[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 172 (Wednesday, September 5, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45108-45109]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-19201]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

 Patent and Trademark Office


Patents for Humanity Program

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 and 
as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on 
a proposed extension of an existing information collection: 0651-0066 
(Patents for Humanity Program).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before November 5, 
2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0066 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
     Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
     Mail: Edward Elliott, 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 Edward Elliott, Attorney Advisor, Office of 
Policy and International Affairs, United States Patent and Trademark 
Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 571-
272-7024; or by email to [email protected] with ``0651-0066 
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

    Since 2012, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) 
has conducted the Patents for Humanity Program, an annual award program 
to incentivize the distribution of patented technologies or products 
for the purpose of addressing humanitarian needs. The program is open 
to any patent owners or patent licensees, including inventors who have 
not assigned their ownership rights to others, assignees, and exclusive 
or non-exclusive licenses. USPTO collects information from applicants 
that describe what actions they have taken with their patented 
technology to address the welfare of impoverished populations, or how 
they furthered research by others on technologies for humanitarian 
purposes. Currently, there are five categories of awards: Medicine, 
Nutrition, Sanitation, Household Energy, and Living Standards.
    This collection covers information gathered on two application 
forms for the Patents for Humanity Program. The first application 
covers the humanitarian uses of technologies or products, and the 
second application covers humanitarian research. In both, applicants 
are required to describe how their technology or product satisfies the 
program criteria to address humanitarian issues. Additionally, 
applicants must provide non-public contact information in order for 
USPTO to notify them about their award status. Applicants may 
optionally provide contact information for the public to reach them 
with any inquiries. Applications must be submitted via email and will 
be posted on USPTO's website. Qualified judges from outside USPTO will 
review and score the applications. USPTO will then forward the top-
scoring applications to reviewers from participating Federal agencies 
to recommend award recipients.
    Those applications that are chosen for an award will receive a 
certificate redeemable to accelerate select matters before USPTO. The 
certificates can be redeemed to accelerate one of the following 
matters: An ex parte reexamination proceeding, including one appeal to 
the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) from that proceeding; a patent 
application, including one appeal to the PTAB from that application; or 
an appeal to the PTAB of a claim twice rejected in a patent application 
or reissue application or finally rejected in an ex parte 
reexamination, without accelerating the underlying matter which 
generated the appeal. This collection covers the information gathered 
for petitions to extend an acceleration certificate redemption beyond 
12 months. Winners also are invited to participate in an awards 
ceremony at USPTO.

II. Method of Collection

    Electronically through the http://www.uspto.gov/patentsforhumanity 
website.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0066.
    IC Instruments and Forms: PTO/PFH/001, PTO/PFH/002, PTO/SB/431.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits; not-for-profit 
businesses; individuals and households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 55 responses per year.
    Estimated Time per Response: USPTO estimates that it will take the 
public approximately four hours to complete the humanitarian program 
application. Those selected as winners (about 5 to 10 per year) may 
additionally require one hour to complete a petition to extend their 
acceleration certificate redemption

[[Page 45109]]

beyond 12 months, if needed. These estimated times include gathering 
the necessary information, preparing the application and any 
supplemental materials, and submitting the completed request to USPTO.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: 205 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent (Hourly) Cost Burden: $59,757.50. 
The USPTO expects that attorneys will complete the Petition to Extend 
the Redemption Period of the Humanitarian Awards Certificate and that 
attorneys or paralegals will complete the Humanitarian Program 
Application Form. The USPTO uses a professional hourly rate of $291.50 
for respondent cost burden, which is the average rate of both attorneys 
and paralegals. The professional hourly rate for an intellectual 
property attorney in a private firm is $438, as established in the 2017 
Report on the Economic Survey, published by the Commerce on the 
Economics of Legal Practice of the American Intellectual Property Law 
Association. The professional hourly rate for paralegals is $145, as 
established in the 2016 National Utilization and Compensation Survey 
Report, published by the National Association of Legal Assistants 
(NALA). Using the combined hourly rate, the USPTO estimates that the 
total respondent cost burden for this collection is $59,757.50 per 
year.

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                                                                           Estimated                       Estimated
               IC No.                               Item                 response time     Estimated     annual burden        Rate       Estimated total
                                                                            (hours)        response          hours                             cost
                                                                                   (a)             (b)  (a) x (b) = (c)             (d)  (c) x (d) = (e)
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1...................................  Humanitarian Program Application               4              25              100         $291.50       $29,150.00
                                       (Humanitarian Use) (PTO/PFH/
                                       001).
1...................................  Humanitarian Program Application               4              25              100          291.50        29,150.00
                                       (Humanitarian Research) (PTO/
                                       PFH/002).
2...................................  Petition to Extend the                         1               5                5          291.50         1,457.50
                                       Redemption Period of the
                                       Humanitarian Awards Certificate
                                       (PTO/SB/431).
                                                                       ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...........................  ................................  ..............              55              205  ..............        59,757.50
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    Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden: $0. This 
collection has no annual (non-hour) postage, operation, maintenance, or 
filing fee costs.

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. 2018-19201 Filed 9-4-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-16-P