[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 243 (Monday, December 22, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59798-59800]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23624]
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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; Law School Clinic Certification Program
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 (hereafter
``USPTO'' or ``Agency''), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, invites comments on the extension and revision of an existing
information collection: 0651-0081 (Law School Clinic Certification
Program). 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 February 20, 2026.
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-
0081 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.
Telephone: Dahlia Girgis, Office of Enrollment and
Discipline, 571-272-4097.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to Dahlia Girgis at: Office of Enrollment and
Discipline, United States Patent and Trademark
[[Page 59799]]
Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; 571-272-4097; or
[email protected] with ``0651-0081 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
Public Law 113-227 (Dec. 16, 2014) requires the United States
Patent and Trademark Office to establish regulations and procedures for
application to, and participation in, the USPTO Law School Clinic
Certification Program. The Program allows students enrolled in a
participating law school's clinic to practice patent or trademark law
before the USPTO under the direct supervision of an approved faculty
clinic supervisor. Each clinic provides legal services on a pro bono
basis for clients who qualify for assistance from the law school's
clinic. By drafting, filing, and prosecuting patent and trademark
applications, students gain valuable experience that would otherwise be
unavailable to them while in law school. The program also facilitates
the provision of pro bono services to patent and trademark applicants
who lack the financial resources necessary for traditional legal
representation. Currently, 74 law schools participate in the program.
This information collection covers the applications from law
schools that wish to enter the program, faculty advisors who seek to
become a faculty clinic supervisor, and students who seek to
participate in this program. The collection also includes the required
semi-annual reports from participating law school clinics and biennial
renewals required by the program. With this renewal, the USPTO is
renumbering the items within this information collection to match their
current arrangement.
II. Method of Collection
Items in this information collection may be submitted as electronic
submissions. Applicants may also submit the information in paper form
by mail, fax, or hand delivery.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0651-0081.
Forms: (LS = Law School)
PTO-158LS (Application for Limited Recognition in USPTO
Law School Program for Law Students to Practice Before the USPTO)
PTO-159LS (Semi-Annual Law School Clinic Certification
Program Reporting Sec. 11.17(b) Requirements for Participation in the
USPTO Law School Clinic Certification Program)
PTO-160LS (Law School Clinic Certification Program
Reporting)
PTO-161LS (Application by Law School Faculty Member to
Become a Faculty Clinic Supervisor)
PTO-162LS (Law School Clinic Certification Program Renewal
Application)
Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved
information collection.
Affected Public: Private sector; Individuals or Households.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
Frequency: On occasion; semiannually; biennially.
Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 951 respondents.
Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 1,025 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses
in this information collection will take the public approximately 30
minutes (0.50 hours) to 30 hours 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: 1,330 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden: $75,298.
Table 1--Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Private Sector Respondents
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Estimated Responses Estimated annual
Item No. Item annual per Estimated annual Estimated time for Estimated burden Rate \1\ ($/ respondent cost
respondents respondent responses response (hours) (hour/year) hr) burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (c) (d)................... (c) x (d) = (e) (f) (e) x (f) = (g)
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1............ Application by 5 1 5 30.................... 150 $67.28 $10,092
Law School to
Enter the
Program.
2............ Semi-annual 74 2 148 5..................... 740 67.28 49,787
Report Required
of Law School
Clinics.
3............ Biennial Renewal 35 1 35 0.50 (30 minutes)..... 18 67.28 1,211
Application by
Law School.
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Totals..... ................. 114 ............ 188 ...................... 908 ............ 61,090
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\1\ The USPTO expects that university faculty members will complete these items in this information collection at an estimated rate of $67.28 per hour.
The faculty rate is found in the May 2024 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics tables (25-1112 Law Teachers, Postsecondary). While no exact
number is listed as a mean hourly wage, USPTO reached the estimated rate by taking the mean annual wage ($139,950) and dividing it by 2,080, which is
the number of annual work hours based on a 40-hour work week; https://data.bls.gov/oesprofile/.
Table 2--Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Individual and Household Respondents
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Estimated Responses Estimated annual
Item No. Item annual per Estimated annual Estimated time for Estimated burden Rate \2\ ($/ respondent cost
respondents respondent responses response (hours) (hour/year) hr) burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (c) (d)................... (c) x (d) = (e) (f) (e) x (f) = (g)
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4............ Application by 7 1 7 1..................... 7 $67.28 $471
Law School
Faculty Member
to Become a
Faculty Clinic
Supervisor.
[[Page 59800]]
5............ Application for 830 1 830 0.50 (30 minutes)..... 415 33.10 13,737
Limited
Recognition for
Law Students.
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Totals..... ................. 837 ............ 837 ...................... 422 ............ 14,208
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\2\ The wage rate for Item 2 is taken from the same source in Table 1. The cost for law students applying to participate in the program (Item 3) is
estimated to be at the 50% hourly rate for legal occupations (BLS 23-0000 Legal Occupations) which is $33.10 per hour, as found in the May 2024
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics tables; https://data.bls.gov/oesprofile/. This accounts for law students' possible employment in various
entry level legal positions.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden: $61.
There are no maintenance costs, capital start-up costs, recordkeeping
costs, or filing fees 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 postage, is $61.
Postage
Submissions under the Law School Clinic are accepted via email,
postal mail, and hand delivery. The USPTO expects that only five (5)
submissions will be submitted through the U.S. Postal Service. The
remaining items will be submitted electronically. The average postage
cost for a mailed submission, using a Priority Mail flat rate legal
envelope is $12.10. Therefore, the USPTO estimates that the total
postage costs for the mailed submissions in this information collection
will total $61.
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 advised that the entire
comment--including PII--may be made publicly available at any time.
While one may request in a comment to withhold PII from public view,
the USPTO cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so.
Lisa Lawn,
Director, Records and Information Compliance Program Office, Office of
the Chief Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark
Office.
[FR Doc. 2025-23624 Filed 12-19-25; 8:45 am]
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