[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 117 (Monday, June 17, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51313-51315]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-13275]


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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; Recording Assignments

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-
0027 (Recording Assignments). 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 August 16, 2024.

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.
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0027 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
     Federal eRulemaking 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: Request for additional information 
should be directed to Joyce R. Johnson, Manager, Assignment Division, 
United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, 
VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 703-756-1265 or by email at 
[email protected] with ``0651-0027 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

    This collection of information is required by 35 U.S.C. 261 and 262 
for patents and 15 U.S.C. 1057 and 1060 for trademarks. These statutes 
authorize the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to 
record patent and trademark assignment documents, including transfers 
of properties (i.e., patents and trademarks), liens, licenses, 
assignments of interest, security interests, mergers, and explanations 
of transactions or other documents that record the transfer of 
ownership of a particular patent or trademark property from one party 
to another. Assignments are recorded for applications, patents, and 
trademark registrations.
    The USPTO administers these statutes through 37 CFR 2.146, 2.171, 
and 37 CFR part 3. These regulations permit the public, corporations, 
other federal agencies, and government-owned or government-controlled 
corporations to submit patent and trademark assignment documents and 
other documents related to title transfers to the USPTO to be recorded. 
In accordance with 37 CFR 3.54, the recording of an assignment document 
by the USPTO is an administrative action and not a determination of the 
validity of the document or of the effect that the document has on the 
title to an application, patent, or trademark.
    Once the assignment documents are recorded, they are available for 
public inspection. The only exceptions are those documents that are 
sealed under secrecy orders according to 37 CFR 3.58, or related to 
unpublished patent applications maintained in confidence under 35 
U.S.C. 122 and 37 CFR 1.14. The public uses these records to conduct 
ownership and chain-of-title searches. The public may view these 
records either at the USPTO Public Search Facility or at the National 
Archives and Records Administration, depending on the date they were 
recorded. The public may also search patent and trademark assignment 
information online through the USPTO website.

[[Page 51314]]

    This information collection covers the recordation of patent and 
trademark assignments. In order to record an assignment, the respondent 
must submit an assignment document along with the appropriate cover 
sheet. The USPTO provides two forms for this purpose, the Recordation 
Form Cover Sheet--Trademarks Only (PTO-1594), and the Recordation Form 
Cover Sheet--Patents Only (PTO-1595), which capture all of the 
necessary data for accurately recording various assignments. Customers 
may submit assignments electronically by using Assignment Center, which 
is available on the USPTO website.\1\ This system allows customers to 
fill out the required cover sheet information online using web-based 
forms and then attach the assignment documents to be submitted for 
recordation. The USPTO also provides paper forms that may be used to 
record an assignment. These forms may be downloaded in PDF format from 
the USPTO website.\2\
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    \1\ https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov.
    \2\ https://www.uspto.gov/forms/pto1595.pdf and https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/pto1594.pdf, respectively.
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II. Method of Collection

    The items in this information collection can be submitted 
electronically, or in paper form by mail or fax.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0651-0027.
    Forms:

 PTO-1594 (Recordation Form Cover Sheet--Trademarks Only)
 PTO-1595 (Recordation Form Cover Sheet--Patents Only)

    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.
    Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 724,442 respondents.
    Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 724,442 responses.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses 
in this information collection will take the public approximately 30 
minutes (0.5 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: 362,222 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden: $103,233,270.

                                       Table 1--Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Private Sector Respondents
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                                   Estimated    Responses                                               Estimated annual
   Item No.          Item           annual         per       Estimated annual    Estimated time for      burden (hours/   Rate \3\ ($/  Estimated annual
                                  respondents   respondent      responses         response (hours)           year)           hour)           burden
                                          (a)          (b)    (a) x (b) = (c)  (d)...................    (c) x (d) = (e)          (f)    (e) x (f) = (g)
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1............  Patent                 637,311            1            637,311  0.5 (30 minutes)......            318,656         $285        $90,816,960
                Assignments.
2............  Trademark               87,131            1             87,131  0.5 (30 minutes)......             43,566          285         12,416,310
                Assignments.
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                  Totals.......       724,442  ...........            724,442  ......................            362,222  ...........        103,233,270
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    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden: 
$9,148,303. There are no capital start-up costs, maintenance 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 filing fees and 
postage, is $9,148,303.
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    \3\ In this information collection the USPTO uses an average of 
the rates for intellectual property attorneys and paralegals/
paraprofessionals. The USPTO uses the average billing rate for 
intellectual property work in all firms, which is $447 per hour 
(https://www.aipla.org/home/news-publications/economic-survey. 2023 
Report of the Economic Survey, published by the Committee on 
Economics of Legal Practice of the American Intellectual Property 
Law Association (AIPLA); pg. F-41.). The USPTO uses the average 
billing rate for paralegals/paraprofessionals, which is $122 per 
hour (https://nala.org/paralegal-info/). 2022 National Utilization 
and Compensation Survey Report published by the National Association 
of Legal Assistants (NALA); pg. 38.
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Filing Fees

    The filing fees in this information collection are listed in the 
table below.

                                              Table 2--Filing Fees
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                                                                     Estimated
         Item No.             Fee                 Item                 annual     Estimated   Estimated non-hour
                              code                                   responses       cost         cost burden
                                                                            (a)          (b)     (a) x (b) = (c)
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1.........................     8021  Recording each patent                  214          $50             $10,700
                                      assignment, agreement or
                                      other paper, per property--
                                      if not submitted
                                      electronically.
2.........................     8521  Recording trademark                 87,131           40           3,485,240
                                      assignment, agreement or
                                      other ownership document,
                                      first mark per document.
2.........................     8522  Recording trademark                226,081           25           5,652,025
                                      assignment, agreement or
                                      other ownership document,
                                      second and subsequent marks
                                      in the same document.
                                                                   ---------------------------------------------
                                        Totals....................      313,426  ...........           9,147,965
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Postage Costs

    Although the USPTO prefers that the items in this information 
collection be submitted electronically, responses may be submitted by 
mail through the United States Postal Service (USPS). The USPTO 
estimates that approximately 243 items will be submitted in the mail. 
The USPTO estimates that the average postage cost for a mailed 
submission, using a one-ounce large flat envelope mailed First Class, 
will be $1.39. Therefore, the USPTO estimates the total mailing costs 
for this information collection at $338.

[[Page 51315]]

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. The 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, the 
USPTO cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so.

Justin Isaac,
Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative 
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2024-13275 Filed 6-14-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P