[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 110 (Tuesday, June 9, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32541-32543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-14094]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

 Patent and Trademark Office


Patent Review and Derivation Proceedings

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 comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, 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 August 10, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted by any of the following 
methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0069 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
     Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
     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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to Susan Mitchell, Lead Administrative Patent Judge, 
Patent Trial and Appeal Board, United States Patent and Trademark 
Office (USPTO), P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313- 1450; by telephone 
at 571-272-8715; or by email at [email protected] with ``0651-
0069 comment'' in the subject line. 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 35 U.S.C. 131 and 151 to examine 
applications and, when appropriate, issue applications as patents. The 
Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, which was enacted into law on 
September 16, 2011, provided for many changes to the procedures of the 
Patent Trial and Appeal Board (``PTAB'' or ``Board'', formerly the 
Board of Patent Appeals and Interference) procedures. See Public Law 
112-29, 125 Stat. 284 (2011). These changes included the introduction 
of inter partes review, post-grant review, derivation proceedings, and 
the transitional program for covered business method patents. In 2012, 
six rulemaking actions were taken to propose and implement new rules of 
practice for the multiple reviews and proceedings impacted by the items 
contained within this information collection.
    This renewal seeks to enable the continuation of the review and 
proceeding processes outlined in the information collection below. The 
public will use this information collection to petition the Board to 
initiate inter partes reviews, post-grant reviews, covered business 
method patent reviews, and derivation proceedings, as well as initiate 
other actions, and to ensure that the associated fees and documentation 
are submitted to the USPTO.

II. Method of Collection

    Electronically if applicants submit the information using the 
Patent Review Processing System (PRPS). Applicants may be able to 
submit the information via email if PRPS is unavailable, or by Priority 
Mail Express[supreg] if both PRPS and the Board's email address are 
unavailable.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0069.
    IC Instruments and Forms: The individual instruments in this 
collection, as well as their associated forms, are listed in the table 
below.
    Type of Review: Revision of a Previously Existing Information 
Collection
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit organizations; 
individuals or households; not-for-profit institutions; Federal 
Government; and state, local, or tribal governments.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: The USPTO estimates that this 
collection will generate approximately 11,349 responses per year. Of 
this total, the USPTO expects that 11,274 responses will be submitted 
through an electronic portal such as PRPS and 75 will be submitted on 
paper.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the public an average of 128.6 hours to complete an individual form in 
this collection, with estimated response times for individual forms 
ranging between approximately 6 minutes and approximately 165 hours and 
18 minutes (0.10 hours to 165.3 hours) to complete, depending on the 
situation and collection tool used.
    The time per response, estimated annual responses, and estimated 
annual hour burden associated with each instrument in this information 
collection is shown in the table below.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 1,459,184 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent (Hourly) Cost Burden: 
$567,622,576. The USPTO expects that attorneys will complete the 
instruments associated with this information collection. The 
professional hourly rate for an attorney is $389. Using this hourly 
rate, the USPTO estimates $567,622,576 per year for the total hourly 
costs associated with respondents.

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                                                                  Estimated
        IC No.                   Item               Hours          Annual       Burden (hrs/yr)    Rate  ($/hr)
                                                                  Responses
                                                          (a)             (b)    (a) x (b) = (c)  ..............
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1.....................  Petition for Inter              124.0           1,685            208,940         $389.00
                         Partes Review.
2.....................  Petition for Post-              165.3             181           29,919.3          389.00
                         Grant Review or
                         Covered Business
                         Method Patent Review.
3.....................  Petition for                    165.3               3              495.9          389.00
                         Derivation.
4.....................  Patent Owner                     91.6           1,109          101,584.4          389.00
                         Preliminary Response
                         to Petition for
                         Initial Inter Partes
                         Review.
5.....................  Patent Owner                     91.6             134           12,274.4          389.00
                         Preliminary Response
                         to Petition for
                         Initial Post-Grant
                         Review or Covered
                         Business Method
                         Patent Review.
6.....................  Request for Rehearing            80.0             272             21,760          389.00
7.....................  Motions, Replies and            158.0           5,901            932,358          389.00
                         Oppositions After
                         Institution in Inter
                         Partes Review.
8.....................  Motions, Replies and            148.0             665             98,420          389.00
                         Oppositions After
                         Institution in Post-
                         Grant Review or
                         Covered Business
                         Method Review.
9.....................  Motions, Replies and            120.0               7                840          389.00
                         Oppositions in
                         Derivation
                         Proceeding.
10....................  Request for Oral                 18.3             392            7,173.6          389.00
                         Hearing.
11....................  Request to Treat a                2.0             397                794          389.00
                         Settlement as
                         Business
                         Confidential.
12....................  Settlement...........           100.0             446             44,600          389.00
13....................  Arbitration Agreement             4.0               2                  8          389.00
                         and Award.
14....................  Request to Make a                 1.0               1                  1          389.00
                         Settlement Agreement
                         Available.
15....................  Notice of Judicial                0.1             154               15.4          389.00
                         Review of a Board
                         Decision (e.g.,
                         Notice of Appeal
                         Under 35 U.S.C. Sec.
                           142).
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    Totals............  .....................  ..............          11,349          1,459,184  ..............
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    Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden: 
$60,404,425.50. There are no capital start-up or maintenance costs 
associated with this information collection. However, this collection 
does have annual (non-hour) costs in the form of filing fees and 
postage costs. The total annual (non-hour) costs for this collection 
are calculated in the accompanying tables.

Filing Fees

    The IC items in this collection that contain filing fees are listed 
in the table below.

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           IC No.                       Item              Responses  (yr)      Filing fees      Total cost  (yr)
                                                                       (a)                (b)    (a) x (b) = (c)
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1..........................  Petition for Inter Partes               1,685         $31,400.00     $52,909,000.00
                              Review.                                               (average)
2..........................  Petition for Post-Grant                   181          41,400.00       7,493,400.00
                              Review or Covered                                     (average)
                              Business Method Patent
                              Review.
3..........................  Petition for Derivation...                  3             400.00           1,200.00
14.........................  Request to Make a                           1             400.00             400.00
                              Settlement Agreement
                              Available.
                                                        --------------------------------------------------------
    Totals.................  ..........................              1,870  .................      60,404,000.00
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Postage Costs

    Customers may incur postage costs when submitting two of the 
Information Collection instruments covered by this collection to the 
USPTO by mail. Only the Petition for Inter Partes Review and the 
Motions, Replies, and Oppositions After Institution in Inter Partes 
Review are eligible for paper filings, and only if authorized by the 
PTAB. The USPTO expects that approximately 99 percent of the responses 
to those two items will be submitted electronically. Of the remaining 1 
percent, the vast majority--98 percent--will be submitted by mail, for 
a total of 74 mailed submissions. The average first class USPS postage 
cost for a one-pound mailed submission in a flat rate envelope is 
$5.75. Therefore, the USPTO estimates that the postage costs for the 
mailed submissions in this collection will total $425.50.
    The USPTO estimates that the total annual (non-hour) cost burden 
for this collection, in the form of filing fees ($60,404,000.00) and 
postage costs ($425.50), is $60,404,425.50 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, including 
the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
    (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, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses.

[[Page 32543]]

    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized or 
included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they will also become a matter of public record.

     Dated: June 1, 2015.
Marcie Lovett,
Records Management Division Director, USPTO, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-14094 Filed 6-8-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-16-P