[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 141 (Tuesday, July 25, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34506-34509]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-15501]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office


Patent Petitions Related to Application and Reexamination 
Processing Fees

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.

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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as 
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on a 
proposed extension of an existing information collection.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before September 25, 
2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0059 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
     Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
     Mail: Marcie Lovett, Records and Information Governance 
Division Director, Office of the Chief Technology 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 Raul Tamayo, 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 571-272-7728; 
or by email to [email protected] with ``0651-

[[Page 34507]]

0059 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 United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is required 
by 35 U.S.C. 131 et seq. to examine an application for patent and, when 
appropriate, issue a patent. The USPTO also is required to publish 
patent applications, with certain exceptions, promptly after the 
expiration of a period of eighteen months from the earliest filing date 
for which a benefit is sought under Title 35, United States Code.
    Many actions taken by the USPTO during its examination of an 
application for patent or for reissue of a patent, or during its 
reexamination of a patent, are subject to review by an appeal to the 
Patent Trial and Appeal Board. For other USPTO actions, review is in 
the form of administrative review obtained via submission of a petition 
to the USPTO. USPTO petitions practice also provides an opportunity for 
a patent applicant or owner to supply additional information that may 
be required in order for the USPTO to further process an application or 
patent.
    This collection covers petitions filed in patent applications and 
reexamination proceedings that, when submitted to the USPTO, must be 
accompanied by the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(f), (g), or (h). This 
collection also covers the transmittals for the petition fees.

II. Method of Collection

    The items in this collection can be submitted electronically 
through EFS-Web, the USPTO's web-based electronic filing system. Items 
also can be submitted on paper by mail, facsimile, or hand delivery to 
the USPTO. The petitions to make special under the accelerated 
examination program only can be filed through EFS-Web.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0059.
    IC Instruments and Forms: PTO/SB/17P, PTO/SB/23, PTO/SB/24a, PTO/
SB/28 (EFS-Web only), and PTO/SB/140.
    Type of Review: Revision of a Previously Existing Information 
Collection.
    Affected Public: Business or other for profit; non-profit 
institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 40,560 responses per year. The 
USPTO estimates that 26% will be filed by small entities and 3% by 
micro entities. 98% of all responses will be filed electronically.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the response 
time for activities related to these patent petitions will take the 
public approximately 5 minutes (0.08 hours) to 12 hours to complete, 
depending on the particular item. (See Table 1.) This includes time to 
gather the necessary information, create the documents, and submit the 
completed request to the USPTO. The USPTO calculates that, on balance, 
it takes the same amount of time to prepare the petition and the fee 
transmittal form, and submit them to the USPTO, regardless of whether 
the applicant or patent owner submits the material electronically or in 
paper form.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 42,195.00 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent (Hourly) Cost Burden: 
$17,284,617.00 The USPTO expects that attorneys will complete all of 
the items in this collection, with the exception of the petitions for 
requests for documents in a form other than that provided by 37 CFR 
1.19 and the petitions for express abandonment to avoid publication 
under 37 CFR 1.138(c), both of which the USPTO expects will be 
completed by para-professionals. The hourly rates for attorneys and 
paraprofessionals are $410 and $141, respectively. These rates are 
established by estimates in the 2015 Report of the Economic Survey, 
published by the Committee on Economics of Legal Practice of the 
American Intellectual Property Law Association. Using these hourly 
rates, the USPTO estimates that the total respondent cost burden for 
this collection is $17,284,617.00 per year.

                                                            Table 1--Respondent Hourly Burden
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                        Estimated  time      Estimated         Estimated
                    IC No.                                       Item                    for  response        annual        annual  burden   Rate ($/hr)
                                                                                            (hours)          responses           hours
                                                .....................................               (a)               (b)    (a) x (b)/60 =
                                                                                                                                        (c)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.............................................  Petitions (corresponding to the fee)               4.00                50            200.00          410
                                                 under 37 CFR 1.17(f) include:
                                                Petition to Accord a Filing Date
                                                 under 1.57(b)(3) or 1.57(a)(3) (pre-
                                                 PLT).
                                                Petition to Accord a Filing Date
                                                 under 1.53(e)(2).
                                                Petition for Decision on a Question
                                                 Not Specifically Provided For under
                                                 1.182.
                                                Petition to Suspend the Rules under
                                                 1.183.
1.............................................  EFS-Web Petitions (corresponding to                4.00             2,750         11,000.00          410
                                                 the fee) under 37 CFR 1.17(f).
2.............................................  Petitions (corresponding to the fee)               2.00               100            200.00          410
                                                 under 37 CFR 1.17(g):
                                                Petition to Access an Assignment
                                                 Record under 1.12(c).
                                                Petition for Access to an Application
                                                 under 1.14(i).
                                                Petition for Expungement of
                                                 Information under 1.59(b).
                                                Petition to Suspend Action in an
                                                 Application under 1.103(a).
2.............................................  EFS-Web Petitions (corresponding to                2.00             5,000         10,000.00          410
                                                 the fee) under 37 CFR 1.17(g).
3.............................................  Petitions (corresponding to the fee)               1.00               250            250.00          410
                                                 under 37 CFR 1.17(h):
                                                Petition for Accepting Color Drawings
                                                 or Photographs under 1.84(a)(2).
                                                Petition for Entry of a Model or
                                                 Exhibit under 1.91(a).

[[Page 34508]]

 
                                                Petition to Withdraw an Application
                                                 from Issue under 1.313(a) PTO/SB/
                                                 140:
                                                Petition to Defer Issuance of a
                                                 Patent under 1.314.
3.............................................  EFS-Web Petitions (corresponding to                1.00            11,500         11,500.00          410
                                                 the fee) under 37 CFR 1.17(h).
4.............................................  Petitions for Requests for Documents               1.00                 5              5.00          141
                                                 in a Form Other than that Provided
                                                 by 37 CFR 1.19.
4.............................................  EFS-Web Petitions for Requests for                 1.00                50             50.00          141
                                                 Documents in a Form Other than that
                                                 Provided by 37 CFR 1.19.
5.............................................  Petitions to Make Special Under                   12.00               600          7,200.00          410
                                                 Accelerated Examination Program.
                                                PTO/SB/28 (EFS-Web Only).............
6.............................................  Petitions for Express Abandonment to               0.20                10              2.00          141
                                                 Avoid Publication Under 37 CFR
                                                 1.138(c).
                                                PTO/SB/24a...........................
6.............................................  EFS-Web Petitions for Express                      0.20               490             98.00          410
                                                 Abandonment to Avoid Publication
                                                 Under 37 CFR 1.138(c).
7.............................................  Petition for Extension of Time Under               0.50                 5              2.50          410
                                                 37 CFR 1.136(b).
                                                PTO/SB/23............................
7.............................................  EFS-Web Petition for Extension of                  0.50               100             50.00          410
                                                 Time Under 37 CFR 1.136(b).
8.............................................  Petition Fee under 37 CFR 1.17(f),                 0.08               400             33.33          410
                                                 (g), and (h) Transmittal.
                                                PTO/SB/17P...........................
8.............................................  EFS-Web Petition Fee under 37 CFR                  0.08            19,250          1,604.17          410
                                                 1.17(f), (g), and (h) Transmittal.
                                               ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals....................................  .....................................  ................            40,560         42,195.00
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    Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden: 
$3,147,594.80. There are no capital start-up, operation, or maintenance 
costs associated with this information collection. However, the public 
may incur cost burden in the form of postage and filing fees.
    The public may incur postage costs when submitting the items in 
this collection. Although the USPTO prefers that the items in this 
collection be submitted electronically, the items may be submitted to 
the USPTO by mail through the United States Postal Service. The USPTO 
expects that approximately 98 percent of the items in this collection 
will be submitted electronically (except for the petitions to make 
special under the accelerated examination program, which must be 
submitted electronically), resulting in 820 mailed submissions (though 
items that are not electronically filed may alternatively be submitted 
by mail, facsimile or hand delivery, for the purposes of this estimate, 
the USPTO is treating all items that are not filed electronically as 
though they were mailed). The average cost for a four-ounce large 
envelope shipped first-class via USPS is $1.64. Therefore, the USPTO 
estimates that the postage costs for the mailed submissions in this 
collection will total $1,344.80.
    There are filing fees associated with this collection, which were 
previously accounted for in collection 0651-0072. That collection has 
been discontinued, and the relevant fees have been consolidated into to 
this collection. These fees are listed in the table below.

                                              Table 2--Filing Fees
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                                                         Estimated annual                       Total non-hour
              No.                        Item                responses       Filing fee ($)     cost burden ($)
                                ......................                 (a)               (b)     (a) x (b) = (c)
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1.............................  Petitions requiring                  1,400              $400         $560,000.00
                                 the petition fee set
                                 forth in 37 CFR 1.17
                                 (f) (Group I) (large
                                 entity).
1.............................  Petitions requiring                  1,150               200          230,000.00
                                 the petition fee set
                                 forth in 37 CFR 1.17
                                 (f) (Group I) (small
                                 entity).
1.............................  Petitions requiring                    250               100           25,000.00
                                 the petition fee set
                                 forth in 37 CFR 1.17
                                 (f) (Group I) (micro
                                 entity).
2.............................  Petitions requiring                  4,500               200          900,000.00
                                 the petition fee set
                                 forth in 37 CFR 1.17
                                 (g) (Group II) (large
                                 entity).
2.............................  Petitions requiring                    550               100           55,000.00
                                 the petition fee set
                                 forth in 37 CFR 1.17
                                 (g) (Group II) (small
                                 entity).
2.............................  Petitions requiring                     50                50            2,500.00
                                 the petition fee set
                                 forth in 37 CFR 1.17
                                 (g) (Group II) (micro
                                 entity).

[[Page 34509]]

 
3.............................  Petitions requiring                  8,000               140        1,120,000.00
                                 the petition fee set
                                 forth in 37 CFR 1.17
                                 (h) (Group III)
                                 (large entity).
3.............................  Petitions requiring                  3,500                70          245,000.00
                                 the petition fee set
                                 forth in 37 CFR 1.17
                                 (h) (Group III)
                                 (small entity).
3.............................  Petitions requiring                    250                35            8,750.00
                                 the petition fee set
                                 forth in 37 CFR 1.17
                                 (h) (Group III)
                                 (micro entity).
                                                       ---------------------------------------------------------
    Totals....................  ......................              19,650  ................        3,146,250.00
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    Therefore, the USPTO estimates that the total annual (non-hour) 
cost burden for this collection, in the form of postage costs and 
filing fees is $3,147,594.80 per year.

IV. Request for Comments

    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.
    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.

Marcie Lovett,
Records and Information Governance Division Director, OCTO United 
States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2017-15501 Filed 7-24-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-16-P