[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 179 (Friday, September 16, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56931-56933]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-20132]


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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; Legal Processes

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-
0046 Legal Processes. 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 November 15, 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-
0046 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: Request for additional information 
should be directed to Kyu Lee, Office of General Law, United States 
Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; 
by telephone at 571-272-3000; or by email at [email protected] with 
``0651-0046 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

    This collection covers information requirements related to civil 
actions and claims involving current and former employees of the United 
States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The rules for these legal 
processes may be found under 37 CFR part 104, which outlines procedures 
for service of process, demands for employee testimony and production 
of documents in legal proceedings, reports of unauthorized testimony, 
employee indemnification, and filing claims against the USPTO under the 
Federal Tort Claims Act (28 U.S.C. 2672) and the corresponding 
Department of Justice regulations (28 CFR part 14). The public may also 
petition the USPTO Office of General Counsel under 37 CFR 104.3 to 
waive or suspend these rules in extraordinary cases.
    The procedures under 37 CFR part 104 ensure that service of process 
intended for current and former employees of the USPTO is handled 
properly. The USPTO will only accept service of process for an employee 
acting in an official capacity. This collection is necessary so that 
respondents or their representatives can serve a summons or complaint 
on the USPTO, demand employee testimony and documents related to a 
legal proceeding, or file a claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act. 
Respondents may also petition the USPTO to waive or suspend these rules 
for legal processes. This collection is also necessary so that current 
and former USPTO employees may properly forward service and demands to 
the Office of General Counsel, report unauthorized testimony, and 
request indemnification. The USPTO covers current employees as 
respondents under this information collection even though their 
responses do not require approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act. In 
those instances where both current and former employees may respond to 
the USPTO, the agency estimates that the number of respondents will be 
small.
    There are no forms provided by the USPTO for this collection. For 
filing claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the public may use 
Standard Form 95 ``Claim for Damage, Injury, or Death,'' which is 
provided by the Department of Justice and approved by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB Control Number 1105-0008.

II. Method of Collection

    By mail or hand delivery to the USPTO.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0651-0046.
    Forms:
     Standard Form 95 (Claim for Damage, Injury, or Death).
    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: 309 respondents.
    Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 309 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses 
in this information collection will take the public approximately 
between 5 minutes (0.08 hours) and 6 hours to complete. This includes 
the time to gather the necessary information, create the document, and 
submit the completed item to the USPTO.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 133 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden: $57,513.

[[Page 56932]]



                                       Table 1--Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Private Sector Respondents
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                             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)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.................  Petition to Waive               4               1               4  0.5 (30 minutes).               2            $435            $870
                     Rules.
2.................  Service of                    195               1             195  0.08 (5 minutes).              16             435           6,960
                     Process.
3.................  Forwarding                      6               1               6  0.17 (10 minutes)               1             435             435
                     Service.
4.................  Employee                       27               1              27  2................              54             435          23,490
                     Testimony and
                     Production of
                     Documents in
                     Legal
                     Proceedings.
5.................  Forwarding                      8               1               8  0.17 (10 minutes)               1             435             435
                     Demands.
                                      ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Totals........             240  ..............             240  .................              74  ..............         $32,190
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\1\ 2021 Report of the Economic Survey, published by the Committee on Economics of Legal Practice of the American Intellectual Property Law Association
  (AIPLA); pg. F-27. The USPTO uses the average billing rate for intellectual property attorneys in private firms which is $435 per hour. (https:/
  ;www.aipla.org/home/news-publications/economic-survey).


                                  Table 2--Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Individual and Household Respondents
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                             Estimated
                                          Estimated     Responses per     Estimated      Estimated time      Estimated     Rate \2\ ($/       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)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.................  Petition to Waive               1               1               1  0.5 (30 minutes).               1            $435            $435
                     Rules.
2.................  Service of                     48               1              48  0.08 (5 minutes).               4             435           1,740
                     Process.
3.................  Forwarding                      1               1               1  0.17 (10 minutes)               1             435             435
                     Service.
4.................  Employee                        6               1               6  2................              12             435           5,220
                     Testimony and
                     Production of
                     Documents in
                     Legal
                     Proceedings.
5.................  Forwarding                      2               1               2  0.17 (10 minutes)               1             435             435
                     Demands.
6.................  Report of                       1               1               1  0.5 (30 minutes).               1             435             435
                     Unauthorized
                     Testimony.
7.................  Report of                       3               1               3  0.5 (30 minutes).               2             435             870
                     Possible
                     Indemnification
                     Cases.
8.................  Employee                        1               1               1  0.5 (30 minutes).               1           92.50              93
                     Indemnification.
9.................  Tort Claims......               6               1               6  6................              36             435          15,660
                                      ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Totals........              69  ..............              69  .................              59  ..............          25,323
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Ibid.

    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-Hourly Cost Burden: $4,569.
    There are no capital start-up, maintenance costs, or recordkeeping 
costs associated with this information collection. However, USPTO 
estimates that the total annual (non-hour) cost burden for this 
information collection, in the form of filing fees and postage is 
$4,569.

Filing Fees

    This collection has filing fees associated with the petition to 
waive or suspend the legal process rules under 37 CFR 104.3. The USPTO 
estimates that approximately 5 petitions will be filed per year with a 
fee of $130, for a total fee cost of $650. There are no other fees 
associated with this information collection.

Postage Costs

    The USPTO estimates that all submissions in this collection will be 
submitted by mail. The average first-class postage for a four-ounce 
mailed submission (for items other than a Service of Process) will be 
$1.76 cents, resulting in a total of $116.16 ($1.76 x 66) for 
submissions other than a Service of Process. The USPTO estimates that 
the average postage for a Service of Process will be $15.65 (Priority 
Mail flat-rate envelope by certified mail with return receipt), 
resulting in a total of $3,802.95 ($15.65 x 243) for Sevice of Process 
submissions. Therefore, the USPTO estimates the total postage cost for 
this collection is $3,919.

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

[[Page 56933]]

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 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 
Adminstrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2022-20132 Filed 9-15-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-30-P