[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 221 (Monday, November 17, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68413-68414]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-27139]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

 Patent and Trademark Office


Patent and Trademark Resource Centers Metrics

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.

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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 this 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 January 16, 
2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``Patent 
and Trademark Resource Centers Metrics 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 the attention of Chris Kitchens, Manager, Patent 
and Trademark Resource Center Program, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1451, 
Alexandria, VA 22313-1451, by telephone at 571-272-5750, 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

    Patent and Trademark Resource Centers (PTRCs) are a nationwide 
network of public, state and academic libraries that are designated by 
the USPTO to disseminate patent and trademark information and to 
support the diverse intellectual property needs of the public. 
Accessing the patent and trademark information at a PTRC with the help 
of a trained specialist, allows the public to determine if someone else 
has already patented an invention or obtained a federal registration 
for a trademark on goods or services.
    Recognition as a PTRC is authorized under the provisions of 35 
U.S.C. 2(a)(2), which provides that the USPTO shall be responsible for 
disseminating to the public information with respect to patents and 
trademarks. In order to be designated as a PTRC, libraries must fulfill 
the following requirements: (1) Assist the public in the efficient use 
of patent and trademark information resources; (2) provide free access 
to patent and trademark resources provided by the USPTO; (3) provide 
metrics on the use of patent and trademark services provided by the 
member library as stipulated by the USPTO; (4) provide metrics on 
outreach efforts conducted by the member library as stipulated by the 
USPTO; and (5) send representatives to attend the USPTO-hosted PTRC 
training seminars.
    Since the PTRC requirements stipulate that the participating 
libraries must submit metrics in order to be designated as a PTRC, the 
USPTO is submitting this information collection for review under the 
PRA. The information collected enables the USPTO to more effectively 
train the

[[Page 68414]]

PTRC staff who, in turn, provide assistance and training to public 
customers in the areas of patent and trademarks. As the PTRCs continue 
to move away from the physical distribution of hard copy information, 
the USPTO is interested in what types of electronic services the PTRC 
of the future should offer its customers. Collection of this 
information enables the USPTO to more effectively service its current 
customers while planning for the future.
    The USPTO has developed a worksheet to collect the metrics 
concerning the use of the patent and trademark services and the public 
outreach efforts from the libraries. On the USPTO's behalf, the metrics 
are collected on a quarterly basis through a third-party vendor. The 
information is only collected electronically. The PTRCs are given a 
password to input their information.

II. Method of Collection

    The metrics are submitted electronically to the USPTO.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0068.
    Form Number(s): N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Non-profit organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 84 libraries, for 336 responses 
per year. The USPTO estimates that there will be 84 libraries reporting 
their metrics once per quarter, for a total of 336 responses per year.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the responding organizations approximately 30 minutes (0.50 hours) to 
gather the necessary information, prepare the worksheet, and submit it 
to the USPTO.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 168 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $5,008.08. The USPTO 
expects that the information in this collection will be prepared by 
librarians, at an estimated hourly rate of $29.81. This is the mean 
hourly wage for librarians for colleges, universities, and professional 
schools as reported in the 2013 Bureau of Labor Statistics. Therefore, 
the USPTO estimates that the respondent cost burden for this collection 
will be approximately $5,008.08 per year.

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                                                                     Estimated
                                                                     time for        Estimated       Estimated
                              Item                                   response         annual      annual  burden
                                                                     (minutes)       responses         hours
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PTRC Metric Worksheet...........................................              30             336             168
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    Totals......................................................  ..............             336             168
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    Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden: $0. There 
are no fees or capital start-up, maintenance, operation, or postage 
costs for this collection.

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: November 7, 2014.
Marcie Lovett,
Records Management Division Director, USPTO, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-27139 Filed 11-14-14; 8:45 am]
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