[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 227 (Tuesday, November 30, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67927-67929]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25995]
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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; Patents for Humanity Program
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-
0066 (Patents for Humanity Program). 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 January 31, 2022.
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-
0066 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 Ms. Soma Saha, Patent Attorney, Office of Policy
and International Affairs, United States Patent and Trademark Office,
P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-9300;
or by email to [email protected] with ``0651-0066 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
Since 2012, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
has conducted the Patents for Humanity Program, an annual award program
to incentivize the distribution of patented technologies or products
for the purpose of addressing humanitarian needs. The program is open
to any patent owners or patent licensees, including inventors who have
not assigned their ownership rights to others, assignees, and exclusive
or non-exclusive licenses. USPTO collects information from applicants
that describe what actions they have taken with their patented
technology to address the welfare of impoverished populations, or how
they furthered research by others on technologies for humanitarian
purposes. There are numerous categories of awards including: Medicine,
Nutrition, Sanitation, Household Energy, and Living Standards.
Sometimes the program includes additional categories specific for that
year, for example COVID-19.
This information collection covers two application forms for the
Patents for Humanity Program. The first application covers the
humanitarian uses of technologies or products, and the second
application covers humanitarian research. In both, applicants are
required to describe how their technology or product satisfies the
program criteria to address humanitarian issues. Additionally,
applicants must provide non-public contact information in order for
USPTO to notify them about their award status. Applicants may
optionally provide contact information for the public to reach them
with any inquiries. Applications must be submitted via email and will
be posted on USPTO's website. Qualified judges from outside USPTO will
review and score the applications. USPTO will then forward the top-
scoring applications to reviewers from participating Federal agencies
to recommend award recipients.
Winners are invited to participate in an awards ceremony at USPTO.
Those applications that are chosen for an award will receive a
certificate redeemable to accelerate select matters before USPTO. The
certificates can be redeemed to accelerate one of the following
matters: An ex parte reexamination proceeding, including one appeal to
the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) from that proceeding; a patent
application, including one appeal to the PTAB from that application; or
an appeal to the PTAB of a claim twice rejected in a patent application
or reissue application or finally rejected in an ex parte
reexamination, without accelerating the underlying matter which
generated the appeal. This information collection also covers the
information gathered in petitions to extend an acceleration certificate
redemption beyond 12 months. Finally, winners are now able to transfer
their certificates to third parties, including by sale, due to the
January 2021 passage of the Patents for Humanity Program Improvement
Act.
II. Method of Collection
Electronically through the http://www.uspto.gov/patentsforhumanity
website.
[[Page 67928]]
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0651-0066.
Form Numbers:
PTO/PFH/001 (Patents for Humanity Competition: Humanitarian
Use Application)
PTO/PFH/002 (Patents for Humanity Competition: Research Use
Application)
PTO/SB/431 (Patents for Humanity Competiton: Petition to
Extend Redemption)
Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved
information collection.
Affected Public: Private sector; individuals or households; state,
local, and tribal governments, and Federal government.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 115 respondents per year.
Estimated Number of Responses: 115 responses per year.
Estimated Time per Response: USPTO estimates that it will take the
public approximately 30 minutes to 4 hours to complete the items
associated with this program. These estimated times include gathering
the necessary information, preparing the application and any
supplemental materials, and submitting the completed documents to
USPTO.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 428 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent (Hourly) Cost Burden: $124,976.
Table 1--Burden Hour/Burden Cost to Respondents
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Estimated
Estimated Responses per Estimated Estimated time Estimated Rate \1\ annual
Item No. Item annual respondent annual for response burden (hour/ ($/hour) respondent
respondents responses (hours) year) cost burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (d) (c) x (d) = (f) (e) x (f) =
(c) (e) (g)
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1..................... Humanitarian Program 50 1 50 4 200 $292 $58,400
Application
(Humanitarian Use)
(PTO/PFH/001)
(Private Sector
Respondents).
1..................... Humanitarian Program 20 1 20 4 80 292 23,360
Application
(Humanitarian Use)
(PTO/PFH/001)
(Individuals or
Households
Respondents).
1..................... Humanitarian Program 10 1 10 4 40 292 11,680
Application
(Humanitarian Use)
(PTO/PFH/001)
(State, Local, and
Tribal Governments
Respondents).
1..................... Humanitarian Program 5 1 5 4 20 292 5,840
Application
(Humanitarian Use)
(PTO/PFH/001)
(Federal Government
Respondents).
2..................... Humanitarian Program 5 1 5 4 20 292 5,840
Application
(Humanitarian
Research) (PTO/PFH/
002) (Private Sector
Respondents).
2..................... Humanitarian Program 5 1 5 4 20 292 5,840
Application
(Humanitarian
Research) (PTO/PFH/
002) (Individuals or
Households
Respondents).
2..................... Humanitarian Program 5 1 5 4 20 292 5,840
Application
(Humanitarian
Research) (PTO/PFH/
002) (State, Local,
and Tribal
Governments
Respondents).
2..................... Humanitarian Program 5 1 5 4 20 292 5,840
Application
(Humanitarian
Research) (PTO/PFH/
002) (Federal
Government
Respondents).
3..................... Petition to Extend 2 1 2 1 2 292 584
the Redemption
Period of the
Humanitarian Awards
Certificate (PTO/SB/
431) (Private Sector
Respondents).
3..................... Petition to Extend 2 1 2 1 2 292 584
the Redemption
Period of the
Humanitarian Awards
Certificate (PTO/SB/
431) (Individuals or
Households
Respondents).
3..................... Petition to Extend 1 1 1 1 1 292 292
the Redemption
Period of the
Humanitarian Awards
Certificate (PTO/SB/
431) (State, Local,
and Tribal
Governments
Respondents).
3..................... Petition to Extend 1 1 1 1 1 292 292
the Redemption
Period of the
Humanitarian Awards
Certificate (PTO/SB/
431) (Federal
Government
Respondents).
4..................... Transfer of Awards 2 1 2 * 0.5 1 292 292
Certificate (Private
Sector Respondents).
[[Page 67929]]
4..................... Transfer of Awards 2 1 2 * 0.5 1 292 292
Certificate
(Individuals or
Households
Respondents).
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Total............... 115 .............. 115 .............. 428 ......... 124,976
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\1\ The USPTO uses the combined rates for intellectual property attorneys and paralegas which is $292. 2021 (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/news/2021/09/22/the-2021-report-of-the-economic-survey-is-here, pg. F-27. The USPTO uses the average billing rate for intellectual property attorneys in private
firms which is $435 per hour. 2020 Utilization and Compensation Survey by the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA); https://nala.org/paralegal-info/, pg 10. The USPTO uses the average billing rate per hour which is $149.).
* 30 minutes.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent (Non-hourly) Cost Burden: $0.
There are no capital startup costs, filing fees, recordkeeping costs,
maintance costs, or postage costs associated with this information
collection.
Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
Request for Comments
The USPTO is soliciting public comments to:
(a) Evaluate whether the 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 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 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, telephone 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,
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. 2021-25995 Filed 11-29-21; 8:45 am]
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