[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 179 (Monday, September 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 63940]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-20140]



[[Page 63940]]

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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 Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Appeals

    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 July 3, 2023 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: Patent Trial and Appeal Board Appeals.
    OMB Control Number: 0651-0063.
    Needs and Uses: The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB or Board) 
is established by statute under 35 U.S.C. 6. This statute directs, in 
relevant part, that PTAB shall ``on written appeal of an applicant, 
review adverse decisions of examiners upon applications for patents 
pursuant to section 134(a).'' PTAB has the authority, under 35 U.S.C. 
134 and 306 to decide appeals in applications and ex parte 
reexamination proceedings, and under pre-AIA sections of the Patent 
Act, i.e., 35 U.S.C. 134, 135, and 315, to decide appeals in inter 
partes reexamination proceedings and interferences. In addition, 35 
U.S.C. 6 establishes the membership of PTAB as the Director, the Deputy 
Director, the Commissioner for Patents, the Commissioner for 
Trademarks, and the Administrative Patent Judges. Each appeal and 
interference is decided by a merits panel of at least three members of 
the Board.
    The Board's responsibilities under the statute include the review 
of ex parte appeals from adverse decisions of examiners in those 
situations where a written appeal is taken by a dissatisfied applicant 
or patent owner. In inter partes reexamination appeals, PTAB reviews 
examiner's decisions adverse to a patent owner or a third-party 
requester. PTAB's opinions and decisions for publicly available files 
are published on the USPTO website. The Board also conducts 
interference proceedings.
    The items associated with this information collection include 
appeals in applications and ex parte reexamination proceedings, and 
appeals in inter partes reexamination proceedings and interference 
proceedings that are governed by the regulations in 37 CFR 41. Failure 
to comply with the appropriate regulations may result in dismissal of 
the appeal or denial of entry of the submission.
    This revision and extension of the information collection includes 
a line item to expressly specify certain filings made to the Board 
related to interference proceedings, including statements, motions, 
oppositions, and replies in preliminary and priority phases of an 
interference.
    Form Numbers: (AIA= America Invents Act; SB = Specimen Book).
     PTO/AIA/31: (Notice of Appeal from the Examiner to the 
Patent Trial and Appeal Board).
     PTO/SB/31: (Notice of Appeal).
     PTO/AIA/32: (Request for Oral Hearing before the Patent 
Trial and Appeal Board).
     PTO/SB/32: (Request for Oral Hearing before the Patent 
Trial and Appeal Board).
    Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved 
information collection.
    Affected Public: Private sector.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 12,529 respondents.
    Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 22,149 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses 
in this information collection will take respondents approximately 0.5 
to 120 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: 238,999 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-Hourly Cost Burden: 
$17,185,623.
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of 
Commerce, USPTO 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 0651-0063.
    Further information can be obtained by:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0063 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. 2023-20140 Filed 9-15-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P