[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]
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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 $12,578
School to Enter the
Program.
4................. Semiannual Report 60 2 120 5 600 62.89 37,734
Required of Law
School Clinics.
5................. Biennial Renewal 30 1 30 1 30 62.89 1,887
Application by Law
School.
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Total......... 95 .............. 155 .............. 830 .............. 52,199
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Table 2--Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Individual and Household Respondents
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Estimated Estimated
Item No. Item Number of Responses per Number of response time annual burden Rate \2\ ($/ 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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