[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 49 (Friday, March 13, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13335-13336]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-05779]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Public Key 
Infrastructure (PKI) Certificate Action Form

    The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of 
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. chapter 35).
    Agency: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.
    Title: Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Certificate Action Form.
    OMB Control Number: 0651-0045.
    Form Number(s):
     PTO-2042.
    Type of Request: Regular.
    Number of Respondents: 4,500.
    Average Hours per Response: 0.5.
    Burden Hours: 2,250.
    Cost Burden: $11,025.
    Needs and Uses:
    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) uses Public 
Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology to support electronic commerce 
between the USPTO and its customers. PKI is a set of hardware, 
software, policies, and procedures that provide important security 
services for the electronic business activities of the USPTO, including 
protecting the confidentiality of unpublished patent applications in 
accordance with 35 U.S.C. 122 and 37 CFR 1.14, as well as protecting 
international patent applications in accordance with Article 30 of the 
Patent Cooperation Treaty.
    In order to provide the necessary security for its electronic 
commerce systems, the USPTO uses PKI

[[Page 13336]]

technology to protect the integrity and confidentiality of information 
submitted to the USPTO. PKI employs public and private encryption keys 
to authenticate the customer's identity and support secure electronic 
communication between the customer and the USPTO. Customers may submit 
a request to the USPTO for a digital certificate, which enables the 
customer to create the encryption keys necessary for electronic 
identity verification and secure transactions with the USPTO. This 
digital certificate is required in order to access any secure online 
systems USPTO provides; including the systems for electronic filing of 
patent applications and viewing confidential information about 
unpublished patent applications.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits; not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain or Retain Benefits.
    This information collection request may be viewed at reginfo.gov. 
Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce collections 
currently under review by OMB.
    OMB Desk Officer: Nicholas A. Fraser, email: 
[email protected].
    Once submitted, the request will be publicly available in 
electronic format through reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view 
Department of Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
    Paper copies can be obtained by:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0045 copy request'' 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.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent on or before April 13, 2015 to Nicholas A. 
Fraser, OMB Desk Officer, via email to [email protected], 
or by fax to 202-395-5167, marked to the attention of Nicholas A. 
Fraser.

    Dated: March 9, 2015.
Marcie Lovett,
Records Management Division Director, USPTO, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-05779 Filed 3-12-15; 8:45 am]
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