[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 244 (Wednesday, December 21, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78089-78090]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27677]



[[Page 78089]]

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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; Law School Clinic Certification 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-
0081 Law School Clinic Certification 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 February 21, 2023.

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.
     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 Dahlia George, Office of Enrollment and 
Discipline, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, 
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-4097; or by email at 
[email protected] with ``0651-0081 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

    Public Law 113-227 (Dec. 16, 2014) requires the United States 
Patent and Trademark Office to establish regulations and procedures for 
application to, and participation in, the USPTO Law School Clinic 
Certification Program. The Program allows students enrolled in a 
participating law school's clinic to practice patent or trademark law 
before the USPTO under the direct supervision of an approved faculty 
clinic supervisor. Each clinic provides legal services on a pro bono 
basis for clients who qualify for assistance from the law school's 
clinic. By drafting, filing, and prosecuting patent and trademark 
applications, students gain valuable experience that would otherwise be 
unavailable to them while in law school. The program also facilitates 
the provision of pro bono services to patent and trademark applicants 
who lack the financial resources necessary for traditional legal 
representation. Currently, 61 law schools participate in the program.
    This information collection covers the applications from law 
schools that wish to enter the program, faculty advisors who seek to 
become a faculty clinic supervisor, and students who seek to 
participate in this program. The collection also includes the required 
semiannual reports from participating law school clinics and biennial 
renewals required by the program as well as the request to make special 
under the Law School Clinic Certification Program, which allows a 
limited number of applications per semester to be advanced out of turn 
(accorded special status) for examination if the applicant makes the 
appropriate showing, to provide law students with practical experience 
as they will be more likely to receive substantive examination of 
applications within the school year that the application is filed.

II. Method of Collection

    By mail, facsimile, hand delivery, or electronically via email to 
the USPTO.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0651-0081.
    Forms: (LS = Law School; SB = Specimen Book).
     PTO-158LS, (Application for Limited Recognition in USPTO 
Law School Program for Law Students to Practice Before the USPTO).
     PTO/SB/419 (Certification and Request to Make Special 
under the Law School Program).
    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: 860 respondents.
    Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 920 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses 
in this information collection will take the public approximately 
between 30 minutes (0.5 hours) and 40 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: 1,220 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden: $63,338.

                                       Table 1--Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Private Sector Respondents
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                                                                                             Estimated       Estimated
     Item No.               Item             Number of     Responses per     Number of     response time   annual burden   Rate \1\ ($/    Total hourly
                                            respondents     respondent       responses        (hours)          hours            hr)         cost burden
                                                     (a)             (b)     (a) x (b) =             (d)     (c) x (d) =             (f)   (e)x(f) = (g)
                                                                                     (c)                             (e)
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1.................  Application by Law                 5               1               5              40             200          $62.89         $12,578
                     School to Enter the
                     Program.
4.................  Semiannual Report                 60               2             120               5             600           62.89          37,734
                     Required of Law
                     School Clinics.
5.................  Biennial Renewal                  30               1              30               1              30           62.89           1,887
                     Application by Law
                     School.
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    Total.........                                    95  ..............             155  ..............             830  ..............          52,199
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[[Page 78090]]


                                  Table 2--Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Individual and Household Respondents
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                                                                                             Estimated       Estimated
     Item No.               Item             Number of     Responses per     Number of     response time   annual burden   Rate \2\ ($/    Total hourly
                                            respondents     respondent       responses        (hours)          hours            hr)         cost burden
                                                     (a)             (b)     (a) x (b) =             (d)     (c) x (d) =             (f)     (e) x (f) =
                                                                                     (c)                             (e)                             (g)
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2.................  Application by Law                10               1              10               1              10          $62.89            $629
                     School Faculty
                     Member to Become a
                     Faculty Clinic
                     Supervisor.
3.................  Application for                  750               1             750             0.5             375           27.19          10,196
                     Limited Recognition
                     for Law Students.
6.................  Certification and                  5               1               5               1               5           62.89             314
                     Request to Make
                     Special under the
                     Law School Program.
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    Total.........                                   765  ..............             765  ..............             390  ..............          11,139
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    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden: $46.
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    \1\ The USPTO expects that university faculty members will 
complete most of the items in this information collection at an 
estimated rate of $62.89 per hour. The faculty rate is found in the 
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (25-1112 Law Teachers, 
Postsecondary (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes251112.htm)). 
While no exact number is listed as a mean hourly wage, USPTO reached 
the estimated rate by taking the mean annual wage ($130,820) and 
dividing it by 2,080, which is the number of annual work hours based 
on a 40-hour work week. Faculty members serving as Clinic 
Supervisors must be practicing attorneys (and registered with the 
Patent Bar for those schools handling patent matters before the 
USPTO on behalf of applicants).
    The cost for law students applying to participate in the program 
is estimated to be at the 50% hourly rate for legal occupations (BLS 
23-0000 Legal Occupations) which is $27.29 per hour (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes230000.htm). This accounts for law 
students' possible employment in various entry level legal 
positions.
    \2\ Ibid.
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    There are no maintenance costs, capital start-up costs, or 
recordkeeping costs associated with this information collection. 
However, the USPTO estimates that the total annual (non-hour) cost 
burden for this information collection, in the form of postage is $46.

Postage

    The USPTO does not presently use automated or other technological 
information collection techniques for the items in this collection of 
information, but submissions are accepted electronically through email. 
Submissions are also accepted via postal mail and hand delivery. The 
USPTO expects that only five (5) submissions will be submitted through 
the U.S. Postal Service. The remaining items will be submitted 
electronically. The average USPS postage cost for a mailed submission, 
using a Priority Mail flat rate legal envelope is $9.25. Therefore, the 
USPTO estimates that the total postage costs for the mailed submissions 
in this information collection will total $46.

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

Justin Isaac,
Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Adminstrative 
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2022-27677 Filed 12-20-22; 8:45 am]
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