[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 118 (Monday, June 23, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26555-26560]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-11490]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Patent Cooperation Treaty
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comments.
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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-
0021 (Patent Cooperation Treaty). The purpose of this notice is to
allow 60 days for public comments preceding submission of the
information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
DATES: To ensure consideration, you must submit comments regarding this
information collection on or before August 22, 2025.
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-
0021 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 Rafael Bacares, Senior Legal Advisor,
International Patent Legal Administration at: United States Patent and
Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; 571-272-
3276; or [email protected] with ``0651-0021 comment'' in the
subject line. Additional information about this information collection
is also available at http://www.reginfo.gov under ``Information
Collection Review.''
[[Page 26556]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
This collection of information is required by the Patent
Cooperation Treaty (PCT), which became operational in June 1978 and is
administered by the International Bureau (IB) of the World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland. The provisions of
the PCT have been implemented by the United States in part IV of title
35 of the U.S. Code (chapters 35-37) and subpart C of title 37 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (37 CFR 1.401-1.499). The purpose of the
PCT is to provide a standardized filing format and procedure that
allows an applicant to seek protection for an invention in several
countries by filing one international application in one location, in
one language, and paying one initial set of fees. The information in
this collection is used by the public to submit a patent application
under the PCT and by the USPTO, to fulfill its obligation to process,
search, and examine the application as directed by the treaty.
The USPTO acts as the Receiving Office (RO/US) for international
applications filed by residents and nationals of the United States.
These applicants send most of their correspondence directly to the
USPTO, but they may also file certain documents directly with the IB.
The USPTO serves as an International Search Authority (ISA) to perform
searches and issue international search reports (ISR) and the written
opinions of international applications. The USPTO also issues
international preliminary reports on patentability (IPRP Chapter II)
when acting as an International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA).
The RO reviews the application and, if it contains all of the
necessary information, assigns a filing date to the application. The RO
maintains the home copy of the international application and forwards
the record copy of the application to the IB and the search copy to the
ISA. The IB maintains the record copy of all international applications
and publishes them 18 months after the earliest priority date, which is
the earliest date for which a benefit is claimed. The ISA performs a
search to determine whether there is any prior art relevant to the
claims of the international application. Subsequently, the ISA issues
an international search report and written opinion as to whether each
claim is novel, involves an inventive step, and is industrially
applicable. The ISA then forwards the international search report and
written opinion to the applicant and the IB. The IB will normally
publish the application and search report 18 months after the priority
date, unless early publication is requested by the applicant. Until
international publication, no third person or national or regional
office is allowed access to the international patent application unless
so requested or authorized by the applicant. If the applicant wishes to
withdraw the application (and does so before international
publication), international publication does not take place.
Under optional Chapter II of the Treaty, an applicant who has filed
an international application in a RO must file a Demand for an
international preliminary examination of the application by an IPEA,
such as the USPTO. A Demand, including the form and required fees, must
be filed within a prescribed time period. Usually, a Demand is filed
with amendments and/or arguments under PCT Article 34 addressing
objections raised in the Written Opinion of the International Search
Authority (WOISA). The International preliminary examination is a
second evaluation of the potential patentability of the claimed
invention, including its amendments filed pursuant to article 34, using
the same standards on which the written opinion of the ISA is based. A
copy of the examination report is sent to both the applicant and to the
IB. The IB then forwards a copy of the examination report to each
Office elected by the applicant.
II. Method of Collection
The items in this information collection may be submitted
electronically or in paper form by mail.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0651-0021.
Forms: (IB = International Bureau; IPEA = International Preliminary
Examination Authority; RO = Receiving Office; SB = Specimen Book).
PCT/RO/101 (Request and Fee Calculation Sheet)
PCT/RO/134 (Indications Relating to Deposited
Microorganism or Other Biological Material)
PCT/IB/372 (Notice of Withdrawal)
PCT/IPEA/401 (Demand and Fee Calculation Sheet)
PTO/SB/64PCT (Petition for Revival of an International
(PCT) Application for Patent Designating the U.S. Abandoned
Unintentionally Under 37 CFR 1.137(a))
PTO-1382 (Transmittal Letter to the United States
Receiving Office (RO/US))
PTO-1390 (Transmittal Letter to the United States
Designated/Elected Office (DO/E.O./US) Concerning a Filing Under 35
U.S.C. 371)
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: 412,493 respondents.
Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 412,493 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses
in this information collection will take the public approximately 15
minutes (0.25 hours) to 4 hours to complete. This includes the time to
gather the necessary information, create the document, and submit the
completed item(s) to the USPTO.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 343,739 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden: $153,651,333.
Table 1--Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Private Sector Respondents
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Estimated
Estimated Responses Estimated Estimated time for Estimated Rate \1\ annual
Item No. Item annual per annual response (hours) burden (hour/ ($/hour) respondent
respondents respondent responses year) cost burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (d)....................... (c) x (d) = (f) (e) x (f) =
(c) (e) (g)
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1............... Request and Fee 52,400 1 52,400 1......................... 52,400 $447 $23,422,800
Calculation Sheet
(Annex and Notes).
2............... Description/Claims/ 52,400 1 52,400 3......................... 157,200 447 70,268,400
Drawings/Abstracts.
3............... Application Data Sheet 108,371 1 108,371 0.38 (23 minutes)......... 41,181 447 18,407,907
(35 U.S.C. 371
Applications).
4............... Transmittal Letter to 13,926 1 13,926 0.25 (15 minutes)......... 3,482 447 1,556,454
the United States
Receiving Office (RO/
US).
[[Page 26557]]
5............... Transmittal Letter to 94,228 1 94,228 0.25 (15 minutes)......... 23,557 447 10,529,979
the United States
Designated/Elected
Office (DO/EO/US)
Concerning a
Submission Under 35
U.S.C. 371.
6............... PCT/Model of Power of 13,371 1 13,371 0.25 (15 minutes)......... 3,343 447 1,494,321
Attorney.
7............... PCT/Model of General 1,486 1 1,486 0.25 (15 minutes)......... 372 447 166,284
Power of Attorney.
8............... Indications Relating to 10 1 10 0.25 (15 minutes)......... 3 447 1,341
a Deposited
Microorganism.
9............... Response to Invitation 18,609 1 18,609 2......................... 37,218 447 16,636,446
to Correct Defects.
10.............. Request for 1,989 1 1,989 0.50 (30 minutes)......... 995 447 444,765
Rectification of
Obvious Errors.
11.............. Demand and Fee 688 1 688 1......................... 688 447 307,536
Calculation Sheet
(Annex and Notes).
12.............. Amendments (Article 34) 611 1 611 1......................... 611 447 273,117
13.............. Fee Authorization...... 48,600 1 48,600 0.25 (15 minutes)......... 12,150 447 5,431,050
14.............. Requests to Transmit 514 1 514 0.25 (15 minutes)......... 129 447 57,663
Copies of
International
Application.
15.............. Withdrawal of 225 1 225 0.25 (15 minutes)......... 56 447 25,032
International
Application.
16.............. English Translations 3,238 1 3,238 2......................... 6,476 447 2,894,772
After Thirty Months
from Priority Date.
17.............. Petition for Revival of 928 1 928 1......................... 928 447 414,816
an International
Application for Patent
Designating the U.S.
Abandoned
Unintentionally Under
37 CFR 1.137(a).
18.............. Petitions to the 49 1 49 4......................... 196 447 87,612
Commissioner for
International
Applications.
19.............. Petitions to the 424 1 424 4......................... 1,696 447 758,112
Commissioner in
National Stage
Examination.
20.............. Acceptance of an 220 1 220 2......................... 440 447 196,680
Unintentionally
Delayed Claim for
Priority (37 CFR
1.78(a)(3)).
21.............. Request for the 206 1 206 3......................... 618 447 276,246
Restoration of the
Right of Priority.
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Totals............................... 412,493 .......... 412,493 .......................... 343,739 ........ 153,651,333
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Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden:
$452,878,858. 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,
translations, drawings, and postage, is $452,878,858.
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\1\ 2023 Report of the Economic Survey, published by the
Committee on Economics of Legal Practice of the American
Intellectual Property Law Association; pg. F-41. 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).
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Filing Fees
There are fees associated with submitting the information in this
collection, for a total of $285,961,858 per year, as outlined in Table
2 below.
Table 2--Filing Fees
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Estimated
Item No. Fee code Item annual Filing Non-hourly
responses fee ($) cost burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) =
(c)
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1................. 1702 Request and Fee Calculation Sheet 26 $1,457 $37,882
(Annex and Notes--International
Filing Fee) first 30 pages.
1................. 1701 Request and Fee Calculation Sheet 11,865 1,347 15,982,155
(Annex and Notes--International
Filing Fee electronically filed
without ePCT or PCT-EASY zip
file).
1................. 1710 Request and Fee Calculation Sheet 40,433 1,238 50,056,054
(Annex and Notes--International
Filing Fee electronically filed
with ePCT or PCT-EASY zip file).
2................. 1614 [PCT National Stage] Claims--extra 8,143 600 4,885,800
independent (over three)
(Undiscounted entity).
2................. 2614 PCT National Stage] Claims--extra 2,724 240 653,760
independent (over three) (Small
entity).
2................. 3614 PCT National Stage] Claims--extra 100 120 12,000
independent (over three) (Micro
entity).
2................. 1615 [PCT National Stage] Claims--extra 11,162 200 2,232,400
total (over 20) (Undiscounted
entity).
2................. 2615 [PCT National Stage] Claims--extra 7,010 80 560,800
total (over 20) (Small entity).
[[Page 26558]]
2................. 3615 [PCT National Stage] Claims--extra 204 40 8,160
total (over 20) (Micro entity).
2................. 1616 [PCT National Stage] Claim-- 453 925 419,025
multiple dependent (Undiscounted
entity).
2................. 2616 [PCT National Stage] Claim-- 509 370 188,330
multiple dependent (Small entity).
2................. 3616 [PCT National Stage] Claim-- 54 185 9,990
multiple dependent (Micro entity).
3................. 1681 National Stage Application Size 4,273 450 1,922,850
Fee--for each additional 50
sheets that exceed 100 sheets
(Undiscounted entity).
3................. 2681 National Stage Application Size 3,175 180 571,500
Fee--for each additional 50
sheets that exceed 100 sheets
(Small entity).
3................. 3681 National Stage Application Size 32 90 2,880
Fee--for each additional 50
sheets that exceed 100 sheets
(Micro entity).
3................. 1602 Search fee--regardless of whether 6,586 2,400 15,806,400
there is a corresponding
application (see 35 U.S.C. 361(d)
and PCT Rule 16) (Undiscounted
entity).
3................. 2602 Search fee--regardless of whether 14,049 960 13,487,040
there is a corresponding
application (see 35 U.S.C. 361(d)
and PCT Rule 16) (Small entity).
3................. 3602 Search fee--regardless of whether 722 480 346,560
there is a corresponding
application (see 35 U.S.C. 361(d)
and PCT Rule 16) (Micro entity).
3................. 1604 Supplemental search fee when 265 2,400 636,000
required, per additional
invention (Undiscounted entity).
3................. 2604 Supplemental search fee when 528 960 506,880
required, per additional
invention (Small entity).
3................. 3604 Supplemental search fee when 31 480 14,880
required, per additional
invention (Micro entity).
3................. 1631 Basic National Stage Fee 78,355 350 27,424,250
(Undiscounted entity).
3................. 2631 Basic National Stage Fee (Small 28,565 140 3,999,1000
entity).
3................. 3631 Basic National Stage Fee (Micro 1,451 70 101,570
entity).
3................. N/A National Stage Search Fee--U.S. 741 0 0
was the ISA or IPEA and all
claims satisfy PCT Article 33(1)-
(4).
3................. 1641 National Stage Search Fee--U.S. 2,596 150 389,400
was the ISA (Undiscounted entity).
3................. 2641 National Stage Search Fee--U.S. 6,815 60 408,900
was the ISA (Small entity).
3................. 3641 National Stage Search Fee--U.S. 213 30 6,390
was the ISA (Micro entity).
3................. 1642 National Stage Search Fee--search 74,373 580 43,136,340
report prepared and provided to
USPTO (Undiscounted entity).
3................. 2642 National Stage Search Fee--search 20,551 232 4,767,832
report prepared and provided to
USPTO (Small entity).
3................. 3642 National Stage Search Fee--search 1,096 116 127,136
report prepared and provided to
USPTO (Micro entity).
3................. 1632 National Stage Search Fee--all 1,116 770 859,320
other situations (Undiscounted
entity).
3................. 2632 National Stage Search Fee--all 766 308 235,928
other situations (Small entity).
3................. 3632 National Stage Search Fee--all 104 154 16,016
other situations (Micro entity).
3................. 1633 National Stage Examination Fee-- 78,048 880 68,682,240
all other situations
(Undiscounted entity).
3................. 2633 National Stage Examination Fee-- 28,108 352 9,894,016
all other situations (Small
entity).
3................. 3633 National Stage Examination Fee-- 1,410 176 248,160
all other situations (Micro
entity).
3................. 1605 Preliminary examination fee--U.S. 146 705 102,930
was the ISA (Undiscounted entity).
3................. 2605 Preliminary examination fee--U.S. 375 282 105,750
was the ISA (Small entity).
3................. 3605 Preliminary examination fee--U.S. 58 141 8,178
was the ISA (Micro entity).
3................. 1606 Preliminary examination fee--U.S. 94 880 82,720
was not the ISA (Undiscounted
entity).
3................. 2606 Preliminary examination fee--U.S. 23 352 8,096
was not the ISA (Small entity).
3................. 3606 Preliminary examination fee--U.S. 1 176 176
was not the ISA (Micro entity).
3................. 1607 Supplemental examination fee per 5 705 3,525
additional invention
(Undiscounted entity).
3................. 2607 Supplemental examination fee per 23 282 6,486
additional invention (Small
entity).
3................. 3607 Supplemental examination fee per 1 141 141
additional invention (Micro
entity).
3................. 1617 Search fee, examination fee or 20,529 170 3,489,930
oath of declaration after thirty
months from priority date
(Undiscounted entity).
3................. 2617 Search fee, examination fee or 11,479 68 780,572
oath of declaration after thirty
months from priority date (Small
entity).
3................. 3617 Search fee, examination fee or 250 34 8,500
oath of declaration after thirty
months from priority date (Micro
entity).
4................. 1601 Transmittal fee (Undiscounted 32,857 285 9,364,245
entity).
4................. 2601 Transmittal fee (Small entity).... 18,756 114 2,138,184
4................. 3601 Transmittal fee (Micro entity).... 787 57 44,859
11................ N/A Demand and Fee Calculation Sheet 688 216 148,608
(Annex and Notes).
[[Page 26559]]
14................ 1621 Transmitting application to Intl. 239 285 68,115
Bureau to act as receiving office
(Undiscounted entity).
14................ 2621 Transmitting application to Intl. 242 114 27,588
Bureau to act as receiving office
(Small entity).
14................ 3621 Transmitting application to Intl. 33 57 1,881
Bureau to act as receiving office
(Micro entity).
16................ 1618 English translation after thirty 2,263 150 339,450
months from priority date
(Undiscounted entity).
16................ 2618 English translation after thirty 1,328 60 79,680
months from priority date (Small
entity).
16................ 3618 English translation after thirty 84 30 2,520
months from priority date (Micro
entity).
17................ 1628 Petition for the extension of the 52 2,260 117,520
twelve-month (six-month for
designs) period for filing a
subsequent application
(undiscounted entity).
17................ 2628 Petition for the extension of the 78 904 70,512
twelve-month (six-month for
designs) period for filing a
subsequent application (small
entity).
17................ 3628 Petition for the extension of the 20 452 9,040
twelve-month (six-month for
designs) period for filing a
subsequent application (micro
entity).
20................ 1454 Petition for the delayed 83 2,260 187,580
submission of a priority or
benefit claim, an unintentionally
delayed claim for priority or
benefit, delay less than or equal
to two years (undiscounted
entity).
20................ 2454 Petition for the delayed 127 904 114,808
submission of a priority or
benefit claim, delay less than or
equal to two years (small entity).
20................ 3454 Petition for the delayed 10 452 4,520
submission of a priority or
benefit claim, delay less than or
equal to two years (micro entity).
20................ 1469 Petition for the delayed 2 3,000 6,000
submission of a priority or
benefit claim, delay greater than
two years (undiscounted entity).
20................ 2469 Petition for the delayed 1 1,200 1,200
submission of a priority or
benefit claim, delay greater than
two years (small entity).
20................ 3469 Petition for the delayed 1 600 600
submission of a priority or
benefit claim, delay greater than
two years (micro entity).
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Totals........ .............. .................................. 527,287 ........ 285,961,858
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Translations
If the international application was filed in another language and
was not published under PCT Article 21(2) in English, applicants
entering the national stage in the United States are required to file
an English translation of the international application.\2\
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\2\ https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/mpep-9025-appx-t.html#d0e363622.
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A processing fee is required for accepting an English translation
after 30 months from the priority date. This requirement may carry
additional costs for the applicant to contract for a translation of the
documents in questions. The USPTO believes that the average length of
the document to be translated is 10 pages and that it will cost
approximately $140 per page for the translation for an average
translation cost of $1,400 per document.
The USPTO estimates that it will receive approximately 3,238
English translations after 30 months from the priority date annually,
for a total of $4,533,200 per year for English translations of non-
English language documents for PCT applications.
Drawings
Applicants may also incur costs for drawings that are submitted as
part of PCT applications. Some applicants may produce their own
drawings, while others may contract out the work to various patent
illustration firms. For the purpose of estimating burden for this
collection, the USPTO considers that all applicants will have their
drawings prepared by these firms. According to WIPO information, the
average cost to produce a drawing is $1,150.
The USPTO expects that it will receive 141,166 sets of drawings for
a total of $162,340,900 per year for drawing costs for PCT
applications.
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. The USPTO estimates that
1% of the 412,493 items will be submitted in the mail, resulting in
4,125 mailed items. The USPTO estimates that the average postage cost
for a mailed submission, using a Priority Mail legal flat rate
envelope, is $10.40. Therefore, the USPTO estimates the total annual
mailing costs for this information collection are $42,900.
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,
[[Page 26560]]
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. 2025-11490 Filed 6-20-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P