[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14352-14353]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04754]


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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

    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 
reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the 
Federal Register on December 21, 2022, during a 60-day comment period. 
This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
    Agency: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of 
Commerce.
    Title: Law School Clinic Certification Program.
    OMB Control Number: 0651-0081.
    Needs and Uses: 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, 62 law schools participate in the 
program; a slight increase from the estimated number of law schools 
listed in the 60-day notice.
    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.
    Form Number(s): (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.
    Frequency: On occasion; semi-annually; biennially.
    Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 863 respondents.
    Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 925 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses 
in this information collection will take respondents 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 request to the USPTO.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 1,241 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-Hourly Cost Burden: $46.
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of 
Commerce, USPTO

[[Page 14353]]

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 0651-0081.
    Further information can be obtained by:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0081 information request'' in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: Justin Isaac, Office of the Chief Administrative 
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, 
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.

Justin Isaac,
Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative 
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2023-04754 Filed 3-7-23; 8:45 a.m.]
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