[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 167 (Tuesday, August 30, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52938-52940]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18598]


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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; Patent and PTAB Pro Bono Programs

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-
0082 Patent and PTAB Pro Bono Programs. 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 October 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-
0082 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
     Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
     Mail: Justin Isaac, 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 Stacey G. White, Lead Administrative Patent 
Judge, USPTO--Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Texas Regional Office; 207 
S Houston St., Dallas, TX 75202 by telephone at (469) 295-9061; or by 
email to [email protected] with ``0651-0082 comment'' in the 
subject line. Additional information about this collection is also 
available at http://www.reginfo.gov under ``Information Collection 
Review.''

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), Public Law 112-29 Sec.  
32 (2011) directs the USPTO to work with and support intellectual 
property law associations across the country in the establishment of 
pro bono programs designed to assist financially under-resourced 
independent inventors and small businesses. To support this, the 
USPTO--in collaboration with various non-profit organizations--
implemented the Patent Pro Bono program; a series of autonomous 
regional hubs that act as matchmakers to help connect low-income 
inventors with volunteer patent attorneys across the United States. The 
Patent Pro Bono program comprises a network of regional hubs organized 
by various bar associations, law school IP clinics, and lawyer referral 
services that provide services across all fifty states, the District of 
Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
    In 2022, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) began 
coordinating pro bono opportunities through the newly created PTAB Pro 
Bono Program, having supported the establishment of a national 
clearinghouse that acts as a matchmaker to connect under-resourced 
inventors with volunteer patent practitioners across the United States 
for assistance in preparing and arguing ex parte appeals before the 
PTAB. The PTAB Bar Association's national clearinghouse provides access 
to legal representation for pro bono ex parte appeal services across 
all fifty states and the District of Columbia.
    Each pro bono program will be requesting that their respective 
regional hubs and a national clearinghouse collect demographic 
information from those seeking assistance that will be self-identified 
by the applicant. The requested standardized demographic information, 
collected through Applicant Intake Forms, will be a

[[Page 52939]]

voluntary part of the overall application materials that each 
independent inventor fills out when seeking pro bono assistance. The 
information collected will be kept confidential by the regional hubs 
and the national clearinghouse and only aggregate information is shared 
with the USPTO. This aggregate information, will also be used to help 
determine the extent to which women, minorities, and veterans engage 
the Pro Bono Programs supported by USPTO.
    This renewal of 0651-0082 broadens the scope of the information 
collection to include the PTAB Pro Bono Program, in addition to the 
Patent Pro Bono Program that was covered under this collection. The 
name of the information collection has been adjusted from ``Pro Bono 
Survey'' to ``Patent and PTAB Pro Bono Programs'' in order to include 
related programs under this single information collection. This 
information collection includes an instrument capturing data for the 
Patent Pro Bono program (Patent Pro Bono Survey) and its applicant 
participations (Patent Applicant Intake Form). The information 
collection also has a similar instrument that covers the collection of 
data for the PTAB program (PTAB Pro Bono Survey) and the applicants 
requesting to participate in that PTAB offering (PTAB Applicant Intake 
Form).

II. Method of Collection

    The Pro Bono surveys will be conducted electronically through web 
forms created to support these surveys. Applicant Intake forms may be 
offered electronically or in person depending the needs of the 
participating organizations.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0651-0082.
    Forms:

 USPTO/550 (Patent Pro Bono Survey)
 USPTO/551 (Patent Applicant Intake Form)
 USPTO/552 (PTAB Pro Bono Survey)
 USPTO/553 (PTAB Applicant Intake Form)

    Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved 
information collection.
    Affected Public: Private sector; individuals or households.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
    Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 1,763 respondents.
    Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 1,832 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses 
in this information collection will take the public approximately 
between 5 minutes (0.083 hours) and 2 hours to complete. This includes 
the time to gather the necessary information, fill out the item, and 
submit the completed item to the USPTO.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 332 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden: $16,329.

                                                          Table 1--Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Pro Bono Program Respondents
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                                                                                                                                                                                     Estimated
                                                                           Estimated    Responses    Estimated annual   Estimated time for response      Estimated     Rate \1\       annual
     Item No.                  Item                 Respondent type          annual        per          responses                 (hours)              burden (hour/   ($/hour)     respondent
                                                                          respondents   respondent                                                         year)                    cost burden
                                                                                  (a)          (b)    (a) x (b) = (c)  (d)..........................     (c) x (d) =         (f)     (e) x (f) =
                                                                                                                                                                 (e)                         (g)
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1.................  Patent Pro Bono Survey     Private Sector...........           22            4                 88  2............................             176      $55.41          $9,752
                     (PTO Form 550).
2.................  Patent Applicant Intake    Individuals or Households        1,700            1              1,700  0.083 (5 minutes)............             141       41.45           5,844
                     Form (or equivalent)
                     (PTO Form 551).
3.................  PTAB Pro Bono Survey       Private Sector...........            1            4                  4  2............................               8       55.41             443
                     (PTAB 552).
4.................  PTAB Applicant Intake      Individuals or Households           40            1                 40  0.17 (10 minutes)............               7       41.45             290
                     Form (PTAB Form 553).
                                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Totals................  .........................        1,763  ...........              1,832  .............................             332  ..........          16,329
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\1\ The hourly rate for the survey of pro bono administrators (BLS 11-1021) is based the BLS 2021 National Occupation Employment and Wage Statistics. The hourly rate for the intake form uses
  the average of mean rates for Engineers (17-0000) and Scientists (19-0000).

    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden: $1,333. 
There are no maintenance costs, recordkeeping costs, filing fees, or 
postage costs associated with this information collection. There are 
startup costs for the PTAB clearinghouse to create the system required 
to capture information which USPTO estimates will cost $4,000. This one 
time cost of $4,000 is annualized over a three year period for an 
annual cost of $1,333.

IV. 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 will 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 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 personally 
identifiable 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

[[Page 52940]]

withhold PII from public view, USPTO cannot guarantee that it will be 
able to do so.

Justin Isaac,
Acting Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief 
Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2022-18598 Filed 8-29-22; 8:45 am]
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