[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 208 (Thursday, October 27, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 74775]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-25951]



[[Page 74775]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Patent Term Extension

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USTPO) 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: Patent Term Extension.
    OMB Control Number: 0651-0020.
    Form Number(s): N/A.
    Type of Request: Renewal.
    Number of Respondents: 1,340.
    Average Hours per Response: 1 hour to 25 hours, depending upon the 
instrument used.
    Burden Hours: 6,187 hours.
    Cost Burden: $351,505.08.
    Needs and Uses: The patent term restoration portion of the Drug 
Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 (Pub. L. 98-
417), which is codified at 35 U.S.C. 156, permits the United States 
Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to extend the term of protection 
under a patent to compensate for delay during regulatory review and 
approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or Department of 
Agriculture. Only patents for drug products, medical devices, food 
additives, or color additives are potentially eligible for extension. 
The maximum length that a patent may be extended under 35 U.S.C. 156 is 
five years. The USPTO administers 35 U.S.C. 156 through 37 CFR 1.710-
1.791. Separate from the extension provisions of 35 U.S.C. 156, the 
USPTO may in some cases extend the term of an original patent due to 
certain delays in the prosecution of the patent application, including 
delays caused by interference proceedings, secrecy orders, or appellate 
review by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board or a Federal court in which 
the patent is issued pursuant to a decision reversing an adverse 
determination of patentability. The patent term provisions of 35 U.S.C. 
154(b), as amended by Title IV, Subtitle D of the Intellectual Property 
and Communications Omnibus Reform Act of 1999, require the USPTO to 
notify the applicant of the patent term adjustment in the notice of 
allowance and give the applicant an opportunity to request 
reconsideration of the USPTO's patent term adjustment determination. 
The USPTO administers 35 U.S.C. 154 through 37 CFR 1.701-1.705.
    The public uses this information collection to file requests 
related to patent term extensions and reconsideration or reinstatement 
of patent term adjustments. The information in this collection is used 
by the USPTO to consider whether an applicant is eligible for a patent 
term extension or reconsideration of a patent term adjustment and, if 
so, to determine the length of the patent term extension or adjustment.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits; not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
    OMB Desk Officer: Kimberly R. Keravuori, 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.
    Further information can be obtained by:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0020 copy request'' in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: Marcie Lovett, Records Management Division Director, 
OCIO, 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 November 28, 2016 to Kimberly R. 
Keravuori, OMB Desk Officer, via email to 
[email protected], or by fax to 202-395-5167, marked to 
the attention of Kimberly R. Keravuori.

    Dated: October 20, 2016.
Marcie Lovett,
Records Management Division Director, OCIO, United States Patent and 
Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2016-25951 Filed 10-26-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-16-P