[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 8, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30053-30055]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-12637]
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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; Legal Processes
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 of an existing information collection: 0651-0046 (Legal
Processes). 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 September 8, 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 ``0651-0046
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: Requests for additional information
should be directed to Kyu Lee, Office of General Law at: United States
Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450;
571-272-3000; or [email protected] with ``0651-0046 comment'' in the
subject line. Additional information about this
[[Page 30054]]
information collection is also available at http://www.reginfo.gov
under ``Information Collection Review.''
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
This collection covers information requirements related to civil
actions and claims involving current and former employees of the United
States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The rules for these legal
processes may be found under 37 CFR part 104, which outlines procedures
for service of process, demands for employee testimony and production
of documents in legal proceedings, reports of unauthorized testimony,
employee indemnification, and filing claims against the USPTO under the
Federal Tort Claims Act (28 U.S.C. 2672) and the corresponding
Department of Justice regulations (28 CFR part 14). The public may also
petition the USPTO Office of General Counsel under 37 CFR 104.3 to
waive or suspend these rules in extraordinary cases.
The procedures under 37 CFR part 104 ensure that service of process
intended for current and former employees of the USPTO is handled
properly. The USPTO will only accept service of process for an employee
acting in an official capacity. This collection is necessary so that
respondents or their representatives can serve a summons or complaint
on the USPTO, demand employee testimony and documents related to a
legal proceeding, or file a claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act.
Respondents may also petition the USPTO to waive or suspend these rules
for legal processes. This collection is also necessary so that current
and former USPTO employees may properly forward service and demands to
the Office of General Counsel, report unauthorized testimony, and
request indemnification. The USPTO covers current employees as
respondents under this information collection even though their
responses do not require approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act. In
those instances where both current and former employees may respond to
the USPTO, the agency estimates that the number of respondents will be
small.
For filing claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the public may
use Standard Form 95 ``Claim for Damage, Injury, or Death,'' which is
provided by the Department of Justice.
II. Method of Collection
Items in this information collection must be submitted by mail.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0651-0046.
Forms:
Standard Form 95 (Claim for Damage, Injury, or Death).
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved information
collection.
Affected Public: Private sector.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 309 respondents.
Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 309 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses
in this information collection will take the public approximately 5
minutes (0.08 hours) to 6 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: 131 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden: $58,219.
Table 1--Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Private Sector Respondents
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Estimated Responses Estimated annual
Item No. Item annual per Estimated annual Estimated time for Estimated burden Rate \1\ ($/ respondent cost
respondents respondent responses response (hours) (hour/year) hour) burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (c) (d)............... (c) x (d) = (e) (f) (e) x (f) = (g)
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1............... Petition to Waive 5 1 5 0.50 (30 minutes). 3 $447 $1,341
Rules.
2............... Service of Process 243 1 243 0.08 (5 minutes).. 19 447 8,493
3............... Forwarding Service 7 1 7 0.17 (10 minutes). 1 447 447
4............... Employee Testimony 33 1 33 2................. 66 447 29,502
and Production of
Documents in
Legal Proceedings.
5............... Forwarding Demands 10 1 10 0.17 (10 minutes). 2 447 894
6............... Report of 1 1 1 0.50 (30 minutes). 1 447 447
Unauthorized
Testimony.
7............... Report of Possible 3 1 3 0.50 (30 minutes). 2 447 894
Indemnification
Cases.
8............... Employee 1 1 1 0.50 (30 minutes). 1 109.42 109
Indemnification.
9............... Tort Claims....... 6 1 6 6................. 36 447 16,092
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Totals...... .................. 309 ........... 309 .................. 131 ........... 58,219
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Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-Hourly Cost Burden: $1,379.
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-hourly cost
burden for this information collection, in the form of filing fees and
postage, is $1,379.
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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 (AIPLA); pg. F-41. The USPTO
uses the average billing rate for intellectual property work in all
firms which is $447 per hour (https://www.aipla.org/home/news-publications/economic-survey).
2025 OPM Salary Table for the Washington Locality Pay Area:
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/pdf/2025/DCB_h.pdf.
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Filing Fees
This collection has a filing fee associated with the petition to
waive or suspend the legal process rules under 37 CFR 104.3. The fee is
listed in Table 2 below.
[[Page 30055]]
Table 2--Filing Fees
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Estimated annual Non-hourly cost
Item No. Item responses Filing fee ($) burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (c)
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1......................... Petition to waive or 5 $130 $650
suspend the legal process
rules under 37 CFR 104.3.
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Totals................ ........................... 5 ................. 650
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Postage Costs
The USPTO estimates that all submissions in this collection will be
submitted by mail. The USPTO estimates that 308 items will be submitted
by mail in a large envelope. The average first-class postage for a
four-ounce mailed submission in a large envelope is $2.31, resulting in
a total of $711 for submissions other than a Service of Process. The
USPTO estimates that 1 Service of Process will be submitted by
certified mail in a Priority Mail flat-rate envelope with a return
receipt. The USPTO estimates that the average cost for a certified
Priority mail flat-rate envelope with a return receipt is $17.87,
resulting in $18 for Service of Process submissions. Therefore, the
USPTO estimates the total combined postage cost for this collection is
$729.
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. 2025-12637 Filed 7-7-25; 8:45 am]
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