[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 143 (Wednesday, July 25, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35240-35241]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-15877]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; ``Rules for Patent
Maintenance Fees''
Summary: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) 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.
Agency: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.
Title: Rules for Patent Maintenance Fees.
OMB Control Number: 0651-0016.
Form Number(s):
PTO/SB/45
PTO/SB/47
PTO/SB/66
Type of Request: Regular.
Number of Respondents: 533,910 responses per year.
Average Hours per Response: The USPTO estimates it will take
respondents from 0.006 hours (20 seconds) to 8 hours to complete the
items in this collection, depending on the instrument(s) used.
Burden Hours: 13,878.89 hours per year.
Cost Burden: $1,209,457,959.50.
Needs and Uses: This information collection is necessary so that
patent owners can maintain a utility patent in force and to ensure that
the USPTO can properly credit maintenance fee payments. The USPTO
offers forms to assist the public with providing the information
covered by this collection, including maintenance fee payments,
petitions to accept delayed maintenance fee payments, and fee address
changes.
The public uses the Maintenance Fee Transmittal Form (PTO/SB/45) to
determine and pay the correct amount due for a maintenance fee
transaction. PTO/SB/45 may be mailed or faxed to the USPTO, but PTO/SB/
45 may not be submitted electronically via EFS-Web. Customers may
submit maintenance fees and six-month grace period surcharges paid
before patent expiration electronically over the internet using the
USPTO's Office of Finance Online Shopping Page (hereinafter, the
[[Page 35241]]
``Electronic Maintenance Fee Form'') provided through the USPTO
website. To pay a maintenance fee after patent expiration, customers
must submit the maintenance fee payment together with a Petition to
Accept Unintentionally Delayed Payment (PTO/SB/66). A petition to
accept delayed payment of a maintenance fee under the unintentional
standard may be filed online. To designate or change a fee address, the
customer must submit a Fee Address Indication Form (PTO/SB/47).
Completion of these forms results in information collected,
maintained, and used consistent with all applicable OMB and USPTO
Information Quality Guidelines. This includes the basic information
quality standards established in the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
chapter 35) (PRA), in OMB Circular A-130, and in the OMB information
quality guidelines.
Frequency: On occasion.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain or Retain Benefits.
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.
Further information can be obtained by:
Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0016 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
Mail: Raul Tamayo, Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Patent
Legal Administration,, 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 August 24, 2018 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.
Marcie Lovett,
Director, Records and Information Governance Division, Office of the
Chief Technology Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2018-15877 Filed 7-24-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P