45 minutes........................             114              86
    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).
Electronic Papers filed under the following:  45 minutes........................           3,686           2,765
    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...................................  ..................................         597,047      12,522,680
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    Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden: 
$431,933,422 per year. There are no maintenance, operation, capital 
start-up, or recordkeeping costs associated with this information 
collection. However, this collection does have annual (non-hour) costs 
in the form of postage and drawing costs, as well as a petition fee.
    The applications, the petitions, and the papers filed under 37 CFR 
1.41, 1.48, and 1.53(c)(2) 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. Using the Express Mail flat rate 
cost for mailing envelopes, the USPTO estimates that the average cost 
for sending an initial application by Express Mail will be $19.95 and 
that up to 19,246 may be mailed to the USPTO.
    The petitions to accept unintentionally delayed priority/benefit 
claim, to accept a filing by other than all the inventors or a person 
not the inventor, and the papers filed under 37 CFR 1.41, 1.48, and 
1.53(c)(2) can be sent by first-class mail. The USPTO estimates that 
these submissions will average two ounces, for a first-class postage 
rate of $0.66 cents. The USPTO estimates that up to 177 submissions may 
be mailed per year.
    The USPTO estimates that the total postage cost for this collection 
will be $384,075 per year.

[[Page 60259]]



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                 Total postage
                          Item                               Responses       Postage cost ($)       cost ($)
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                                              Express Mailing Costs
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Original New Utility Applications--No Application Data                 800              19.95          15,960.00
 Sheet.................................................
Original New Plant Applications--No Application Data                   100              19.95           1,995.00
 Sheet.................................................
Original New Design Applications--No Application Data                  100              19.95           1,995.00
 Sheet.................................................
Original New Utility Applications--Application Data                  7,500              19.95         149,625.00
 Sheet.................................................
Original New Plant Applications--Application Data Sheet              1,200              19.95          23,940.00
Original New Design Applications--Application Data                     800              19.95          15,960.00
 Sheet.................................................
Continuation/Divisional of an International Application                300              19.95           5,985.00
Utility Continuation/Divisional Applications...........              2,200              19.95          43,890.00
Plant Continuation/Divisional Applications.............                200              19.95           3,990.00
Design Continuation/Divisional Applications............                100              19.95           1,995.00
Continued Prosecution Applications--Design (Request                     25              19.95             499.00
 Transmittal and Receipt)..............................
Utility Continuation-in-Part Applications..............                400              19.95           7,980.00
Plant Continuation-in-Part Applications................                  1              19.95              20.00
Design Continuation-in-Part Applications...............                 20              19.95             399.00
Provisional Application for Patent Cover Sheet.........              5,500              19.95         109,725.00
                                                        --------------------------------------------------------
    Total Express Mailing Costs........................  .................  .................         383,958.00
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                                            First-Class Mailing Costs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Petition to Accept Unintentionally Delayed Priority/                    30               0.66              20.00
 Benefit Claim.........................................
Petition to Accept a Filing by Other Than all the                       33               0.66              22.00
 Inventors or a Person not the Inventor................
Papers Filed Under the Following:......................                114               0.66              75.00
    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 First-Class Mailing Costs....................  .................  .................             117.00
    Total Postage Costs................................  .................  .................         384,075.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 estimating the drawing costs, the 
USPTO expects that all applicants will have their drawings prepared by 
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 $30 to $200 per 
sheet. The USPTO estimates that it can cost $115 per sheet to produce 
the utility drawings and that on average, 9 sheets of drawings are 
submitted, for an average cost of $1,035 to produce the utility 
drawings. Out of 286,500 utility applications submitted per year, the 
USPTO estimates that 77% or 220,605 applications will be submitted with 
drawings.
    Costs to produce design drawings can range from $35 to $350 per 
sheet. The USPTO estimates that it can cost $193 per sheet to produce 
design drawings and that on average 9 sheets of drawings are submitted, 
for an average cost of $1,737 to produce design drawings. The USPTO 
estimates that all of the design applications filed per year (31,945) 
will be submitted with drawings.
    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 9 sheets of drawings are 
submitted, for an average cost of $612 to produce plant drawings. The 
USPTO estimates that all of the plant applications filed per year 
(1,301) will be submitted with drawings.
    Costs to produce the provisional drawings can range from $30 to 
$200 per sheet. The USPTO estimates that it can cost $115 per sheet to 
produce provisional drawings and that on average 9 sheets of drawings 
are submitted, for an average cost of $1,035 to produce provisional 
drawings. Out of 184,100 provisional applications submitted per year, 
the USPTO estimates that 77% or 141,757 applications will be submitted 
with drawings.
    The USPTO estimates 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 
is $431,329,347.

[[Page 60260]]



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             Average drawing     Average total
                          Item                               Responses          cost  ($)      drawing cost  ($)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Utility Application Drawings...........................            220,605             $1,035    $228,326,175.00
Design Application Drawings............................             31,945              1,737      55,488,465.00
Plant Application Drawings (Photographs)...............              1,301                612         796,212.00
Provisional Application Drawings.......................            141,757              1,035     146,718,495.00
                                                        --------------------------------------------------------
    Total..............................................  .................  .................     431,329,347.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    There is also annual (non-hour) cost burden in the way of filing 
fees for the petitions to accept a filing by other than all the 
inventors or a person not the inventor. The filing fees for the 
applications, the petitions to accept unintentionally delayed priority/
benefit claims, the processing fees for the papers filed under 37 CFR 
1.41, 1.48, and 1.53(c)(2), the additional fees incurred when an 
application is filed with additional sheets or excess claims, and 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 are covered under 
0651-0072 America Invents Act Section 10 Patent Fee Adjustments.
    The total estimated filing costs of $220,000 for this collection 
are calculated in the following table.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                  Total non-hour
                              Item                                Resps (yr) (a)    Filing fee      cost burden
                                                                                        ($)       (yr) (a) x (b)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Petition to Accept a Filing by Other Than all the Inventors or a              33         $200.00       $6,600.00
 Person not the Inventor........................................
Electronic Petition to Accept a Filing by Other Than all the               1,067          200.00      213,400.00
 Inventors or a Person not the Inventor.........................
Petition under 37 CFR 1.6(g) to accord the Application under 37                1             N/A            0.00
 CFR 1.495(b) a Receipt Date....................................
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................................           1,101  ..............      220,000.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The USPTO estimates that the total annual (non-hour) respondent 
cost burden for this collection, in the form of postage and drawing 
costs, in addition to petition fees, is estimated to be approximately 
$431,933,422 per year.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the USPTO's 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: September 25, 2013.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-23790 Filed 9-30-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P