[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 223 (Tuesday, November 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63859-63860]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-24952]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office


Patent Law Treaty

ACTION: Notice of renewal of information collection; request for 
comment.

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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 
the extension of an existing information collection: 0651-0073 (Patent 
Law Treaty).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before January 21, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0073 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
     Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
     Mail: Marcie Lovett, Records and Information Governance 
Branch, Office of the Chief Administrative 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 
(USPTO), P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 571-
272-7728; or by email at Raul.Tamayo.uspto.gov with ``0651-0073 
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 Patent Law Treaties Implementation Act of 2012 (PLTIA) amended 
the patent laws to implement the provisions of the Patent Law Treaty 
(PLT) in title II. PLT Article 13 provides for the restoration of the 
right of priority where there is a failure to timely claim priority to 
the prior application, and also where there is a failure to file the 
subsequent application within twelve months of the filing date of the 
priority application. Section 201(c) of the PLTIA amended 35 U.S.C. 119 
to provide that the twelve month periods set forth in 35 U.S.C. 119(a) 
and (e) may be extended by an additional two months if the delay in 
filing an application claiming priority to a foreign application or the 
benefit of a provisional application within that twelve-month period 
was unintentional. In December 2013, the USPTO revised its rules of 
practice for consistency with the PLT and title II of the PLTIA.
    The information in this collection is necessary so that patent 
applicants and/or patentees may seek restoration of the right of 
priority to a prior-filed foreign application or of the right to the 
benefit of a prior-filed provisional application. The USPTO will use 
the petition to restore the right of priority to a prior-filed foreign 
application or the right to the benefit of a prior-filed provisional 
application to determine whether the applicant has satisfied the 
conditions of the applicable statute (35 U.S.C. 119) and regulation (37 
CFR 1.55(c) or 1.78(b)).
    The information in this collection can be submitted electronically 
through EFS-Web, the USPTO's Web-based electronic filing system, as 
well as on paper. The USPTO is therefore accounting for both electronic 
and paper submissions in this collection.

II. Method of Collection

    Electronically if applicants submit the information using EFS-Web. 
By mail or hand delivery in paper form.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0073.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other 
for-profits; and not-for-profit institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 650 responses per year. The USPTO 
estimates that 120 responses will be received from small entities.
    Estimated Time per Response: Approximately 99% of the total 
responses for this collection will be submitted electronically. The 
USPTO estimates it will take approximately 60 minutes (1 hour) to 
complete the information in this collection, including the time it 
takes for reading the instructions for the forms, gathering the 
necessary information, completing the forms, and submitting them to the 
USPTO. The time per response, estimated annual responses, and estimated 
annual hour burden

[[Page 63860]]

associated with each instrument in this collection are shown in the 
table below.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 650 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent (Hourly) Cost Burden: 
$284,700.00. The USPTO expects that attorneys in private firms will 
complete these applications. The professional hourly rate for 
intellectual property attorneys is $438. The attorney rates are found 
in the 2017 Report of the Economic Survey of the America Intellectual 
Property Law Association (AIPLA). Using this hourly rate, the USPTO 
estimates that the total respondent cost burden for this collection is 
$284,700.00 per year.

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                                                                                             Responses     Burden (hrs/                     Total cost
                IC No.                                Item                     Hours           (yr)             yr)         Rate ($/hr)       burden
                                                                                     (a)             (b)   (c) = (a x b)             (d)   (e) = (c x d)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.....................................  Petition to Restore the Right of               1             325             325         $438.00     $142,350.00
                                         Priority under 37 CFR 1.55(c).
2.....................................  Petition to Restore the Benefit                1             325             325          438.00      142,350.00
                                         of a Prior-Filed Provisional
                                         Application under 37 CFR
                                         1.78(b).
                                                                         -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.............................  ................................  ..............             650             650  ..............      284,700.00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden: 
$1,130,076.50, based on filing fees and postage costs.

Filing Fees

    There are filing fees associated with this collection. The items 
with filing fees are listed in the table below.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Estimated                      Total  non-
              IC No.                            Item                  annual        Filing fee      hour  cost
                                                                     responses          ($)         burden  ($)
                                                                             (a)             (b)     (a) x (b) =
                                                                                                             (c)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.................................  Grantable Petition to                    250       $2,000.00     $500,000.00
                                     Restore the Right of
                                     Priority under 37 CFR
                                     1.55(c).
2.................................  Grantable Petition to                     55        1,000.00       55,000.00
                                     Restore the Right of
                                     Priority under 37 CFR
                                     1.55(c) (small entity).
3.................................  Grantable Petition to                     20          500.00       10,000.00
                                     Restore the Right of
                                     Priority under 37 CFR
                                     1.55(c) (micro entity).
4.................................  Grantable Petition to                    250        2,000.00      500,000.00
                                     Restore the Benefit of a
                                     Prior-Filed Provisional
                                     Application under 37 CFR
                                     1.78(b).
5.................................  Grantable Petition to                     55        1,000.00       55,000.00
                                     Restore the Benefit of a
                                     Prior-Filed Provisional
                                     Application under 37 CFR
                                     1.78(b) (small entity).
6.................................  Grantable Petition to                     20          500.00       10,000.00
                                     Restore the Benefit of a
                                     Prior-Filed Provisional
                                     Application under 37 CFR
                                     1.78(b) (micro entity).
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.........................  ............................             650  ..............    1,130,000.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The USPTO estimates that the total non-hour cost burden associated 
with the filing fees for this collection will be $1,130,000.00

Postage Costs

    Customers may incur postage costs when submitting items covered by 
this collection to the USPTO by mail. The USPTO expects that 
approximately 99 percent of the responses in this collection will be 
submitted electronically. Of the remaining 1 percent, the vast majority 
(98%) will be submitted by mail, for a total of 10 mailed submissions.
    The average USPS Priority Mail postage cost for a legal flat rate 
envelop is estimated to be $7.65. The USPTO estimates that the postage 
costs for the mailed submissions in this collection will total $76.50.
    Therefore, the USPTO estimates that the total annual (non-hour) 
cost burden for this collection, in the form of fees and postage is 
$1,130,076.50 per year.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will 
become a matter of public record.
    USPTO invites public comments on:
    (a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether 
the information will have practical utility;
    (b) Accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden (including 
hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information, including 
the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
    (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, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses.

Marcie Lovett,
Records and Information Governance Branch, Office of the Chief 
Administrative Officer, USPTO.
[FR Doc. 2019-24952 Filed 11-18-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 1410-30-P