[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 190 (Tuesday, October 1, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60256-60260]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-23790]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Initial Patent Applications
ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.
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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part
of its continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden,
invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this
opportunity to comment on this revision of a continuing information
collection.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before December 2,
2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Email: InformationCollection@uspto.gov. Include ``0651-
0032 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
Mail: Susan K. Fawcett, Records Officer, Office of the
Chief Information Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office,
P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to the attention of Raul Tamayo, Senior Legal
Advisor, Office of Patent Legal Administration, United States Patent
and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by
telephone at 571-272-7728; or by email to raul.tamayo@uspto.gov.
Additional information about this collection is also available at
http://www.reginfo.gov under ``Information Collection Review.''
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The USPTO is required by Title 35 of the United States Code,
including 35 U.S.C. 131, to examine applications for patents. The USPTO
administers the patent statutes through various rules in Chapter 37 of
the Code of Federal Regulations, including 37 CFR 1.16 through 1.84.
The patent statutes and regulations require applicants to provide
sufficient information to allow the USPTO to properly examine the
application to determine whether it meets the criteria set forth in the
patent statutes and regulations to be issued as a patent.
Most applications for patent, including new utility, design, and
provisional applications, can be submitted to the USPTO through EFS-
Web. EFS-Web is the USPTO's system for electronic filing of patent
correspondence. EFS-Web is accessible via the Internet on the USPTO Web
site. The Legal Framework for EFS-Web, available at http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/fiie/efs/guidance/New legal
framework.jsp, provides a listing of patent applications and documents
permitted to be filed via EFS-Web and patent applications and documents
not permitted to be filed via EFS-Web.
There are 69 forms in this collection. This total includes versions
of the inventor's oath and declaration forms that were created to
comply with the changes resulting from the Leahy-Smith America Invents
Act, e.g., forms AIA/01, AIA/02, etc., as well as pre-America Invents
Act versions of the oath and declaration forms, e.g., forms SB/01, SB/
02, etc., and foreign language translations of the oath and declaration
forms, e.g., forms AIA/01CN, SB/02CN, etc. On the other hand, the
petitions and the papers filed to supply the name or names of the
inventor or inventors after the filing date without a cover sheet in a
provisional application, to correct inventorship in a provisional
application, and to convert a nonprovisional application to a
provisional application do not have forms associated with them.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved this collection
on January 8, 2011, but the Notice of Action included terms of
clearance stating that the USPTO should conduct outreach to
stakeholders regarding the burden of 0651-0032 Initial Patent
Applications and ways to potentially reduce it before the next renewal
of the
[[Page 60257]]
collection. The terms of clearance also instructed the USPTO to include
the results of this outreach in the next Information Collection Request
submission. To fulfill this requirement, the USPTO will be conducting a
special roundtable session later this year to collect feedback
regarding the burden of the collection and ways to potentially reduce
it. The results will be included in the Information Collection Request
for the renewal of the collection. A subsequent notice will be
published in the Federal Register detailing the date and format of the
roundtable.
The petitions and the papers filed under 37 CFR 1.41, 1.48, and
1.53(c)(2) can be filed electronically as well as in paper. The
electronic options for these items are being added into the collection.
This collection currently has capital start-up costs associated
with the compact disc copies of patent applications containing large
computer program listings or mega tables, postage costs for these
oversized submissions, and recordkeeping costs approved as part of the
annual (non-hour) cost burden. As part of this renewal, the capital
start-up costs are being deleted because these costs are usual and
customary costs that are part of everyday business activities. The
postage costs for the CD submissions for the oversized program listing
or mega table applications are being deleted from this collection
because the USPTO is projecting that a negligible number of them will
be submitted. The recordkeeping costs associated with keeping a copy of
the electronically-submitted patent application files and
acknowledgment receipts are being deleted because the USPTO only
suggests, but does not require, that applicants keep copies of their
electronically-filed applications. In addition, the recordkeeping costs
for retaining a copy of the application transmittal form and a back-up
copy of the CD submissions of applications with oversized computer
program listings and mega tables are also being deleted at this time.
The USPTO is removing the fees associated with the majority of the
information requirements in this collection because these fees have
been moved into information collection 0651-0072 America Invents Act
Section 10 Patent Fee Adjustments, which was approved by OMB in January
2013 in conjunction with the USPTO rulemaking ``Setting and Adjusting
Patent Fees'' (RIN 0651-AC54). The corresponding fees are now being
deleted from 0651-0032 to avoid double-counting these annual (non-hour)
costs in the USPTO's inventory.
II. Method of Collection
As set forth in the Legal Framework for EFS-Web, available at
http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/New legal
framework.jsp, most of the items in this collection can be submitted
electronically through EFS-Web. The USPTO will also accept submissions
by mail, facsimile (limited to petitions to accept unintentionally
delayed priority/benefit claims, petitions to accept a filing by other
than all the inventors or a person not the inventor, petitions to
accord the application under 37 CFR 1.495(b) a receipt date, and papers
filed under 37 CFR 1.41, 1.48, and 1.53(c)(2)), or hand delivery to the
USPTO.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-0032.
Form Number(s): PTO/SB/01, 01A, 02, 02A, 02B, 02CN, 02DE, 02ES,
02FR, 02IT, 02JP, 02KR, 02LR, 02NL, 02RU, 02SE, 03, 03A, 04, 06, 07, 14
EFS-Web, 16, 16 EFS-Web, 17, 29, 29A, and 101-110. This collection also
includes the following AIA forms: PTO/AIA01 through AIA04, AIA08
through AIA11, AIA14 and 15, AIA18 and 19, and AIA01CN and 01DE, 01ES,
01FR, 01IT, 01JP, 01KR, 01NL, 01RU, 01SE, 02CN, 02DE, 02ES, 02FR, 02IT,
02JP, 02KR, 02NL, 02RU, and 02SE.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other for
profits; not-for-profit institutions; and the Federal Government.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 597,047 responses per year. The
USPTO estimates that approximately 157,950 of these responses will be
from small entities (this estimate reflects a 25% small entity response
rate for all items in the collection, except for design-related items
in the collection, for which a 50% small entity response rate is
estimated). The USPTO estimates that 577,624 of the responses will be
filed electronically.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it takes the
public approximately 24 minutes to 33 hours and 12 minutes (0.40 to
33.2 hours) to complete this information, depending on the complexity
of the request. This includes the time to gather the necessary
information, prepare the application, petition, or paper submission,
and submit the completed request to the USPTO. The USPTO calculates
that, on balance, it takes the same amount of time to gather the
necessary information, prepare the applications, petitions, and other
papers and submit them to the USPTO, whether the applicant submits it
in paper form or electronically.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 12,522,680 hours
per year.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $4,871,322,520 per
year. The USPTO expects that all of the information in this collection
will be prepared by an attorney. Using the professional hourly rate of
$389 for attorneys in private firms, the USPTO estimates that the total
respondent cost burden for this collection is $4,871,322,520 per year.
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Estimated Estimated
Item Estimated time for response annual annual burden
responses hours
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Original New Utility Applications--No 33 hours and 12 minutes........... 800 26,560
Application Data Sheet.
Electronic Original New Utility 33 hours and 12 minutes........... 26,500 879,800
Applications--No Application Data Sheet.
Original New Plant Applications--No 7 hours and 36 minutes............ 100 760
Application Data Sheet.
Original New Design Applications--No 5 hours and 48 minutes............ 100 580
Application Data Sheet.
Electronic Original Design Applications--No 5 hours and 48 minutes............ 2,900 16,820
Application Data Sheet.
Original New Utility Applications-- 33 hours and 12 minutes........... 7,500 249,000
Application Data Sheet.
Electronic Original New Utility 33 hours and 12 minutes........... 238,200 7,908,240
Applications--Application Data Sheet.
Original New Plant Applications--Application 7 hours and 36 minutes............ 1,200 9,120
Data Sheet.
Original New Design Applications-- 5 hours and 48 minutes............ 800 4,640
Application Data Sheet.
Electronic New Design Applications-- 5 hours and 48 minutes............ 26,500 153,700
Application Data Sheet.
Continuation/Divisional of an International 3 hours and 18 minutes............ 300 990
Application.
[[Page 60258]]
Electronic Continuation/Divisional of an 3 hours and 18 minutes............ 10,200 33,660
International Application.
Utility Continuation/Divisional Applications 3 hours and 18 minutes............ 2,200 7,260
Electronic Utility Continuation/Divisional 3 hours and 18 minutes............ 71,600 236,280
Applications.
Plant Continuation/Divisional Applications.. 2 hours and 12 minutes............ 200 440
Design Continuation/Divisional Applications. 1 hour and 6 minutes.............. 100 110
Electronic Design Continuation/Divisional 1 hour and 6 minutes.............. 2,700 2,970
Applications.
Continued Prosecution Applications--Design 24 minutes........................ 25 10
(Request Transmittal and Receipt).
Electronic Continued Prosecution 24 minutes........................ 800 320
Applications--Design (Request Transmittal
and Receipt).
Utility Continuation-in-Part Applications... 16 hours and 30 minutes........... 400 6,600
Electronic Utility Continuation-in-Part- 16 hours and 30 minutes........... 13,100 216,150
Applications.
Plant Continuation-in-Part Applications..... 3 hours and 48 minutes............ 1 4
Design Continuation-in-Part Applications.... 2 hours and 42 minutes............ 20 54
Electronic Design Continuation-in-Part 2 hours and 42 minutes............ 800 2,160
Applications.
Provisional Application for Patent Cover 15 hours.......................... 5,500 82,500
Sheet.
Electronic Provisional Application for 15 hours.......................... 178,600 2,679,000
Patent Cover Sheet.
Petition to Accept Unintentionally Delayed 1 hour............................ 30 30
Priority/Benefit Claim.
Electronic Petition to Accept 1 hour............................ 970 970
Unintentionally Delayed Priority/Benefit
Claim.
Petition to Accept a Filing by Other Than 1 hour............................ 33 33
all the Inventors or a Person not the
Inventor.
Electronic Petition to Accept a Filing by 1 hour............................ 1,067 1,067
Other Than all the Inventors or a Person
not the Inventor.
Petition under 37 CFR 1.6(g) to Accord the 30 minutes........................ 1 1
Application under 37 CFR 1.495(b) a Receipt
Date.
Papers filed under the following:........... 45 minutes........................ 114 86
1.41--to supply the name or names of the
inventor or inventors after the filing
date without a cover sheet as
prescribed by 37 CFR 1.51 (c)(1) in a
provisional application.
1.48--for correction of inventorship in
a provisional application.
1.53(c)(2)--to convert a nonprovisional
application filed under 1.53(b) to a
provisional application filed under
1.53(c).
Electronic Papers filed under the following: 45 minutes........................ 3,686 2,765
1.41--to supply the name or names of the
inventor or inventors after the filing
date without a cover sheet as
prescribed by 37 CFR 1.51(c)(1) in a
provisional application.
1.48--for correction of inventorship in
a provisional application.
1.53(c)(2)--to convert a nonprovisional
application filed under 1.53(b) to a
provisional application filed under
1.53(c).
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Total................................... .................................. 597,047 12,522,680
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Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden:
$431,933,422 per year. There are no maintenance, operation, capital
start-up, or recordkeeping costs associated with this information
collection. However, this collection does have annual (non-hour) costs
in the form of postage and drawing costs, as well as a petition fee.
The applications, the petitions, and the papers filed under 37 CFR
1.41, 1.48, and 1.53(c)(2) may be submitted by mail through the United
States Postal Service. The USPTO recommends that applicants file
initial patent applications (which also include the continued
prosecution, continuation and divisional, continuation-in-part, and
provisional applications) by Express Mail to establish the filing date
(otherwise the filing date of the application will be the date that it
is received at the USPTO). The USPTO estimates that an application
package will weigh at least one pound. Using the Express Mail flat rate
cost for mailing envelopes, the USPTO estimates that the average cost
for sending an initial application by Express Mail will be $19.95 and
that up to 19,246 may be mailed to the USPTO.
The petitions to accept unintentionally delayed priority/benefit
claim, to accept a filing by other than all the inventors or a person
not the inventor, and the papers filed under 37 CFR 1.41, 1.48, and
1.53(c)(2) can be sent by first-class mail. The USPTO estimates that
these submissions will average two ounces, for a first-class postage
rate of $0.66 cents. The USPTO estimates that up to 177 submissions may
be mailed per year.
The USPTO estimates that the total postage cost for this collection
will be $384,075 per year.
[[Page 60259]]
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Total postage
Item Responses Postage cost ($) cost ($)
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Express Mailing Costs
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Original New Utility Applications--No Application Data 800 19.95 15,960.00
Sheet.................................................
Original New Plant Applications--No Application Data 100 19.95 1,995.00
Sheet.................................................
Original New Design Applications--No Application Data 100 19.95 1,995.00
Sheet.................................................
Original New Utility Applications--Application Data 7,500 19.95 149,625.00
Sheet.................................................
Original New Plant Applications--Application Data Sheet 1,200 19.95 23,940.00
Original New Design Applications--Application Data 800 19.95 15,960.00
Sheet.................................................
Continuation/Divisional of an International Application 300 19.95 5,985.00
Utility Continuation/Divisional Applications........... 2,200 19.95 43,890.00
Plant Continuation/Divisional Applications............. 200 19.95 3,990.00
Design Continuation/Divisional Applications............ 100 19.95 1,995.00
Continued Prosecution Applications--Design (Request 25 19.95 499.00
Transmittal and Receipt)..............................
Utility Continuation-in-Part Applications.............. 400 19.95 7,980.00
Plant Continuation-in-Part Applications................ 1 19.95 20.00
Design Continuation-in-Part Applications............... 20 19.95 399.00
Provisional Application for Patent Cover Sheet......... 5,500 19.95 109,725.00
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Total Express Mailing Costs........................ ................. ................. 383,958.00
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First-Class Mailing Costs
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Petition to Accept Unintentionally Delayed Priority/ 30 0.66 20.00
Benefit Claim.........................................
Petition to Accept a Filing by Other Than all the 33 0.66 22.00
Inventors or a Person not the Inventor................
Papers Filed Under the Following:...................... 114 0.66 75.00
1.41--to supply the name or names of the inventor
or inventors after the filing date without a cover
sheet as prescribed by 37 CFR 1.51 (c)(1) in a
provisional application...........................
1.48--for correction of inventorship in a
provisional application...........................
1.53(c)(2)--to convert a nonprovisional application
filed under 1.53(b) to a provisional application
filed under 1.53(c)...............................
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Total First-Class Mailing Costs.................... ................. ................. 117.00
Total Postage Costs................................ ................. ................. 384,075.00
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Patent applicants can submit drawings with the utility, design,
plant, and provisional applications. Applicants can prepare these
drawings on their own or they can hire patent illustration services
firms to create them. As a basis for estimating the drawing costs, the
USPTO expects that all applicants will have their drawings prepared by
patent illustration firms. Estimates for the drawings can vary greatly,
depending on the number of figures that need to be produced, the total
number of pages for the drawings, and the complexity of the drawings.
Because there are many variables involved, the USPTO is using the
average of the cost ranges found for the application drawings to derive
the estimated cost per sheet that is then used to calculate the total
drawing costs.
The utility, plant, and design continuation and divisional
applications use the same drawings as the initial filings, so they are
not included in these totals. The continuation-in-part applications may
use some of the same drawings as the initial applications and some new
drawings may be submitted, so those numbers are included in these
estimates. The drawings for the continued prosecution applications are
also included in the drawing cost totals. There are no continuation,
divisional, or continuation-in-part provisional applications.
Costs to produce utility drawings can range from $30 to $200 per
sheet. The USPTO estimates that it can cost $115 per sheet to produce
the utility drawings and that on average, 9 sheets of drawings are
submitted, for an average cost of $1,035 to produce the utility
drawings. Out of 286,500 utility applications submitted per year, the
USPTO estimates that 77% or 220,605 applications will be submitted with
drawings.
Costs to produce design drawings can range from $35 to $350 per
sheet. The USPTO estimates that it can cost $193 per sheet to produce
design drawings and that on average 9 sheets of drawings are submitted,
for an average cost of $1,737 to produce design drawings. The USPTO
estimates that all of the design applications filed per year (31,945)
will be submitted with drawings.
Photographs are generally submitted for the plant applications,
although drawings can also be submitted. The USPTO therefore estimates
that the costs to produce the photographs or drawings could range from
$35 to $100. The USPTO estimates that it can cost $68 per sheet to
produce plant drawings and that on average 9 sheets of drawings are
submitted, for an average cost of $612 to produce plant drawings. The
USPTO estimates that all of the plant applications filed per year
(1,301) will be submitted with drawings.
Costs to produce the provisional drawings can range from $30 to
$200 per sheet. The USPTO estimates that it can cost $115 per sheet to
produce provisional drawings and that on average 9 sheets of drawings
are submitted, for an average cost of $1,035 to produce provisional
drawings. Out of 184,100 provisional applications submitted per year,
the USPTO estimates that 77% or 141,757 applications will be submitted
with drawings.
The USPTO estimates the total non-hour cost burden as a result of
patent applicants using patent illustration firms to produce the
drawings for their utility, design, plant, and provisional applications
is $431,329,347.
[[Page 60260]]
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Average drawing Average total
Item Responses cost ($) drawing cost ($)
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Utility Application Drawings........................... 220,605 $1,035 $228,326,175.00
Design Application Drawings............................ 31,945 1,737 55,488,465.00
Plant Application Drawings (Photographs)............... 1,301 612 796,212.00
Provisional Application Drawings....................... 141,757 1,035 146,718,495.00
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Total.............................................. ................. ................. 431,329,347.00
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There is also annual (non-hour) cost burden in the way of filing
fees for the petitions to accept a filing by other than all the
inventors or a person not the inventor. The filing fees for the
applications, the petitions to accept unintentionally delayed priority/
benefit claims, the processing fees for the papers filed under 37 CFR
1.41, 1.48, and 1.53(c)(2), the additional fees incurred when an
application is filed with additional sheets or excess claims, and the
surcharges and fees incurred when an application, the search or
examination fee, or the oath or declaration is filed late, when the
application is filed with multiple dependent claims, or when the
application is filed with a non-English specification are covered under
0651-0072 America Invents Act Section 10 Patent Fee Adjustments.
The total estimated filing costs of $220,000 for this collection
are calculated in the following table.
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Total non-hour
Item Resps (yr) (a) Filing fee cost burden
($) (yr) (a) x (b)
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Petition to Accept a Filing by Other Than all the Inventors or a 33 $200.00 $6,600.00
Person not the Inventor........................................
Electronic Petition to Accept a Filing by Other Than all the 1,067 200.00 213,400.00
Inventors or a Person not the Inventor.........................
Petition under 37 CFR 1.6(g) to accord the Application under 37 1 N/A 0.00
CFR 1.495(b) a Receipt Date....................................
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Totals...................................................... 1,101 .............. 220,000.00
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The USPTO estimates that the total annual (non-hour) respondent
cost burden for this collection, in the form of postage and drawing
costs, in addition to petition fees, is estimated to be approximately
$431,933,422 per year.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the USPTO's request for OMB approval. All comments
will become a matter of public record.
The USPTO is soliciting public comments to: (a) Evaluate whether
the proposed 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 proposed 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.
Dated: September 25, 2013.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-23790 Filed 9-30-13; 8:45 am]
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