[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 227 (Monday, November 25, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64873-64876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25510]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

 Patent and Trademark Office


Secrecy and License to Export

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: 0651-0034 (Secrecy 
and License to Export).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before January 24, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0034 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 22313-145.

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 ``Paperwork'' in the subject 
line. Additional information about this collection is also available at 
http://www.reginfo.gov under ``Information Collection Review.''

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

[[Page 64874]]

I. Abstract

    In the interest of national security, patent laws and rules place 
certain limitations on the disclosure of information contained in 
patents and patent applications and on the filing of applications for 
patents in foreign countries.
    In particular, whenever the publication or disclosure of an 
invention by the publication of an application or by the granting of a 
patent is, in the opinion of the head of an interested Government 
agency, determined to be detrimental to national security, the 
Commissioner for Patents at the USPTO must issue a secrecy order and 
withhold the publication of a patent application and the grant of a 
patent for such period as the national interest requires. A patent will 
not be issued on the application, nor will the application be 
published, as long as the secrecy order is in effect. If a secrecy 
order is applied to an international application, the application will 
not be forwarded to the International Bureau as long as the secrecy 
order is in effect.
    The Commissioner for Patents can issue three types of secrecy 
orders, each of a different scope. The first type, Secrecy Order and 
Permit for Foreign Filing in Certain Countries, is intended to permit 
the widest utilization of the technical data in the patent application 
while still controlling any publication or disclosure that would result 
in an unlawful exportation. The second type, the Secrecy Order and 
Permit for Disclosing Classified Information, is to treat classified 
technical data presented in a patent application in the same manner as 
any other classified material. The first and second types of secrecy 
orders involve the Department of Defense. The third type of secrecy 
order is used where the other types of orders do not apply, including 
orders issued by direction of agencies other than the Department of 
Defense.
    Under the provision of 35 U.S.C. 181, a secrecy order remains in 
effect for a period of one year from its date of issuance. A secrecy 
order may be renewed for additional periods of not more than one year 
upon notice by a government agency that the national interest continues 
to require the order. USPTO notifies the applicant of the renewal.
    This information collection covers information gathered in 
petitions for permits to allow disclosure, modification, or rescission 
of the secrecy order, or to obtain a general or group permit when the 
USPTO places a secrecy order on a patent application. In each of these 
circumstances, the petition is forwarded to the appropriate agency for 
decision. Also, the Commissioner for Patents at the USPTO may rescind 
any order upon notification by the heads of the departments and the 
chief officers of the requesting agencies that the disclosure of the 
invention is no longer deemed detrimental to the national security.
    Unless expressly ordered otherwise, action on the application by 
the USPTO and prosecution by the applicant will proceed during the time 
an application is under secrecy order to one of the specific points 
identified at 37 CFR 5.3. For example, as set forth at 37 CFR 5.3(a), 
national applications under secrecy order that come to a final 
rejection must be appealed or otherwise prosecuted to avoid 
abandonment. Applicants must complete the appeals in such cases, but 
unless specifically indicated by the Commissioner for Patents at the 
USPTO, the appeals will not be set for hearing until the secrecy order 
is removed.
    In addition, this collection covers information gathered with 
respect to foreign filing licenses. The filing of a patent application 
is considered a request for a foreign filing license. However, in some 
instances an applicant may need a license for filing a patent 
application in foreign countries prior to a filing in the USPTO or 
sooner than the anticipated licensing of a pending patent application.
    For such circumstances, this collection covers petitions for a 
foreign filing license either with or without a corresponding United 
States application. In addition, this collection covers petitions to 
change the scope of a license and petitions for a retroactive license 
for instances when a patent application is filed through error in a 
foreign country without the appropriate filing license.
    This collection includes the information needed by the USPTO to 
review the various types of petitions regarding secrecy orders and 
foreign filing licenses. This collection of information is required by 
35 U.S.C. 181-188 and administered through 37 CFR 5.1-5.33.

II. Method of Collection

    By mail, facsimile or hand carried to the USPTO.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0034.
    Form Number(s): There are no forms associated with this collection.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Businesses or other 
for-profits; not-for-profit institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 4,434 responses per year. The 
USPTO estimates that approximately 20% (886.80) of these responses will 
be from small entities.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the public from 30 minutes (0.5 hours) to 4 hours to gather the 
necessary information, prepare the appropriate documents, and submit 
the information required for this collection.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 2,797.50 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $1,225,305. The 
USPTO expects that the information in this collection will be prepared 
by intellectual property attorneys at an estimated rate of $438 per 
hour. 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 respondent cost 
burden for this collection will be approximately $1,225,305 per year.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                          Estimated
                                                                          time for        Estimated    Estimated  annual                    Total cost
              Number                               Item                   response         annual         burden hours      Rate ($/hr)       burden
                                                                           (hours)        responses
                                    .................................             (a)             (b)     (a) x (b)/60 =             (d)     (e) (c x d)
                                                                                                                     (c)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.................................  Petition for Rescission of                    3.0              10                 30            $438         $13,140
                                     Secrecy Order.
2.................................  Petition to Disclose or                       2.0              20                 40             438          17,520
                                     Modification of Secrecy Order.
3.................................  Petition for General and Group                1.0               1                  1             438             438
                                     Permits.

[[Page 64875]]

 
4.................................  Petition for Expedited Handling               0.5           4,000              2,000             438         876,000
                                     of License (no corresponding
                                     application).
5.................................  Petition for Expedited Handling               0.5             250                125             438          54,750
                                     of License (corresponding U.S.
                                     application).
6.................................  Petition for Changing Scope of                0.5               3                1.5             438             657
                                     License.
7.................................  Petition for Retroactive License.             4.0             150                600             438         262,800
                                                                      ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals........................  .................................  ..............           4,434           2,797.50  ..............       1,225,305
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden: 
$788,286.60. There are no capital start-up, maintenance, or record 
keeping costs associated with this information collection. However, 
this collection does have annual (non-hour) costs in the form of filing 
fees for the foreign filing petitions and postage costs. No fees are 
associated with the secrecy order petitions.
    The license petitions all charge the 37 CFR 1.17(g) fee, for which 
small and micro entity discounts recently have been introduced. The 
USPTO estimates that 20% of the responses in this collection will come 
from small entities and approximately 10% of the small entity 
respondents will qualify as micro entities.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                    Total  non-
             Number                            Item                  Responses      Filing fee      hour  cost
                                                                                        ($)           burden
                                  ..............................             (a)             (b)   (a) x (b) (c)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4...............................  Petition for Expedited                   3,200         $200.00     $640,000.00
                                   Handling of License (no
                                   corresponding application).
4...............................  Petition for Expedited                     720          100.00       72,000.00
                                   Handling of License (no
                                   corresponding application)
                                   (small entity).
4...............................  Petition for Expedited                      80           50.00        4,000.00
                                   Handling of License (no
                                   corresponding application)
                                   (micro entity).
5...............................  Petition for Expedited                     200          200.00       40,000.00
                                   Handling of License
                                   (corresponding U.S.
                                   application).
5...............................  Petition for Expedited                      45          100.00        4,500.00
                                   Handling of License
                                   (corresponding U.S.
                                   application) (small entity).
5...............................  Petition for Expedited                       5           50.00          250.00
                                   Handling of License
                                   (corresponding U.S.
                                   application) (micro entity).
6...............................  Petition for Changing Scope of               1          200.00          200.00
                                   License.
6...............................  Petition for Changing Scope of               1          100.00          100.00
                                   License (small entity).
6...............................  Petition for Changing Scope of               1           50.00           50.00
                                   License (micro entity).
7...............................  Petition for Retroactive                   120          200.00       24,000.00
                                   License.
7...............................  Petition for Retroactive                    27          100.00        2,700.00
                                   License (small entity).
7...............................  Petition for Retroactive                     3           50.00          150.00
                                   License (micro entity).
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Totals......................  ..............................           4,434  ..............      787,950.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The USPTO estimates that 99% of the petitions in this collection 
are submitted by facsimile or hand carried because of the quick 
turnaround required. For the 1% of the public that chooses to submit 
the petitions to the USPTO by mail through the United States Postal 
Service, the USPTO estimates that the average USPS Priority Mail 
postage cost for a legal flat rate envelop is estimated to be $7.65, 
and that 44 submissions will be mailed to the USPTO per year for a 
total estimated postage cost of $336.60.

                                                  Postage Costs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Estimated                     Total annual
             IC No.                            Item                   mailed         Estimated      (non-hour)
                                                                     responses     postage rate     cost burden
                                  ..............................             (a)             (b)     (a) x (b) =
                                                                                                             (c)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4...............................  Petition for Expedited                      40           $7.65            $306
                                   Handling of License (no
                                   corresponding application).
5...............................  Petition for Expedited                       2            7.65           15.30
                                   Handling of License
                                   (corresponding U.S.
                                   application).
7...............................  Petition for Retroactive                     2            7.65           15.30
                                   License.
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................  ..............................              44  ..............          336.60
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 64876]]

    Therefore, the USPTO estimates that the total (non-hour) cost 
burden for this collection in the form of filing fees and postage costs 
is estimated to be approximately $788,286.60.

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,
Director, Records and Information Governance Branch, OAS, Office of the 
Chief Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark 
Office.
[FR Doc. 2019-25510 Filed 11-22-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-16-P