[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]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P