[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 72 (Friday, April 16, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20126-20127]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-07851]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Public Search Facility User ID and Badging
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice 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 and revision of an existing information collection: 0651-
0041 (Public Search Facility User ID and Badging). The purpose of this
notice is to allow 60 days for public comment preceding submission of
the information collection to OMB.
DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this information
collection must be received on or before June 15, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by
any of the following methods. Do not submit Confidential Business
Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information:
Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0041 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Mail: Kimberly Hardy, 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 Terry Howard, Manager, Public Search Facility,
United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria,
VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-3258; or by email to
[email protected]. Additional information about this information
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. 41(i)(1) to maintain a Public Search Facility to make
publically accessible USPTO patent and trademark collections for search
and retrieval. The Public Search Facility is located in a publicly
accessible portion of USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, and
offers the public access to the collection's paper, microfilm, and
electronic files and trained staff to assist users with searches. The
USPTO also offers training courses to assist users with the advanced
electronic search systems available at the facility.
This information collection covers information collected in
applications required for those members of the public who wish to use
the electronic search systems at the Public Search Facility to
establish a USPTO online access account, and to obtain, renew, or
replace online access accounts. The public may apply for an online
access account at the Public Search Facility reference desk by
providing the necessary information and proper identification. The
access account includes a bar-coded user number and an expiration date.
Users may renew their account by validating and updating the required
information and may obtain a replacement for a lost account information
by providing proper identification. Users who wish to register for the
voluntary training courses may do so by completing the appropriate
form.
This information collection also covers information in applications
to establish, renew, or replace security identification badges issued,
under the authority provided in 41 CFR part 102-81, to members of the
public who wish to access the Public Search Facility. Users may apply
for a security badge in-person at the USPTO Security Office by
providing the necessary information and presenting a valid form of
identification with photograph. The security badges include a color
photograph of the user and must be worn at all times while at the USPTO
facilities.
II. Methods of Collection
Items in this information collection must be submitted in-person;
including the security badges and account requests. Requests for
training may be submitted in-person, online, or through the mail.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-0041.
Form Number(s):
PTO-2030 (Application for Public User ID)
PTO-2224 (Security Identification Badges for Public Users)
Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved
information collection.
[[Page 20127]]
Affected Public: Individuals or households.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 5,525 respondents per year.
Estimated Number of Responses: 5,925 responses per year.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take
the public approximately 5 minutes (0.08 hours) to complete the
information in this information collection, depending on the form. This
includes the time to gather the necessary information, prepare the
appropriate form, and submit the completed item to the USPTO.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 474 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $145,912.
Table 1--Total Hourly Burden for Individuals and Households Respondents
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Estimated
Estimated annual annual Estimated time for response Estimated Rate 1 ($/ Estimated
Item No. Item respondents responses (hour) annual burden hour) annual burden
(year) (hour/year)
................... .................. (a) (b).......................... (a) x (b) = (d) (c) x (d) =
(c) (e)
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1............... Application for 1,050............. 1,050 0.08 (5 minutes)............. 84 $400 $33,600
Public User ID
(Access Account).
2............... Renew Online Access Same as 6......... 400 0.08 (5 minutes)............. 32 400 12,800
Replace.
3............... Replace Online 75................ 75 0.08 (5 minutes)............. 6 400 2,400
Access Replace.
4............... User Training 100............... 100 0.08 (5 minutes)............. 8 400 3,200
Registration.
5............... Security 1,000............. 1,000 0.08 (5 minutes)............. 80 273 21,840
Identification
Badges for Public
Users.
6............... Renew Security 3,200............. 3,200 0.08 (5 minutes)............. 256 273 69,888
Identification
Badges for Public
Users.
7............... Replace Security 100............... 100 0.08 (5 minutes)............. 8 273 2,184
Identification
Badges.
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Totals.......... 5,525............. 5,925 ............................. 474 .............. 145,912
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\1\ 2019 Report of the Economic Survey, published by the Committee on Economics of Legal Practice of the American Intellectual Property Law Association
(AIPLA); https://www.aipla.org/detail/journal-issue/2019-report-of-the-economic-survey. The USPTO uses the mean rate for attorneys in private firms
which is $400 per hour. The hourly rate for paraprofessional/paralegals is estimated at $145 from data published in the 2018 Utilization and
Compensation Survey by the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA). A combined rate is used for the security badges items.
Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden: $1,503. The
total annual (non-hour) respondent cost burden for this information
collection in the forms of fees and postage costs is estimated to be
$1,503 per year.
There are no application or renewal fees for online access accounts
or security identification badges. However, there is a $15 fee for
issuing a replacement security identification badge. The USPTO
estimates that it will reissue approximately 100 security badges
annually that have been lost, stolen, or need to be replaced, for a
total of $1,500 per year in replacement fees.
Users may incur postage costs when submitting a user training
registration form to the USPTO by mail; approximately 5 per year. The
USPTO estimates that the average first-class postage cost for a mailed
training form will be $0.55 per year for this information collection
resulting to total postage costs of $3.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
IV. Request for Comments
The USPTO is soliciting public comments to:
(a) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
(b) Evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden of
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
(c) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(d) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, 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.
All comments submitted in response to this notice are a matter of
public record. USPTO will include or summarize each comment in the
request to OMB to approve this information collection. Before including
an address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying
information in a comment, be aware that the entire comment-- including
personal identifying information--may be made publicly available at any
time. While you may ask in your comment to withhold personal
identifying information from public view, USPTO cannot guarantee that
it will be able to do so.
Kimberly Hardy,
Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2021-07851 Filed 4-15-21; 8:45 am]
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