[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 75 (Tuesday, April 19, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22967-22970]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-09037]
[[Page 22967]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Patent Cooperation Treaty
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 the
continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, Public Act of 1996, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C
3506(c)(2)(A)).
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before June 20, 2016.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-021
comment'' in the subject line of the message.
Federal Register 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 Rafael Bacares, 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 571-272-3276;
or by email at [email protected] with ``Paperwork'' 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
This collection of information is required by the provisions of the
Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), which became operational in June 1978
and is administered by the International Bureau (IB) of the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland. The
provisions of the PCT have been implemented by the United States in
part IV of title 35 of the U.S. Code (chapters 35-37) and subpart C of
title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations (37 CFR 1.401-1.499). The
purpose of the PCT is to provide a standardized filing format and
procedure that allows an applicant to seek protection for an invention
in several countries by filing one international application in one
location, in one language, and paying one initial set of fees.
The information in this collection is used by the public to submit
a patent application under the PCT and by the United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) to fulfill its obligation to process, search,
and examine the application as directed by the treaty. The USPTO acts
as the United States Receiving Office (RO/US) for international
applications filed by residents and nationals of the United States.
These applicants send most of the correspondence directly to the USPTO,
but they may also file certain documents directly with the IB. The
USPTO serves as an International Searching Authority (ISA) to perform
searches and issue international search reports (ISR) and the written
opinions on international applications. The USPTO also issues
international preliminary reports on patentability (IPRP Chapter II)
when acting as an International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA).
II. Method of Collection
By mail, hand delivery, or electronic submission to the USPTO.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-0021.
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: Individuals or households; business or other for-
profits; and not-for-profit institutions.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 423,970 responses per year.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take
the public between 0.25 hours (15 minutes) and 8 hours to gather the
necessary information, prepare the appropriate form or documents, and
submit the information to the USPTO.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 364,830 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent (Hourly) Cost Burden:
$149,380,300. The USPTO expects that attorneys will complete these
applications. The current professional hourly rate for attorneys is
$410.00. Using this hourly rate, the USPTO estimates that the total
respondent cost burden for this collection is $149,380,300 per year.
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Estimated Estimated
IC No. Item Estimated time for response annual annual burden Rate ($/hr) Total cost
(hr) responses hours burden ($/hr)
(a)............................. (b) (a) x (b) = (d) (c) x (d) = (e)
(c)
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1...................... Request and Fee Calculation 1............................... 56,480 56,480 $410.00 $23,156,800.00
Sheet (Annex and Notes)
(PCT/RO/101).
2...................... Description/claims/drawings/ 3............................... 56,480 169,480 410.00 69,470,400.00
abstracts.
3...................... Application Data Sheet (35 0.38 (23 minutes)............... 91,477 34,761 410.00 14,252,010.00
U.S.C. 371 applications).
4...................... Transmittal Letter to the 0.25 (15 minutes)............... 50,832 12,708 410.00 5,210,280.00
United States Receiving
Office (RO/US) (PTO-1382).
5...................... Transmittal Letter to the 0.25 (15 minutes)............... 85,387 21,347 410.00 8,752,270.00
United States Designated/
Elected Office (DO/EO/US)
Concerning a Submission
Under 35 U.S.C. 371 (PTO-
1390).
6...................... PCT/Model of Power of 0.25 (15 minutes)............... 2,824 706 410.00 289,460.00
Attorney.
7...................... PCT/Model of General Power 0.25 (15 minutes)............... 282 71 410.00 29,110.00
of Attorney.
[[Page 22968]]
8...................... Indications Relating to a 0.25 15 minutes)................ 1 0 410.00 0.00
Deposited Microorganism
(PCT/RO/134).
9...................... Response to invitation to 2............................... 15,117 30,234 410.00 12,395,940.00
correct defects.
10..................... Request for rectification 0.50 (30 minutes)............... 867 434 410.00 177,940.00
of obvious errors.
11..................... Demand and Fee Calculation 1............................... 1,406 1,406 410.00 576,460.00
Sheet (Annex and Notes)
(PCT/IPEA/401).
12..................... Amendments (Article 34).... 1............................... 1,406 1,406 410.00 576,460.00
13..................... Fee Authorization.......... 0.25 (15 minutes)............... 50,832 12,708 410.00 5,210,280.00
14..................... Requests to transmit copies 0.25 (15 minutes)............... 1,081 270 410.00 110,700.00
of international
application.
15..................... Withdrawal of international 0.25 (15 minutes)............... 1,580 395 410.00 161,950.00
application (PCT/IB/372).
16..................... Translations............... 2............................... 2,298 4,596 410.00 1,884,360.00
17..................... Petition for Revival of an 1............................... 887 887 410.00 363,670.00
International Application
for Patent Designating the
U.S. Abandoned
Unintentionally Under 37
CFR 1.137(a) (PTO/SB/64/
PCT).
18..................... Petitions to the 4............................... 133 532 410.00 218,120.00
Commissioner for
international applications.
19..................... Petitions to the 4............................... 3,191 12,764 410.00 5,233,240.00
Commissioner in national
stage examination.
20..................... Acceptance of an 2............................... 542 1,084 410.00 444,440.00
unintentionally delayed
claim for priority (37 CFR
1.78(a)(3)).
21..................... Request for the restoration 3............................... 867 2,601 410.00 1,066,410.00
of the right of priority.
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Totals............. ........................... ................................ 423,970 364,830 .............. 149,580,300.00
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Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden:
$305,509,626.10. This collection has annual (non-hour) costs in the
form of translations, drawings, filing fees, and postage costs.
Translations and Drawings
Under the terms of the PCT, the USPTO may require documents
submitted for a PCT application to be translated into English when
necessary. This requirement may carry additional costs for the
applicant to contract for a translation of the documents in questions.
The USPTO believes that the average length of the document to be
translated will be 10 pages and that it will cost approximately $150
per page for the translation, for an average translation cost of $1,500
per document. The USPTO estimates that it receives approximately 21,180
English translations annually, for a total of $31,770,000 per year for
English translations of non-English language documents for PCT
applications.
Applicants may also incur costs for drawings that are submitted as
part of PCT applications. Some applicants may produce their own
drawings, while others may contract out the work to various patent
illustration firms. For the purpose of estimating burden for this
collection, the USPTO will consider all applicants to have their
drawings prepared by these firms. The USPTO estimates that drawings may
cost an average of $58 per sheet to produce and that on average 11
sheets of drawings are submitted per application, for an average total
cost of $638 to produce a set of drawings for an application. The USPTO
expects that approximately 91% of the estimated 48,285 applications per
year will have drawings filed with them, for a total of 43,939 sets of
drawings with a total cost of $28,033,082 per year.
Filing Fee
The estimated filing fees for this collection are calculated in the
accompanying table.
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Total fee
IC No. Item Responses Fees amount
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (c)
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Request and Fee Calculation Sheet 56,480 $1,254.00 $70,825,920.00
(Annex and Notes) (PCT/RO/101).
Demand and Fee Calculation Sheet 1,406 213.00 299,478.00
(Annex and Notes) (PCT/IPEA/401).
Acceptance of an unintentionally 1,409 2,000.00 2,818,000.00
delayed claim for priority, or
for filing a request for the
restoration of the right of
priority.
Basic National Stage Fee (Large 65,948 300.00 19,784,400.00
entity).
Basic National Stage Fee (Small 19,893 150.00 2,983,950.00
entity).
Basic National Stage Fee (Micro 1,197 75.00 89,775.00
entity).
[[Page 22969]]
National Stage Search Fee--U.S. 452 0 0.00
was the ISA or IPEA and all
claims satisfy PCT Article 33(1)-
(4).
National Stage Search Fee--U.S. 2,728 140.00 381,920.00
was the ISA (Large entity).
National Stage Search Fee--U.S. 2,918 70.00 204,260.00
was the ISA (Small entity).
National Stage Search Fee--U.S. 206 35.00 7,210.00
was the ISA (Micro entity).
National Stage Search Fee--search 60,196 520.00 31,301,920.00
report prepared and provided to
USPTO (Large entity).
National Stage Search Fee--search 15,917 260.00 4,138,420.00
report prepared and provided to
USPTO (Small entity).
National Stage Search Fee--search 866 130.00 112,580.00
report prepared and provided to
USPTO (Micro entity).
National Stage Examination Fee-- 452 0 0.00
U.S. was the ISA or IPEA and all
claims satisfy PCT Article 33(1)-
(4).
Transmitting application to Intl. 313 240.00 75,120.00
Bureau to act as receiving
office (Large entity).
Transmitting application to Intl. 191 120.00 22,920.00
Bureau to act as receiving
office (Small entity).
Transmitting application to Intl. 21 60.00 1,260.00
Bureau to act as receiving
office (Micro entity).
National Stage Search Fee--all 2,864 660.00 1,890,240.00
other situations (Large entity).
National Stage Search Fee--all 908 330.00 299,640.00
other situations (Small entity).
National Stage Search Fee--all 118 165.00 19,470
other situations (Micro entity).
National Stage Examination Fee-- 65,701 760.00 49,932,760.00
all other situations (Large
entity).
National Stage Examination Fee-- 19,653 380.00 7,468,140.00
all other situations (Small
entity).
National Stage Examination Fee-- 1,171 190.00 222,490.00
all other situations (Micro
entity).
Search fee, examination fee or 23,193 140.00 3,247,020.00
oath of declaration after thirty
months from priority date (Large
entity).
Search fee, examination fee or 10,149 70.00 710,430.00
oath of declaration after thirty
months from priority date (Small
entity).
Search fee, examination fee or 304 35.00 10,640.00
oath of declaration after thirty
months from priority date (Micro
entity).
English translation after thirty 1,467 140.00 205,380.00
months from priority date (Large
entity).
English translation after thirty 782 70.00 54,740.00
months from priority date (Small
entity).
English translation after thirty 49 35.00 1,715.00
months from priority date (Micro
entity).
Transmittal fee (Large entity)... 39,370 240.00 9,448,800.00
Transmittal fee (Small entity)... 16,017 120.00 1,922,040.00
Transmittal fee (Micro entity)... 1,240 60.00 74,400.00
Search fee--regardless of whether 8,227 2,080.00 17,112,160.00
there is a corresponding
application (see 35 U.S.C.
361(d) and PCT Rule 16) (Large
entity).
Search fee--regardless of whether 10,929 1,040.00 11,366,160.00
there is a corresponding
application (see 35 U.S.C.
361(d) and PCT Rule 16) (Small
entity).
Search fee--regardless of whether 1,129 520.00 587,080.00
there is a corresponding
application (see 35 U.S.C.
361(d) and PCT Rule 16) (Micro
entity).
Supplemental search fee when 1 2,080.00 2,080.00
required, per additional
invention.
Preliminary examination fee--U.S. 346 600.00 207,600.00
was the ISA (Large entity).
Preliminary examination fee--U.S. 257 300.00 77,100.00
was the ISA (Small entity).
Preliminary examination fee--U.S. 54 150.00 8,100.00
was the ISA (Micro entity).
Preliminary examination fee--U.S. 143 760.00 108,680.00
was not the ISA (Large entity).
Preliminary examination fee--U.S. 31 380.00 11,780.00
was not the ISA (Small entity).
Preliminary examination fee--U.S. 1 190.00 190.00
was not the ISA (Micro entity).
Supplemental examination fee per 0 600.00 0.00
additional invention (Large
entity).
Supplemental examination fee per 4 300.00 1,200.00
additional invention (Small
entity).
Supplemental examination fee per 0 150.00 0.00
additional invention (Micro
entity).
National Stage Application Size 2,325 400.00 930,000.00
Fee--for each additional 50
sheets that exceed 100 sheets
(Large entity).
National Stage Application Size 1,181 200.00 236,200.00
Fee--for each additional 50
sheets that exceed 100 sheets
(Small entity).
National Stage Application Size 36 100.00 3,600.00
Fee--for each additional 50
sheets that exceed 100 sheets
(Micro entity).
[PCT National Stage] Claims-- 7,565 460.00 3,479,900.00
extra independent (over three)
(Large entity).
[PCT National Stage] Claims-- 2,650 230.00 609,500.00
extra independent (over three)
(Small entity).
[PCT National Stage] Claims-- 122 115.00 14,030.00
extra independent (over three)
(Micro entity).
[PCT National Stage] Claims-- 10,797 100.00 1,079,700.00
extra total (over 20) (Large
entity).
[PCT National Stage] Claims-- 5,574 50.00 278,700.00
extra total (over 20) (Small
entity).
[PCT National Stage] Claims-- 241 25.00 60,250.00
extra total (over 20) (Micro
entity).
[PCT National Stage] Claim-- 986 820.00 808,520.00
multiple dependent (Large
entity).
[PCT National Stage] Claim-- 522 410.00 214,020.00
multiple dependent (Small
entity).
[PCT National Stage] Claim-- 42 205.00 8,610.00
multiple dependent (Large
entity).
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Totals................. ................................. 466,522 .............. 245,700,473.00
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[[Page 22970]]
Postage Costs
Customers may incur postage costs when submitting the information
in this collection to the USPTO by mail. The USPTO estimates that the
average first-class postage cost for a mailed submission will be 49
cents and that up to 12,390 submissions (approximately 2% of responses)
will be mailed to the USPTO per year, for a total estimated postage
cost of $6,071.10 per year.
The total annual (non-hour) respondent cost burden for this
collection associated with translations, drawings, fees, and postage is
estimated to be $310,789,891.10 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 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: April 13, 2016.
Joseph Rivera,
Office of Information Management Services Deputy Director, USPTO,
Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2016-09037 Filed 4-18-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P