[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 79 (Monday, April 25, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Page 24283]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-08730]


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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; Practitioner Conduct and Discipline

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will submit 
the following information collection request to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of 
publication of this notice. The USPTO invites comment on this 
information collection renewal, which helps the USPTO assess the impact 
of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
burden. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal 
Register on February 8, 2022 during a 60-day comment period. This 
notice allows an additional 30 days for public comments.
    Agency: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of 
Commerce.
    Title: Practitioner Conduct and Discipline.
    OMB Control Number: 0651-0017.
    Needs and Uses: The Director of the USPTO has the authority to 
establish regulations governing the conduct and discipline of agents, 
attorneys, or other persons representing applicants and other parties 
before the USPTO (35 U.S.C. 2 and 32-33). The USPTO Rules of 
Professional Conduct, set forth in subpart D, part 11 of title 37 of 
the Code of Federal Regulations, prescribe the manner in which agents, 
attorneys, and other persons (collectively, ``practitioners'') 
representing applicants and other parties before the USPTO should 
conduct themselves professionally. Part 11 outlines practitioners' 
responsibilities for recordkeeping and reporting violations or 
complaints of misconduct to the USPTO. Subpart C of part 11 sets forth 
the manner by which the USPTO investigates misconduct and imposes 
discipline. The USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct require all 
practitioners to maintain complete records of all funds, securities, 
and other properties of clients coming into his or her possession, and 
to render appropriate accounts to the client regarding the funds, 
securities, and other properties of clients coming into the 
practitioner's possession, collectively known as ``client property.'' 
These recordkeeping requirements are necessary to maintain the 
integrity of client property. State bars require attorneys to perform 
similar recordkeeping. Part 11 also requires a practitioner to report 
knowledge of certain violations of the USPTO Rules of Professional 
Conduct to the USPTO. The USPTO Director may, after notice and 
opportunity for a hearing, suspend, exclude, or disqualify any 
practitioner from further practice before the USPTO based on non-
compliance with the USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct. Practitioners 
who have been excluded or suspended from practice before the USPTO, 
practitioners transferred to disability inactive status, and 
practitioners who have resigned must maintain records of their 
compliance with the suspension or exclusion order, transfer to 
disability inactive status, or resignation. These records are necessary 
to demonstrate eligibility for reinstatement. Reports of alleged 
violations of the USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct are used by the 
Director of OED to conduct investigations and disciplinary hearings, as 
appropriate.
    This information collection covers the various reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements set forth in Part 11 for practitioners 
representing applicants and other parties before the USPTO. Also 
covered are petitions for reinstatement for suspended or excluded 
practitioners and the means for reporting violations or complaints of 
misconduct to the USPTO.
    Forms: No Forms.
    Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved 
information collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 13,190 respondents.
    Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 13,190 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses 
in this information collection will take the public approximately 
between 1 (60 minutes) to 3 hours (240 minutes) to complete. This 
includes the time to gather the necessary information, create the 
document, and submit the completed request to the USPTO. The USPTO 
Rules of Professional Conduct require practitioner agents to maintain 
various records to maintain the integrity of client property and meet 
other requirements. Additional recordkeeping requirements are also 
given for practitioners who are under suspension or exclusion. The 
USPTO estimates that it will take a practitioner between 1 (60 minutes) 
and 20 hours (1,200 minutes) to perform these recordkeeping actions.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 14,192 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-Hourly Cost Burden: $8,419.
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of 
Commerce, USPTO information collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for this information 
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of 
this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 
Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently 
under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search 
function and entering either the title of the information collection or 
the OMB Control Number 0651-0017.
    Further information can be obtained by:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0017 information request'' in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: Kimberly Hardy, Office of the Chief Administrative 
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, 
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.

Kimberly Hardy,
Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative 
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2022-08730 Filed 4-22-22; 8:45 am]
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