[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 189 (Thursday, October 2, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47732-47734]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-19357]
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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 and PTAB Pro Bono Programs
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-
0082 (Patent and PTAB Pro Bono Programs). The purpose of this notice is
to allow 60
[[Page 47733]]
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 December 1, 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-
0082 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:
Patents: Grant Corboy, Staff Attorney, Office of Enrollment and
Discipline, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450,
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; 571-270-3102; or [email protected].
PTAB: Stacey G. White, Lead Administrative Patent Judge, Patent
Trial and Appeal Board, Texas Regional Office, 207 S Houston St,
Dallas, TX 75202; 469-295-9061; or [email protected].
Include ``0651-0082 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
The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), Public Law 112-29 Sec.
32 (2011) directs the USPTO to work with and support intellectual
property law associations across the country in the establishment of
pro bono programs designed to assist financially under-resourced
independent inventors and small businesses (also referred to as
``regional hubs''). To support this, the USPTO works with and supports
various non-profit organizations to operate a series of autonomous
regional hubs that endeavor to match under-resourced inventors with
volunteer patent practitioners across the United States. The regional
hubs comprise law schools, bar associations, innovation/entrepreneurial
organizations, and arts-focused lawyer referral services that are
strategically located to provide access to patent pro bono services
across all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
To support the purposes described above, the Patent Pro Bono Survey
collects information regarding the activity of the regional hubs. The
USPTO works with the Pro Bono Advisory Council (PBAC) to determine what
information is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of each regional
hub's operations. The PBAC is a well-established group of patent
practitioners and thought leaders in intellectual property who provide
support and guidance to the regional hubs across the country. The
collected data provides the USPTO with valuable information, including
the number of inventor inquiries, referral sources, number of pro bono
applicants successfully matched with patent practitioners, and types of
patent filings. The USPTO, PBAC, and the regional hubs, are responsible
for the quarterly collection of this data.
The USPTO's Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), collaborates with
the PTAB Bar Association (PTAB Bar Assoc.), a non-profit organization
that has taken up the task of helping secure the just, speedy, and
inexpensive resolution of PTAB proceedings and serves the public by
coordinating pro bono opportunities. The PTAB Bar Assoc. established a
national clearinghouse that acts as a matchmaker connecting under-
resourced inventors with volunteer patent practitioners across the
United States for assistance in preparing and arguing ex parte appeals
before the PTAB. The PTAB Bar Assoc.'s national clearinghouse provides
nationwide access to legal representation for pro bono ex parte appeal
services. The PTAB Pro Bono Program supports the purposes described
above by facilitating the availability of pro bono services for
proceedings before the PTAB, which the USPTO believes can help reduce
the financial burden on under-resourced inventors seeking ex parte
appeal assistance.
This information collection covers the surveys used in the Patent
and PTAB Pro Bono Programs. The surveys gather information about the
effectiveness of the programs and how participants utilize the
programs' resources. The information, at its highest level, allows the
USPTO to determine whether the regional hubs and national clearinghouse
are matching qualified under-resourced inventors with volunteer patent
practitioners and help estimate the total economic benefit derived by
under-resourced inventors in the form of donated legal services. This
information also helps the USPTO determine if the regional hubs and
clearinghouse are effectively serving under-resourced inventors and
whether they need additional support.
II. Method of Collection
The items in this information collection are submitted
electronically.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0651-0082.
Forms:
USPTO/550 (Patent Pro Bono Survey)
USPTO/552 (PTAB Pro Bono Survey)
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: Quarterly; annually.
Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 22 respondents.
Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 85 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses
in this information collection will take the public approximately 1.75
hours (105 minutes) to complete. This includes the time to gather the
necessary information, create the document, and submit the completed
item to the USPTO.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 149 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden: $9,536.
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Table 1--Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Private Sector Respondents
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Estimated
Estimated Responses per Estimated annual Estimated time for Estimated Rate \1\ ($/ annual
Item No. Item annual respondent responses response (hours) burden (hour/ hour) respondent
respondents year) cost burden
................ (a) (b) (a) x (b) = (c) (d).................. (c) x (d) = (f) (e) x (f) =
(e) (g)
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1........... Patent Pro Bono 21 4 84 1.75 (105 minutes)... 147 $64 $9,408
Survey (USPTO/
550).
2........... PTAB Pro Bono 1 1 1 1.75 (105 minutes)... 2 $64 $128
Survey (USPTO/
552).
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Totals.. ................ 22 .............. 85 ..................... 149 .............. $9,536
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\1\ The USPTO uses the mean hourly wage ($64) for administrators
according to the data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2024
Occupational Employment Statistics Profile (occupation code 11-
1021); https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm).
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Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden: $0. There
are no capital start-up costs, maintenance costs, recordkeeping costs,
filing fees, or postage costs associated with this information
collection.
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. 2025-19357 Filed 10-1-25; 8:45 am]
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