[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 165 (Thursday, August 27, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55322-55323]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-17524]
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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 Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Appeals
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'') will submit the following information
collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. The USPTO
invites comments on the information collection renewal of 0651-0063,
which helps the USPTO assess the impact of its information collection
requirements and minimize the reporting burden to the public. Public
comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on April
20, 2026, during a 60-day comment period (91 FR 20986). This notice
allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
DATES: To ensure consideration, you must submit comments regarding this
information collection on or before September 28, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for this information
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of
this notice on the following website, https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting
``Currently under 30-day Review-Open for Public Comments'' or by using
the search function and entering either the title of the information
collection or the OMB Control Number, 0651-0063. Do not submit
Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected
information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
This information collection request may be viewed at
https://www.reginfo.gov/. Follow the instructions to view the
Department of Commerce, USPTO information collections currently under
review by OMB.
Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0063 information request'' in the subject line of the message.
Mail: Justin Isaac, Office of the Chief Administrative
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450,
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
Telephone: Stacey White, Patent Trial and Appeal Board,
571-272-9797.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Appeals.
OMB Control Number: 0651-0063.
Abstract: The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (hereafter ``PTAB'' or
Board'') is established by statute under 35 U.S.C. 6. This statute
directs, in relevant part, that PTAB shall ``on written appeal of an
applicant, review adverse decisions of examiners upon applications for
patents pursuant to section 134(a).'' PTAB has the authority, under 35
U.S.C. 134 and 306 to decide appeals in applications and ex parte
reexamination proceedings, and under pre-AIA sections of the Patent
Act, i.e., 35 U.S.C. 134, 135, and 315, to decide appeals in inter
partes reexamination proceedings and interferences. In addition, 35
U.S.C. 6 establishes the membership of PTAB as the Director, the Deputy
Director, the Commissioner for Patents, the Commissioner for
Trademarks, and the Administrative Patent Judges. Appeals and
interferences are decided by a merits panel of at least three members
of the Board.
The Board's responsibilities under the statute include the review
of ex parte appeals from adverse decisions of examiners in those
situations where a written appeal is taken by a dissatisfied applicant
or patent owner. In inter partes reexamination appeals, PTAB reviews an
examiner's decision adverse to a patent owner or a third-party
requester. PTAB's opinions and decisions for publicly available files
are published on the USPTO website.\1\ The Board also conducts
interference proceedings.
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\1\ https://www.uspto.gov/patents/ptab/decisions.
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The items associated with this information collection include
appeals in applications, ex parte reexamination proceedings, and
appeals in inter partes reexamination proceedings and interference
proceedings that are governed by the regulations in 37 CFR 41. Failure
to comply with the appropriate regulations may result in dismissal of
the appeal or denial of entry of the submission.
Since the publication of the 60-day notice, the USPTO has updated
the number of responses associated with this information collection to
include respondents participating in the SPARK Pilot Program. This
results in an increase of 50 respondents, responses, and burden hours
to this information collection.
Forms: (AIA = America Invents Act; SB = Specimen Book)
PTO/AIA/31: (Notice of Appeal from the Examiner to the
Patent Trial and Appeal Board).
PTO/SB/31: (Notice of Appeal from the Examiner to the
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences).
PTO/AIA/32: (Request for Oral Hearing before the Patent
Trial and Appeal Board).
PTO/SB/32: (Request for Oral Hearing before the Patent
Trial and Appeal Board).
PTO/SB/479b: Certification and Petition Under the
Standards Participation and Representation Kudos (SPARK) Pilot Program
to Expedite an Appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).
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: 16,955 respondents.
Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 31,544 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 120 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: 337,712 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden:
$24,086,261.
[[Page 55323]]
Since the publication of the 60-day notice, the USPTO has updated the
postage rate associated with this information collection from $12.25 to
$13.25. This results in an increase of $315 in non-hourly cost burden,
for a new estimated total annual respondent non-hourly cost burden of
$24,086,261.
Justin Isaac,
Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2026-17524 Filed 8-26-26; 8:45 am]
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