[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 72 (Friday, April 16, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20121-20123]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-07854]
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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; Recording Assignments
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), in
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments
on the extension and revision of an existing information collection:
0651-0027 (Recording Assignments). 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-
0027
[[Page 20122]]
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 Joyce R. Johnson, Manager, Assignment Division,
Mail Stop 1450, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box
1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 703-756-1265; or by
email to [email protected] with ``0651-0027 comment'' in the
subject line. Additional information about this information collection
is also available at http://www.reginfo.gov under ``Information
Collection Review.''
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
This collection of information is required by 35 U.S.C. 261 and 262
for patents and 15 U.S.C. 1057 and 1060 for trademarks. These statutes
authorize the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to
record patent and trademark assignment documents, including transfers
of properties (i.e., patents and trademarks), liens, licenses,
assignments of interest, security interests, mergers, and explanations
of transactions or other documents that record the transfer of
ownership of a particular patent or trademark property from one party
to another. Assignments are recorded for applications, patents, and
trademark registrations.
The USPTO administers these statutes through 37 CFR 2.146, 2.171,
and 37 CFR 3. These regulations permit the public, corporations, other
federal agencies, and Government-owned or Government-controlled
corporations to submit patent and trademark assignment documents and
other documents related to title transfers to the USPTO to be recorded.
In accordance with 37 CFR 3.54, the recording of an assignment document
by the USPTO is an administrative action and not a determination of the
validity of the document or of the effect that the document has on the
title to an application, patent, or trademark.
In order to record an assignment document, the respondent must
submit an appropriate cover sheet along with copies of the assignment
document to be recorded. Once the assignment documents are recorded,
they are available for public inspection. The public uses these records
to conduct ownership and chain-of-title searches. The public may view
these records either at the USPTO Public Search Facility or at the
National Archives and Records Administration, depending on the date
they were recorded. The public may also search patent and trademark
assignment information online through the USPTO website. The only
exceptions are those documents that are sealed under secrecy orders
according to 37 CFR 3.58 or related to unpublished patent applications
maintained in confidence under 35 U.S.C. 122 and 37 CFR 1.14.
This information collection covers assignments submitted by paper
and online through the use of the Electronic Patent Assignment System
(EPAS) and the Electronic Trademark Assignment System (ETAS). The
electronic systems allow customers to complete the required cover sheet
information online using web-based forms and then attach the electronic
assignment documents to be submitted for recordation. The electronic
systems are available through the USPTO website at https://epas.uspto.gov/ and https://etas.uspto.gov/.
II. Method of Collection
The items in this information collection can be submitted
electronically through EPAS or ETAS, or on paper by mail, facsimile, or
hand delivery to the USPTO.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-0027.
Form Numbers:
PTO-1594 (Trademark Assignment Recordation Cover Sheet)
PTO-1595 (Patent Assignment Recordation Cover Sheet)
Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved
information collection.
Affected Public: Private Sector; individuals or households.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 649,880 respondents per year.
Estimated Number of Responses: 649,880 responses per year.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the response
time for activities related to the recording assignment process will
take approximately 30 minutes (0.5 hours) to complete. This includes
the time to gather the necessary information, create the document, and
submit the completed item to the USPTO.
Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 324,941 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Cost Burden (Hourly): $88,708,893.
Table 1--Total Hourly Burden For Private Sector Respondents
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Estimated
Estimated annual Estimated time for Estimated Rate \1\ ($/ Estimated
Item No. Item annual responses response (hour) annual burden hour) annual burden
respondents (year) (hours/year)
.................. .............. (a) (b)........................ (a) x (b) = (d) (c) x (d) =
(c) (e)
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1...................... Trademark 35,984 35,984 0.5 (30 minutes)........... 17,992 $273 $4,911,816
Assignment System
(ETAS) (PTO-1594).
2...................... Patent Assignment 353,945 353,945 0.5 (30 minutes)........... 176,973 273 48,313,629
System (EPAS)
(PTO-1595).
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Total.............. .................. 389,929 389,929 ........................... 194,965 .............. 53,225,445
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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); https://www.nala.org/paralegals/research-and-survey-findings. The USPTO
estimates that the combined rate for respondents will be approximately $273 per hour.
[[Page 20123]]
Table 2--Total Hourly Burden For Individuals or Households Respondents
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Estimated
Estimated annual Estimated time for Estimated Rate \2\ ($/ Estimated
Item No. Item annual responses response (hour) annual burden hour) annual burden
respondents (year) (hours/year)
.................. .............. (a) (b)........................ (a) x (b) = (d) (c) x (d) =
(c) (e)
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1...................... Trademark 23,989 23,989 0.5 (30 minutes)........... 11,995 $273 $3,274,635
Assignment System
(ETAS) (PTO-1594).
2...................... Patent Assignment 235,962 235,962 0.5 (30 minutes)........... 117,981 273 32,208,813
System (EPAS)
(PTO-1595).
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Total.............. .................. 259,951 259,951 ........................... 129,976 .............. 35,483,448
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\2\ 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); https://www.nala.org/paralegals/research-and-survey-findings. The USPTO
estimates that the combined rate for respondents will be approximately $273 per hour.
Estimated Total Annual Cost Burden (Non-Hourly): $3,968,076. This
information collection has annual (non-hour) costs in the form of
filing fees and postage costs.
Filing Fees
The filing fee for submitting a non-electronic patent assignment as
indicated by 37 CFR 1.21(h) is $50 per property for recording each
document, while the filing fee for submitting a trademark assignment as
indicated by 37 CFR 2.6(b)(6) is $40.00 for recording the first
property in a document and $25.00 for each additional property in the
same document. The USPTO estimates that the average fee for a trademark
assignment recordation request is approximately $65.00. Therefore, this
information collection has an estimated total of $3,969,795 in filing
fees per year.
Table 3--Filing Fees
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Estimated Estimated non-
Item No. Item annual Estimated cost hour cost
responses burden
............................ (a) (b) (a) x (b) =
(c)
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1................................. Patent Recordation Form 1,351 $50 $67,550
Cover Sheet (PTO-1595).
2................................. Trademark Recordation Form 1,050 65 68,250
Cover Sheet (PTO-1594).
4................................. Electronic Trademark 58,923 65 3,829,995
Assignment System (ETAS)
(PTO-1594).
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Total....................... .............. .............. 3,965,795
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Postage Costs
Customers may incur postage costs when submitting a patent or
trademark assignment request to the USPTO by mail. The Patent and
Trademark Recordation Cover Sheets can be submitted by mail, for a
total of 2,401 mailed submissions. The average postage cost for a
mailed Patent or Trademark Recordation Form Cover Sheet is $0.95,
resulting in a total postage cost of $2,281 per year for this
information collection.
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. 2021-07854 Filed 4-15-21; 8:45 am]
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