[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 80 (Monday, April 27, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22526-22528]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-08101]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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; DOCX Submission Requirements
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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: 0651-0089 (DOCX Submission Requirements). 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 June 26, 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-
0089 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://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: Raul Tamayo, Senior Legal Advisor, 571-272-
7728.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to Raul Tamayo, Senior Legal Advisor at: United
States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA
22313-1450; 571-272-7728; or [email protected] with ``0651-0089
comment'' in the subject line. Additional information about this
information collection is also available at https://www.reginfo.gov
under ``Information Collection Review.''
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.16(u) took effect January 17, 2024,
and is due for any application filed under 35 U.S.C. 111 for an
original patent--except design, plant, or provisional applications--
where the specification, claims, and/or abstract do not conform to the
USPTO requirements for submission in the DOCX format. Therefore, the
fee is due for nonprovisional utility applications filed under 35
U.S.C. 111, including continuing applications, that are not filed in
the DOCX format. See Setting and Adjusting Patent Fees During Fiscal
Year 2020, 85 FR 46932 (August 3, 2020).\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-08-03/pdf/2020-16559.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To provide a fair and reasonable transition to the DOCX format, the
USPTO has, since April 2022, provided patent applicants with the option
to submit a back-up applicant-generated PDF version of the application
along with the DOCX file(s) when filing an application in Patent
Center. See Extension of the Option for Submission of a PDF With a
Patent Application Filed in DOCX Format, 88 FR 37036 (Jun. 6, 2023).\2\
The USPTO also continues to offer DOCX training sessions for
stakeholders. See www.uspto.gov/about-us/events/patents-docx-filing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2023-06-06/pdf/2023-11910.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The items in this information collection relate solely to the
impacts of the 37 CFR 1.16(u) non-DOCX filing surcharge fee on the
filing of nonprovisional utility applications under 35 U.S.C. 111,
including continuing applications. In particular, this information
collection accounts for the 37 CFR 1.16(u) non-DOCX filing
[[Page 22527]]
surcharge fee itself, as well as an additional 30 minutes of time to
accommodate (i) extra review that some respondents might undertake when
filing in the DOCX format and (ii) submissions of the back-up
applicant-generated PDF that some respondents will opt to submit.
The estimated volumes for the items in this information collection
are based on the estimates for the corresponding nonprovisional utility
applications filed under 35 U.S.C. 111, including continuing
applications, that are covered under the existing OMB clearance 0651-
0032 (Initial Patent Applications). Respondents for the items in this
information collection will either take an extra 0.50 hours (30
minutes) to file their applications in DOCX format or they will pay the
non-DOCX surcharge. They will not do both.
II. Method of Collection
DOCX submission of the applications in this collection must be
undertaken electronically through the USPTO patent electronic filing
system (Patent Center), the USPTO's online filing and viewing system
for patent applications and related documents. For those respondents
who choose to not file the applications in this collection in the DOCX
format and pay the non-DOCX filing surcharge fee, the applications and
fee may be submitted electronically by Patent Center, mail, or hand
delivery.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0651-0089.
Forms: None.
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: 364,999 respondents
(including 27,156 respondents from filing fees).
Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 364,999 responses (including
27,156 responses from filing fees).
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 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: 168,922 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden: $75,508,134.
Table 1--Total Reporting Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Private Sector Respondents
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated
Estimated Responses Estimated Estimated time for response Estimated Rate \3\ annual
Item No. Item annual per annual (hours) burden (hour/ ($/hour) respondent
respondents respondent responses year) cost burden
..................... (a) (b) (a) x (b) = (d)......................... (c) x (d) = (f) (e) x (f) =
(c) (e) (g)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1............... DOCX submission of 198,077 1 198,077 0.50 (30 minutes)........... 99,039 $447 $44,270,433
Noncontinuing,
Nonprovisional
Utility Applications.
2............... DOCX submission of 24,066 1 24,066 0.50 (30 minutes)........... 12,033 447 5,378,751
Continuation/
Divisional of an
International
Application.
3............... DOCX submission of 105,518 1 105,518 0.50 (30 minutes)........... 52,759 447 23,583,273
Utility Continuation/
Divisional
Applications.
4............... DOCX submission of 10,182 1 10,182 0.50 (30 minutes)........... 5,091 447 2,275,677
Utility Continuation-
in-Part Applications.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals.............. 337,843 ........... 337,843 ............................ 168,922 .......... 75,508,134
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden:
$8,472,290. There are no capital start-up costs, maintenance costs,
recordkeeping costs, or postage 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, is $8,472,290.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ 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 $447 per hour (www.aipla.org/home/news-publications/economic-survey).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Filing Fees
The fees for this information collection are listed in Table 2
below.
Table 2--Filing Fees
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated
Item No. Fee code Item annual Filing fee ($) Non-hourly
responses cost burden
.............. ............................ (a) (b) (a) x (b) =
(c)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-4............... 1054 Non-DOCX Filing Surcharge 15,167 $430 $6,521,810
Fee (undiscounted entity).
1-4............... 2054 Non-DOCX Filing Surcharge 10,691 172 1,838,852
Fee (small entity).
1-4............... 3054 Non-DOCX Filing Surcharge 1,298 86 111,628
Fee (micro entity).
-----------------------------------------------
Totals..................... 27,156 .............. 8,472,290
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 22528]]
Postage Costs
There are no direct postage costs associated with this information
collection. The actual submission of patent applications, and any
postage cost burden, is covered by OMB control number 0651-0032
(Initial Patent Applications).
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.
Justin Isaac,
Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2026-08101 Filed 4-24-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P