[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 53 (Wednesday, March 19, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15317-15319]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-06002]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office


Global Intellectual Property Academy (GIPA) Surveys

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 extension of a 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 19, 2014.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0065 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 J. David Binsted, Program 
Manager, Global Intellectual Property Academy, United States Patent and 
Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by 
telephone at 571-272-1500; or by email at [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) surveys 
international and domestic participants of the USPTO's Global 
Intellectual Property Academy (GIPA) training programs to obtain 
feedback from the participants on the effectiveness of the various 
services provided to them in the training programs. GIPA was 
established in 2006 to offer training programs on enforcement of 
intellectual property rights, patents, trademarks, and copyrights. The 
training programs offered by GIPA are designed to meet the specific 
needs of foreign government officials (including judges, prosecutors, 
police, customs officials, patent, trademark, and copyright officials, 
and policy makers) concerning various intellectual property topics, 
such as global intellectual property rights protection and enforcement 
and strategies to handle the protection and enforcement issues in their 
respective countries.
    This collection contains three surveys: Pre-program, post-program, 
and alumni. The pre-program survey is designed to obtain the background 
and experience of a participant and is delivered to the participant 
prior to their arrival for a GIPA training program. The post-program 
survey is used to analyze the overall effectiveness of the program and 
is conducted at the conclusion of the training program. The alumni 
survey is used to determine the value of the GIPA training program on 
the future job performance of the participant. The data obtained from 
these participation satisfaction surveys will be used to evaluate the 
percentage of foreign officials trained by GIPA who have initiated or 
implemented a positive intellectual property change in their 
organization; the percentage of foreign officials trained by GIPA who 
increased their expertise in intellectual property; the satisfaction 
with the intellectual property program, and the value of the experience 
as it relates to future job performance. The data received from these 
surveys will also be used to help the USPTO meet organizational

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performance and accountability goals through the following legislative 
mandates: Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), the 
President's Management Agenda (PMA), and the Office of Management and 
Budget's (OMB) Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART). These surveys 
also support various business goals developed by the USPTO to fulfill 
customer service and performance goals, to assist the USPTO in 
strategic planning for future initiatives, to verify existing service 
standards, and to establish new ones.
    The GIPA surveys are voluntary surveys. The USPTO expects to hire a 
survey contractor to conduct these surveys. The surveys will primarily 
be conducted electronically, but the USPTO will also have paper surveys 
to mail to those participants who have poor Internet connectivity or 
have access restrictions. In-person surveys may also be conducted. 
Survey participants will be able to access the online surveys through 
links provided to them in email invitations. The links provided in 
these emails are individualized links that are uniquely tied to the 
survey participants so passwords, user ids, or usernames are not needed 
to access the surveys.
    Information collected from the surveys will be kept private, to the 
extent provided by law. Responses to the pre-program, post-program, and 
alumni surveys can be linked to the participants and to the demographic 
data collected from them during the various GIPA training programs. 
However, the actual data recorded from the surveys will not be directly 
linked to the participants. Any data linking the individual to their 
responses will not be retained after the data has been aggregated. The 
USPTO will have limited access to the data. The only data that the 
USPTO can access will be the aggregated survey data and the frequency 
of the responses; the agency will not be able to view the individual 
responses or the data related to the survey. The survey contractor will 
have access to individual survey responses for analysis purposes only 
and will only report the aggregated data and the frequency of the 
responses. The USPTO does not intend to collect any personal 
identifying data from the participants and intends to maintain the 
contact information for the participants in a separate file from the 
quantitative data.

II. Method of Collection

    The surveys will primarily be online surveys but the USPTO will 
also have paper surveys to mail to those participants who have poor 
Internet connectivity or have access restrictions. The surveys will 
also be distributed by email. In-person surveys may also be conducted.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0065.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households and businesses or other 
for profit institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 650 responses per year. The USPTO 
estimates that approximately 350 of the surveys will be filed 
electronically.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it takes the 
public approximately 15 minutes (0.25 hours) to complete the surveys in 
this collection. This includes the time to gather the necessary 
information, respond to the survey, and submit it to the USPTO. The 
USPTO calculates that, on balance, it takes the same amount of time to 
complete and submit the surveys, whether the participant completes the 
survey in paper or electronically.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 163 hours per year.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $28,688 per year. 
The USPTO expects that the audience for the GIPA training programs will 
typically consist of high-ranking government officials, judges, 
lawyers, examiners, and others. The USPTO estimates that roughly 20% of 
the attendees fall into the high-ranking categories, while the rest 
make up 80% of the attendees. The USPTO estimates that the hourly rate 
for 20% of the attendees would be roughly equivalent to the 
professional hourly rate of $389, while the rest would be roughly 
equivalent to the para-professional hourly rate of $122. Using these 
U.S. hourly rates, the USPTO estimates a professional hourly rate of 
$78 and a paraprofessional hourly rate of $98, for a total hourly rate 
of $176. Please note that since individuals with varying job titles and 
pay grades typically attend the GIPA training programs, the USPTO is 
currently unable to derive a concise international labor rate for these 
individuals. Due to this and the fact that the training is conducted in 
the United States, the USPTO is using the corresponding United States 
pay rates to calculate the hourly labor rates. If the agency can obtain 
more concise hourly labor rate data for these individuals, these rates 
will be used to calculate the respondent burden in the future. The 
USPTO estimates that the total respondent cost burden for this 
collection is $28,688 per year.

 
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                                                             Estimated time
                           Item                               for response    Estimated annual  Estimated annual
                                                                (minutes)         responses       burden hours
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Pre-Program Survey........................................                15               100                25
Electronic Pre-Program Survey.............................                15               100                25
Post-Program Survey.......................................                15               100                25
Electronic Post-Program Survey............................                15               100                25
Alumni Survey.............................................                15               100                25
Electronic Alumni Survey..................................                15               150                38
                                                           -----------------------------------------------------
    Total.................................................  ................               650               163
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    Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden: $0 per 
year. There are no maintenance, operation, capital start-up, or 
recordkeeping costs associated with this information collection. These 
surveys do not have filing or other fees associated with them. The 
USPTO expects to conduct these surveys electronically using a survey 
tool and may also conduct in-person surveys. In either case, there will 
be no postage costs associated with these surveys.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or

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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: March 14, 2014.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-06002 Filed 3-18-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P