[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 171 (Thursday, September 4, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52634-52636]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-21039]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Proposed Collection; Comment Request
ACTION: Notice.
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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 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 November 3,
2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0035 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
Mail: Marcie Lovett, Records Management Division Director,
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 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].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
This information collection includes the information necessary to
submit a request to grant or revoke power of attorney for an
application, patent, or reexamination proceeding, and for a registered
practitioner to withdraw as attorney or agent of record. This
collection also includes the information necessary to change the
correspondence address for an application, patent, or reexamination
proceeding, to request a Customer Number and manage the correspondence
address and list of practitioners associated with a Customer Number,
and to designate or change the correspondence address or fee address
for one or more patents or applications by using a Customer Number.
Under 35 U.S.C. 2 and 37 CFR 1.31-1.36, the applicant for patent or
the assignee of the entire interest of the applicant (for an
application filed before September 16, 2012, or for a patent which
issued from an application filed before September 16, 2012), or the
applicant for patent or the patent owner (for an application filed on
or after September 16, 2012, or for a patent which issued from an
application filed on or after September 16, 2012), may grant power of
attorney to one or more joint inventors or a person who is registered
to practice before the USPTO to act for them in an application or a
patent. A power of attorney may also be revoked, and a registered
practitioner may also withdraw as attorney or agent of record under 37
CFR 1.36. The rules of practice (37 CFR 1.33) also provide for a
practitioner of record (a practitioner not of record may do so if named
in the transmittal papers accompanying the original application and if
an oath or declaration by any of the inventors has yet to be filed),
all of the applicants, or an assignee (for an application filed before
September 16, 2012), or a practitioner of record (a practitioner not of
record who acts in a representative capacity may do so if named in the
application transmittal papers and if any power of attorney has yet to
be appointed) or the applicant (for an application filed on or after
September 16, 2012), to supply a correspondence address and daytime
telephone number for receiving notices, official letters, and other
communications from the USPTO. The USPTO's Customer Number practice
permits applicants, patent owners, assignees, and practitioners of
record to change the correspondence address of a patent application or
patent, or the representatives of record for a number of patents or
applications with one change request instead of filing separate
requests for each patent or application. Customers may request a
Customer Number from the USPTO and associate this Customer Number with
a correspondence address or a list of registered practitioners. Any
changes to the address or practitioner information associated with a
Customer Number will be applied to all patents and applications
associated with said Customer Number.
The Customer Number practice is optional, in that changes of
correspondence address or power of attorney may be filed separately for
each patent or application without using a Customer Number. However, a
Customer Number associated with the correspondence address for a patent
application is required in order to access private information about
the application using the Patent Application Information Retrieval
(PAIR) system, which is available through the USPTO Web site. The PAIR
system gives authorized individuals secure online access to application
status information, but only for patent applications that are linked to
a Customer Number. Customer Numbers may be associated with U.S. patent
applications as well as international Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
applications. The use of a Customer Number is also required in order to
grant power of attorney to more than ten practitioners or to establish
a separate ``fee address'' for maintenance fee purposes that is
different from the correspondence address for a patent or application.
Customers may use a Customer Number Upload Spreadsheet to designate
or change the correspondence address or fee address for a list of
patents or applications by associating them with a Customer Number. The
[[Page 52635]]
Customer Number Upload Spreadsheet may not be used to change the power
of attorney for patents or applications. Customers may download a
Microsoft Excel template with instructions from the USPTO Web site to
assist them in preparing the spreadsheet in the proper format.
II. Method of Collection
By mail, facsimile, hand delivery, or electronically to the USPTO.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-0035.
Form Number(s): PTO/AIA/80/81/81B/82A/82B/122/123, PTO/SB/80/81/
81A/81B/81C/83/84/124/125, and PTO-2248.
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: 560,595 responses per year.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take
the public approximately 3 minutes (0.05 hours) to 1.5 hours to submit
the information in this collection, including the time to gather the
necessary information, prepare the appropriate form or document, and
submit the completed request to the USPTO.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 31,509 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $3,986,114.75. The
USPTO expects that Requests for Withdrawal as Attorney or Agent and the
two petitions in this collection will be prepared by attorneys, while
the other items in this collection will be prepared by
paraprofessionals. Using the professional rate of $389 per hour for
attorneys in private firms, the USPTO estimates that the respondent
cost burden for submitting the withdrawal requests and the petitions
will be $70,020 per year. Using the paraprofessional rate of $125 per
hour, the USPTO estimates that the respondent cost burden for
submitting the other items in this collection will be $3,916,094 per
year.
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Estimated time Estimated Estimated
Item for response annual annual burden
(minutes) responses hours
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1. Power of Attorney to Prosecute Applications Before the USPTO 3 4,000 200
(PTO/AIA/80 and PTO/SB/80).....................................
2. Power of Attorney or Revocation of Power of Attorney with a 3 400,000 20,000
New Power of Attorney and Change of Correspondence Address (PTO/
AIA/81/82A/82B and PTO/SB/81)..................................
3. Patent--Power of Attorney or Revocation of Power of Attorney 3 1,000 50
with a New Power of Attorney and Change of Correspondence
Address (PTO/SB/81A)...........................................
4. Reexamination--Patent Owner Power of Attorney or Revocation 3 300 15
of Power of Attorney with a New Power of Attorney and Change of
Correspondence Address (PTO/AIA/81B and PTO/SB/81B)............
5. Reexamination--Third Party Requester Power of Attorney or 3 75 3.75
Revocation of Power of Attorney with a New Power of Attorney
and Change of Correspondence Address (PTO/SB/81C)..............
6. Request for Withdrawal as Attorney or Agent and Change of 12 800 160
Correspondence Address (PTO/SB/83).............................
7. Authorization to Act in a Representative Capacity (PTO/SB/84) 3 1,000 50
8. Petition Under 37 CFR 1.36(a) to Revoke Power of Attorney by 60 10 10
Fewer than All the Applicants..................................
9. Petition to Waive 37 CFR 1.32(b)(4) and Grant Power of 60 10 10
Attorney by Fewer than All the Applicants......................
10. Change of Correspondence Address for Application or Patent 3 140,000 7,000
(PTO/AIA/122/123 and PTO/SB/122/123)...........................
11. Patent Owner Change of Correspondence Address--Reexamination 3 100 5
Proceeding (PTO/SB/123A).......................................
12. Third Party Requester Change of Correspondence Address-- 3 100 5
Reexamination Proceeding (PTO/SB/123B).........................
13. Request for Customer Number Data Change (PTO/SB/124)........ 12 2,000 400
14. Request for Customer Number (PTO/SB/125).................... 12 9,000 1,800
15. Customer Number Upload Spreadsheet.......................... 90 1,000 1,500
16. Request to Update a PCT Application with a Customer Number 15 1,200 300
(PTO-2248).....................................................
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Totals...................................................... .............. 560,595 31,509
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Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden: $26,094.04.
There are no capital start-up, maintenance, or recordkeeping costs
associated with this information collection. However, this collection
does have annual (non-hour) cost burden in the form of filing fees (for
the two petitions in the collection) and postage costs.
Specifically, the only items in this collection with associated
filing fees are the following two petitions:
Petition Under 37 CFR 1.36(a) to Revoke Power of Attorney
by Fewer than All the Applicants.
Petition to Waive 37 CFR 1.32(b)(4) and Grant Power of
Attorney by Fewer than All the Applicants.
37 CFR 1.17(f) proscribes the filing fees for these items as $400
for large entity, $200 for small entity, and $100 for micro entity. The
USPTO estimates that 25% of all fees are paid by small entities and
that 25% of all small entities are micro entities. As the USPTO
estimates 10 responses for the Petition Under 37 CFR 1.36(a) to Revoke
Power of Attorney by Fewer than All the Applicants the overall yearly
cost is calculated at $3,437.50. Additionally, the USPTO estimates 10
responses for the Petition to Waive 37 CFR 1.32(b)(4) and Grant Power
of Attorney by Fewer than All the Applicants (37 CFR 1.17(f), a yearly
cost calculated at $3,437.50. The USPTO estimates that the total filing
fees for this collection will be $6,875 per year.
The public may incur postage costs when submitting the information
in this
[[Page 52636]]
collection to the USPTO by mail. The USPTO estimates that approximately
3% (16,818 items) of the 560,615 items will be submitted to the USPTO
by mail. Due to the unique materials, including a diskette or CD and
cover letter, required for Customer Number Upload Spreadsheet
submissions, the USPTO estimates that the average first-class postage
cost for the 1,000 spreadsheet submissions will be $2.73; at a total
cost of $2,730. The reminder of the mailed items (15,818) will be sent
by first-class postage at a rate of $1.42 with an estimated cost of
$22,461. Therefore, the total estimated postage cost for this
collection is approximately $25,191 per year.
The total (non-hour) respondent cost burden for this collection in
the form of filing fees and postage costs is estimated to be $32,066
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 27, 2014.
Marcie Lovett,
Records Management Division Director, USPTO, Office of the Chief
Information Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2014-21039 Filed 9-3-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P