[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 140 (Monday, July 26, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40015-40018]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-15875]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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; Patent Reexaminations, Supplemental Examinations, and Post
Patent Submissions
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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-
0064 (Patent Reexaminations, Supplemental Examinations, and Post Patent
Submissions). 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 September 24, 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-
0064 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 Parikha Mehta, Legal Advisor, Office of Patent
Legal Administration, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O.
Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-3248; or
by email to [email protected] with ``0651-0064 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
The USPTO is required by 35 U.S.C. 131 and 151 to examine
applications and, when appropriate, allow applications and issue them
as patents. Chapter 30 of Title 35 U.S.C. provides that any person at
any time may file a request for reexamination by the USPTO of any claim
of a patent on the basis of prior art cited under the provisions of 35
U.S.C. 301. Once initiated, the reexamination proceedings under Chapter
30 are substantially ex parte and do not permit input from third
parties. The regulations outlining ex parte reexaminations are found at
37 CFR 1.510-1.570.
In addition, 35 U.S.C. 257 permits a patent owner to request
supplemental examination of a patent by the USPTO to consider,
reconsider, or correct information believed to be relevant to the
patent. The regulations outlining supplemental examination are found at
37 CFR 1.601-1.625.
The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act terminated inter partes
reexamination effective September 16, 2012. However, inter partes
reexamination proceedings based on inter partes reexamination requests
filed before September 16, 2012, continue to be prosecuted. Therefore,
this information collection continues to include items related to the
prosecution of inter partes reexamination proceedings. The regulations
outlining inter partes reexamination are found at 37 CFR 1.903-1.959.
The provisions of 35 U.S.C. 301 and 37 CFR 1.501 govern the ability
of a person to submit into the file of an issued patent (1) prior art
consisting of patents or printed publications which the person making
the submission believes to have a bearing on the patentability of any
claim of the issued patent and (2) statements of the owner of the
issued patent filed in a proceeding before a Federal court or the USPTO
in which the owner of the issued patent took a position on the scope of
any claim of the issued patent.
This information collection covers information contained in: (1)
Requests for ex parte reexamination, (2) requests for supplemental
examination, (3) submissions made by patent owners and third-party
requesters related to the prosecution of an ex parte or inter partes
reexamination proceeding, (4) information submitted by the public to
aid in ascertaining the patentability and/or scope of the claims of the
issued patent, and (5) information submitted by patent owners regarding
a position taken before the USPTO or a Federal court regarding the
scope of any claim in their issued patent. The USPTO's use of the
statements of the patent owners ((5) above) will be limited to
determining the meaning of a patent claim in ex parte reexamination
proceedings that already have been ordered and in inter partes review
and post grant review proceedings that already have been instituted.
The purpose of this information collection is to facilitate
requests for ex parte reexamination and supplemental examination, to
facilitate prosecution of reexamination and reissue proceedings, and to
ensure that the associated documentation is submitted to the USPTO, and
to permit relevant post-patent prior art and claim scope information to
be entered into a patent file.
This renewal request incorporates an item that was previously
approved under OMB control number 0651-0067 (Post Patent Public
Submissions), specifically `information disclosure citations'. The
title of this information collection is being updated to reflect that
change with the inclusion of ``Post Patent Submissions''. As the
information disclosure citation was the only item contained in 0651-
0067, that information collection will be discontinued.
II. Method of Collection
The items in this information collection may be submitted online
using the Patent Electronic Systems (EFS-Web or Patent Center), or on
paper by either mail or hand delivery.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0651-0064.
Form Numbers: (SB = Specimen Book).
PTO/SB/42 (Information Disclosure Citation in a Patent).
PTO/SB/57 (Request for Ex Parte Reexamination Transmittal
Form).
PTO/SB/59 (Request for Supplemental Examination
Transmittal Form).
Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved
information collection.
Affected Public: Private sector; individuals or households.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 864 respondents per year.
Estimated Number of Responses: 880 responses per year.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it takes the
public approximately between 30 minutes (0.5
[[Page 40016]]
hours) to 55 hours, depending on the complexity of the situation and
item, to gather the necessary information, prepare the appropriate
document(s), and submit the information to the USPTO.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 23,574 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent (Hourly) Cost Burden: $9,429,600.
Table 1--Total Hourly Burden for Private Sector Respondents
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Estimated Estimated
Estimated annual time for Estimated Rate \1\ ($/ annual
Item No. Item annual responses response annual burden hour) respondent
respondents (year) (hour) (hour/year) cost burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (d) (c) x (d) =
(c) (e)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1............................ Request for Supplemental 31 31 25 775 400 $310,000
Examination--PTO/SB/59.
2............................ Request for Ex Parte 177 177 55 9,735 400 3,894,000
Reexamination--PTO/SB/57.
3............................ Petition in a 68 68 23 1,564 400 625,600
Reexamination Proceeding
(except for those
specifically enumerated
in 37 CFR 1.550(i) and
1.937(d)).
4............................ Patent Owner's 37 CFR 53 53 8 424 400 169,600
1.530 Statement.
5............................ Third Party Requester's 9 9 8 72 400 28,800
37 CFR 1.535 Reply.
6............................ Amendment in Ex Parte or 230 230 33 7,590 400 3,036,000
Inter Partes
Reexamination.
7............................ Third Party Requester's 1 1 41 41 400 16,400
37 CFR 1.947 Comments in
Inter Partes
Reexamination.
8............................ Response to Final 118 118 17 2,006 400 802,400
Rejection in Ex Parte
Reexamination.
9............................ Patent Owner's 37 CFR 2 2 41 82 400 32,800
1.951 Response in Inter
Partes Reexamination.
10........................... Third Party Requester's 2 2 41 82 400 32,800
37 CFR 1.951 Comments in
Inter Partes
Reexamination.
11........................... Petition to Request 116 116 0.5 58 400 23,200
Extension of Time in Ex
Parte or Inter Partes
Reexamination.
12........................... Information Disclosure 32 48 10 480 400 192,000
Citation in a Patent--
PTO/SB/42.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total.................... ......................... 839 855 .............. 22,909 .............. 9,163,600
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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 $145 from data published in the 2018 Utilization and
Compensation Survey by the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA).
Table 2--Total Hourly Burden For Individuals or Households Respondents
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Estimated Estimated
Estimated annual time for Estimated Rate \2\ ($/ annual
Item No. Item annual responses response annual burden hour) respondent
respondents (year) (hour) (hour/year) cost burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (d) (c) x (d) =
(c) (e)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1............................ Request for Supplemental 1 1 25 25 400 $10,000
Examination--PTO/SB/59.
2............................ Request for Ex Parte 5 5 55 275 400 110,000
Reexamination--PTO/SB/57.
3............................ Petition in a 2 2 23 46 400 18,400
Reexamination Proceeding
(except for those
specifically enumerated
in 37 CFR 1.550(i) and
1.937(d)).
4............................ Patent Owner's 37 CFR 1 1 8 8 400 3,200
1.530 Statement.
6............................ Amendment in Ex Parte or 7 7 33 231 400 92,400
Inter Partes
Reexamination.
8............................ Response to Final 4 4 17 68 400 27,200
Rejection in Ex Parte
Reexamination.
11........................... Petition to Request 4 4 0.5 2 400 800
Extension of Time in Ex
Parte or Inter Partes
Reexamination.
12........................... Information Disclosure 1 1 10 10 400 4,000
Citation in a Patent--
PTO/SB/42.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total.................... ......................... 25 25 .............. 665 .............. 266,000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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).
Estimated Total Annual Respondent (Non-hourly) Cost Burden:
$2,439,335. There are no capital start-up, recordkeeping, or
maintenance costs associated with this information collection. However,
this information collection does have annual (non-hour) costs in the
form of postage costs and filing fees. Therefore, the USPTO
[[Page 40017]]
estimates that the total annual (non-hour) cost burden for this
information collection, in the form of filing fees ($2,439,195) and
postage costs ($140) is approximately $2,439,335.
Filing Fees
There are nine filing fees associated with this information
collection, which are broken down by undiscounted entity, small entity,
and micro entity. These fees are listed in the table below.
Table 3--Filing Fees (Non-Hour) Cost Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Total non-
Item No. Item annual Filing fee ($) hour cost
responses burden (yr)
(a) (b) (a) x (b) =
(c)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1............................. Supplemental Examination Request 22 4,620 $101,640
(undiscounted entity).
1............................. Supplemental Examination Request 14 2,310 32,340
(small entity).
1............................. Supplemental Examination Request 1 1,155 1,155
(micro entity).
1............................. Supplemental Examination 28 12,700 355,600
Reexamination (undiscounted
entity).
1............................. Supplemental Examination 15 6,350 95,250
Reexamination (small entity).
1............................. Supplemental Examination 1 3,175 3,175
Reexamination (micro entity).
1............................. Supplemental Examination 3 180 540
document size fees, 21-50
documents (undiscounted entity).
1............................. Supplemental Examination 3 90 270
document size fees, 21-50
documents (small entity).
1............................. Supplemental Examination 1 45 45
document size fees, 21-50
documents (micro entity).
1............................. Supplemental examination 3 300 900
document size fees, each
additional 50 documents
(undiscounted entity).
1............................. Supplemental examination 1 150 150
document size fees, each
additional 50 documents (small
entity).
1............................. Supplemental examination 1 75 75
document size fees, each
additional 50 documents (micro
entity).
2............................. Reexamination independent claims 23 480 11,040
in excess of three and also in
excess of the number of such
claims in the patent under
reexamination (undiscounted
entity).
2............................. Reexamination independent claims 12 240 2,880
in excess of three and also in
excess of the number of such
claims in the patent under
reexamination (small entity).
2............................. Reexamination independent claims 1 120 120
in excess of three and also in
excess of the number of such
claims in the patent under
reexamination (micro entity).
2............................. Reexamination claims in excess 38 100 3,800
of 20 and also in excess of the
number of claims in the patent
under reexamination
(undiscounted entity).
2............................. Reexamination claims in excess 17 50 850
of 20 and also in excess of the
number of claims in the patent
under reexamination (small
entity).
2............................. Reexamination claims in excess 1 25 25
of 20 and also in excess of the
number of claims in the patent
under reexamination (micro
entity).
2............................. Ex Parte Reexamination (Sec. 22 6,300 138,600
1.510(a)) Streamlined
(undiscounted entity).
2............................. Ex Parte Reexamination (Sec. 40 3,150 126,000
1.510(a)) Streamlined (small
entity).
2............................. Ex Parte Reexamination (Sec. 2 1,575 3,150
1.510(a)) Streamlined (micro
entity).
2............................. Ex Parte Reexamination (Sec. 86 12,600 1,083,600
1.510(a)) Non-Streamlined
(undiscounted entity).
2............................. Ex Parte Reexamination (Sec. 56 6,300 352,800
1.510(a)) Non-Streamlined
(small entity).
2............................. Ex Parte Reexamination (Sec. 14 3,150 44,100
1.510(a)) Non-Streamlined
(micro entity).
3............................. Petitions in a reexamination 34 2,040 69,360
proceeding, except for those
specifically enumerated in 37
CFR 1.550(i) and 1.937(d)
(undiscounted entity).
3............................. Petitions in a reexamination 11 1,020 11,220
proceeding, except for those
specifically enumerated in 37
CFR 1.550(i) and 1.937(d)
(small entity).
3............................. Petitions in a reexamination 1 510 510
proceeding, except for those
specifically enumerated in 37
CFR 1.550(i) and 1.937(d)
(micro entity).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total....................... ................................ .............. .............. 2,439,195
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Postage Costs
The USPTO expects that at most 2% of the responses in this
information collection will be submitted by mail. The USPTO estimates
that the average postage cost for a mailed submission, using a Priority
Mail 2-day flat rate legal envelope, will be $8.25. The USPTO estimates
approximately 17 submissions per year may be mailed to the USPTO, for a
total postage cost of $140 per year.
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 shall have practical utility;
(b) Evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden of
the proposed collection of information,
[[Page 40018]]
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 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. The 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 (PII) in a comment, be aware that the entire comment--
including PII--may be made publicly available at any time. While you
may ask in your comment to withhold PII from public view, the 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. 2021-15875 Filed 7-23-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P