[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 15, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42452-42453]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10659]


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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 Petitions Related to Application and Reexamination 
Processing Fees

    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 comments 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 February 15, 2024 during a 60-day comment period 
(89 FR 11819). This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public 
comment.
    Agency: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of 
Commerce.
    Title: Patent Petitions Related to Application and Reexamination 
Processing Fees.
    OMB Control Number: 0651-0059.
    Needs and Uses: The United States Patent and Trademark Office 
(USPTO) is required by 35 U.S.C. 131 et seq. to examine an application 
for patent and, when appropriate, issue a patent. The USPTO also is 
required to publish patent applications, with certain exceptions, 
promptly after the expiration of a period of eighteen months from the 
earliest filing date for which a benefit is sought under Title 35, 
United States Code.
    USPTO petitions practice provides an opportunity for a patent 
applicant or owner to supply additional information that may be 
required in order for the USPTO to further process an application or 
patent. For other USPTO actions, review is in the form of 
administrative review obtained via submission of a petition to the 
USPTO. Many actions taken by the USPTO during its examination of an 
application for patent or for reissue of a patent, or during 
reexamination of a patent, are subject to review by an appeal to the 
Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Appeals to PTAB are covered in 
other OMB approved information collections (0651-0063 and 0651-0069).
    This information collection covers petitions filed in patent 
applications and reexamination proceedings that, when submitted to the 
USPTO, must be accompanied by the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(f), (g), 
or (h). This information collection also covers the transmittals for 
the petition fees.

Forms: (AIA = America Invents Act; SB = Specimen Book)
     PTO/AIA/17p (Processing Fee Under 37 CFR 1.17(f), (g), & 
(h) Transmittal)
     PTO/SB/23 (Petition for Extension of Time Under 37 CFR 
1.136(b))
     PTO/SB/24A (Petition for Express Abandonment to Avoid 
Publication Under 37 CFR 1.138(c))
     PTO/SB/28 (Petition to Make Special Under Accelerated 
Examination Program)
     PTO/SB/140 (Petition to Withdraw an Application From Issue 
After Payment of the Issue Fee Under 37 CFR 1.313(c))

    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: 50,953 respondents.
    Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 50,953 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses 
in this information collection will take the public approximately 
between 12 minutes (0.20 hours) and 12 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: 82,237 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-Hourly Cost Burden: 
$4,023,729.
    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.

[[Page 42453]]

    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, 0651-0059.
    Further information can be obtained by:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0059 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. 2024-10659 Filed 5-14-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P