[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 227 (Monday, November 25, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64873-64876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25510]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Secrecy and License to Export
ACTION: Notice of renewal of information collection; request for
comment.
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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 of an existing information collection: 0651-0034 (Secrecy
and License to Export).
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before January 24,
2020.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0034 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Mail: Marcie Lovett, Records and Information Governance
Branch, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, United States
Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-145.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to 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 [email protected] with ``Paperwork'' in the subject
line. Additional information about this collection is also available at
http://www.reginfo.gov under ``Information Collection Review.''
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 64874]]
I. Abstract
In the interest of national security, patent laws and rules place
certain limitations on the disclosure of information contained in
patents and patent applications and on the filing of applications for
patents in foreign countries.
In particular, whenever the publication or disclosure of an
invention by the publication of an application or by the granting of a
patent is, in the opinion of the head of an interested Government
agency, determined to be detrimental to national security, the
Commissioner for Patents at the USPTO must issue a secrecy order and
withhold the publication of a patent application and the grant of a
patent for such period as the national interest requires. A patent will
not be issued on the application, nor will the application be
published, as long as the secrecy order is in effect. If a secrecy
order is applied to an international application, the application will
not be forwarded to the International Bureau as long as the secrecy
order is in effect.
The Commissioner for Patents can issue three types of secrecy
orders, each of a different scope. The first type, Secrecy Order and
Permit for Foreign Filing in Certain Countries, is intended to permit
the widest utilization of the technical data in the patent application
while still controlling any publication or disclosure that would result
in an unlawful exportation. The second type, the Secrecy Order and
Permit for Disclosing Classified Information, is to treat classified
technical data presented in a patent application in the same manner as
any other classified material. The first and second types of secrecy
orders involve the Department of Defense. The third type of secrecy
order is used where the other types of orders do not apply, including
orders issued by direction of agencies other than the Department of
Defense.
Under the provision of 35 U.S.C. 181, a secrecy order remains in
effect for a period of one year from its date of issuance. A secrecy
order may be renewed for additional periods of not more than one year
upon notice by a government agency that the national interest continues
to require the order. USPTO notifies the applicant of the renewal.
This information collection covers information gathered in
petitions for permits to allow disclosure, modification, or rescission
of the secrecy order, or to obtain a general or group permit when the
USPTO places a secrecy order on a patent application. In each of these
circumstances, the petition is forwarded to the appropriate agency for
decision. Also, the Commissioner for Patents at the USPTO may rescind
any order upon notification by the heads of the departments and the
chief officers of the requesting agencies that the disclosure of the
invention is no longer deemed detrimental to the national security.
Unless expressly ordered otherwise, action on the application by
the USPTO and prosecution by the applicant will proceed during the time
an application is under secrecy order to one of the specific points
identified at 37 CFR 5.3. For example, as set forth at 37 CFR 5.3(a),
national applications under secrecy order that come to a final
rejection must be appealed or otherwise prosecuted to avoid
abandonment. Applicants must complete the appeals in such cases, but
unless specifically indicated by the Commissioner for Patents at the
USPTO, the appeals will not be set for hearing until the secrecy order
is removed.
In addition, this collection covers information gathered with
respect to foreign filing licenses. The filing of a patent application
is considered a request for a foreign filing license. However, in some
instances an applicant may need a license for filing a patent
application in foreign countries prior to a filing in the USPTO or
sooner than the anticipated licensing of a pending patent application.
For such circumstances, this collection covers petitions for a
foreign filing license either with or without a corresponding United
States application. In addition, this collection covers petitions to
change the scope of a license and petitions for a retroactive license
for instances when a patent application is filed through error in a
foreign country without the appropriate filing license.
This collection includes the information needed by the USPTO to
review the various types of petitions regarding secrecy orders and
foreign filing licenses. This collection of information is required by
35 U.S.C. 181-188 and administered through 37 CFR 5.1-5.33.
II. Method of Collection
By mail, facsimile or hand carried to the USPTO.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-0034.
Form Number(s): There are no forms associated with this collection.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; Businesses or other
for-profits; not-for-profit institutions.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 4,434 responses per year. The
USPTO estimates that approximately 20% (886.80) of these responses will
be from small entities.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take
the public from 30 minutes (0.5 hours) to 4 hours to gather the
necessary information, prepare the appropriate documents, and submit
the information required for this collection.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 2,797.50 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $1,225,305. The
USPTO expects that the information in this collection will be prepared
by intellectual property attorneys at an estimated rate of $438 per
hour. The attorney rates are found in the 2017 Report of the Economic
Survey of the America Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA).
Using this hourly rate, the USPTO estimates that the respondent cost
burden for this collection will be approximately $1,225,305 per year.
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Estimated
time for Estimated Estimated annual Total cost
Number Item response annual burden hours Rate ($/hr) burden
(hours) responses
................................. (a) (b) (a) x (b)/60 = (d) (e) (c x d)
(c)
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1................................. Petition for Rescission of 3.0 10 30 $438 $13,140
Secrecy Order.
2................................. Petition to Disclose or 2.0 20 40 438 17,520
Modification of Secrecy Order.
3................................. Petition for General and Group 1.0 1 1 438 438
Permits.
[[Page 64875]]
4................................. Petition for Expedited Handling 0.5 4,000 2,000 438 876,000
of License (no corresponding
application).
5................................. Petition for Expedited Handling 0.5 250 125 438 54,750
of License (corresponding U.S.
application).
6................................. Petition for Changing Scope of 0.5 3 1.5 438 657
License.
7................................. Petition for Retroactive License. 4.0 150 600 438 262,800
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Totals........................ ................................. .............. 4,434 2,797.50 .............. 1,225,305
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Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden:
$788,286.60. There are no capital start-up, maintenance, or record
keeping costs associated with this information collection. However,
this collection does have annual (non-hour) costs in the form of filing
fees for the foreign filing petitions and postage costs. No fees are
associated with the secrecy order petitions.
The license petitions all charge the 37 CFR 1.17(g) fee, for which
small and micro entity discounts recently have been introduced. The
USPTO estimates that 20% of the responses in this collection will come
from small entities and approximately 10% of the small entity
respondents will qualify as micro entities.
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Total non-
Number Item Responses Filing fee hour cost
($) burden
.............................. (a) (b) (a) x (b) (c)
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4............................... Petition for Expedited 3,200 $200.00 $640,000.00
Handling of License (no
corresponding application).
4............................... Petition for Expedited 720 100.00 72,000.00
Handling of License (no
corresponding application)
(small entity).
4............................... Petition for Expedited 80 50.00 4,000.00
Handling of License (no
corresponding application)
(micro entity).
5............................... Petition for Expedited 200 200.00 40,000.00
Handling of License
(corresponding U.S.
application).
5............................... Petition for Expedited 45 100.00 4,500.00
Handling of License
(corresponding U.S.
application) (small entity).
5............................... Petition for Expedited 5 50.00 250.00
Handling of License
(corresponding U.S.
application) (micro entity).
6............................... Petition for Changing Scope of 1 200.00 200.00
License.
6............................... Petition for Changing Scope of 1 100.00 100.00
License (small entity).
6............................... Petition for Changing Scope of 1 50.00 50.00
License (micro entity).
7............................... Petition for Retroactive 120 200.00 24,000.00
License.
7............................... Petition for Retroactive 27 100.00 2,700.00
License (small entity).
7............................... Petition for Retroactive 3 50.00 150.00
License (micro entity).
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Totals...................... .............................. 4,434 .............. 787,950.00
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The USPTO estimates that 99% of the petitions in this collection
are submitted by facsimile or hand carried because of the quick
turnaround required. For the 1% of the public that chooses to submit
the petitions to the USPTO by mail through the United States Postal
Service, the USPTO estimates that the average USPS Priority Mail
postage cost for a legal flat rate envelop is estimated to be $7.65,
and that 44 submissions will be mailed to the USPTO per year for a
total estimated postage cost of $336.60.
Postage Costs
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Estimated Total annual
IC No. Item mailed Estimated (non-hour)
responses postage rate cost burden
.............................. (a) (b) (a) x (b) =
(c)
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4............................... Petition for Expedited 40 $7.65 $306
Handling of License (no
corresponding application).
5............................... Petition for Expedited 2 7.65 15.30
Handling of License
(corresponding U.S.
application).
7............................... Petition for Retroactive 2 7.65 15.30
License.
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Total....................... .............................. 44 .............. 336.60
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[[Page 64876]]
Therefore, the USPTO estimates that the total (non-hour) cost
burden for this collection in the form of filing fees and postage costs
is estimated to be approximately $788,286.60.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will
become a matter of public record.
USPTO invites public comments on:
(a) 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) Accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden (including
hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information, including
the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
(c) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
(d) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on
respondents, e.g., 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.
Marcie Lovett,
Director, Records and Information Governance Branch, OAS, Office of the
Chief Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark
Office.
[FR Doc. 2019-25510 Filed 11-22-19; 8:45 am]
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