[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 99 (Friday, May 23, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22063-22064]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-09357]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions,
and Approvals
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or
Agency) as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and
respondent burden, is announcing an opportunity for public comment on a
proposed extension of a collection of information by the Agency. Under
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Federal agencies are
required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each
proposed collection of information, and to allow 60 days for public
comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments on an
extension of an existing collection proposed by the Agency.
DATES: Submit comments on or before: July 22, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments identified by Information Collection 0651-
0088, Improving Customer Experience (OMB Circular A-11, Section 280
Implementation), by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Comments submitted
electronically, including attachments to https://www.regulations.gov,
will be posted to the docket unchanged.
Mail: Justin Isaac, Office of the Chief Administrative
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450,
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite
Information Collection 0651-0088, Improving Customer Experience (OMB
Circular A-11, Section 280 Implementation), in all correspondence
related to this collection. To confirm receipt of your comment(s),
please check regulations.gov, approximately 2-3 business days after
submission to verify posting (except allow 30 days for posting of
comments submitted by mail).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to Drew Hall, Government Information Specialist,
Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, via email to
[email protected], 571-270-1715.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Purpose
Under the PRA, (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520) Federal agencies must obtain
approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each
collection of information they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of
information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) and
includes Agency requests or requirements that members of the public
submit reports, keep records, or
[[Page 22064]]
provide information to a third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA
requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal
Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including
each proposed extension of an existing collection of information,
before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with
this requirement, USPTO is publishing notice of the proposed collection
of information set forth in this document.
Under the Government Service Delivery Improvement Act \1\ and the
21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act,\2\ along with OMB
guidance, agencies are obligated to continually improve the services
they provide the public and to collect qualitative and quantitative
data from the public to do so.
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\1\ 5 U.S.C. 321-24.
\2\ 44 U.S.C. 3501 note.
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The purpose of this request is to facilitate USPTO's ability to
collect feedback from the public to continue to improve its services,
thereby facilitating its compliance with statutory requirements and
general principles of good governance.
USPTO will only submit collections if they meet the following
criteria.
The collections are voluntary;
The collections are low-burden for respondents (based on
considerations of total burden hours or burden-hours per respondent)
and are low-cost for both the respondents and the Federal Government;
The collections are non-controversial;
Any collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions
from respondents who have experience with the program or may have
experience with the program in the near future;
Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected
only to the extent necessary and is not retained;
Information gathered is intended to be used for general
service improvement and program management purposes
The agency will follow the procedures specified in any
relevant OMB guidance for the required reporting to OMB of data from
surveys.
Outside of the reporting mentioned in the bullet
immediately above, if the Agency intends to release journey maps, user
personas, reports, or other data-related summaries stemming from this
collection, the Agency must include appropriate caveats around those
summaries, noting that conclusions should not be generalized beyond the
sample, considering the sample size and response rates. The Agency must
submit the data summary itself (e.g., the report) and the caveat
language mentioned above to OMB before it releases them outside the
Agency. OMB will engage in a passback process with the agency.
Method of Collection
The USPTO will collect this information by electronic means when
possible, as well as by mail, fax, telephone, technical discussions,
and in-person interviews. USPTO may also utilize observational
techniques to collect this information.
Data
Form Number(s): OMB Control No. 0651-0088.
Type of Review: Renewal of an existing collection.
B. Annual Reporting Burden
Affected Public: Collections will be targeted to the solicitation
of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or
may have experience with the program in the near future. Respondents
may include individuals, businesses, and organizations that interact
with a Federal Government agency or program, either directly or via a
Federal contractor.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,101,500.
Estimated Time per Response: Varied, dependent upon the data
collection method used. The possible response time to complete a
questionnaire or survey may be 3 minutes or up to 1.5 hours to
participate in an interview.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 100,800.
C. Public Comments
The USPTO invites comments on: (a) Whether the proposed collection
of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions
of the Agency, including whether the information will have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents,
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other
forms of information technology. Comments submitted in response to this
notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB
approval of this information collection; they also will become a matter
of public record.
Justin Isaac,
Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2025-09357 Filed 5-22-25; 8:45 am]
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