[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 26 (Tuesday, February 8, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7159-7161]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-02607]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Practitioner Conduct and Discipline
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice 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 and revision of an existing information collection: 0651-
0017 (Practitioner Conduct and Discipline). The purpose of this notice
is to allow 60 days for public comment preceding
[[Page 7160]]
submission of the information collection to OMB.
DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this information
collection must be received on or before April 11, 2022.
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-
0017 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Mail: Kimberly Hardy, Office of the Chief Administrative
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450,
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Request for additional information
should be directed to Dahlia George, Office of Enrollment and
Discipline, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450,
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-4097; or by email at
[email protected] with ``0651-0017 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
The Director of the USPTO has the authority to establish
regulations governing the conduct and discipline of agents, attorneys,
or other persons representing applicants and other parties before the
USPTO (35 U.S.C. 2 and 32-33). The USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct,
set forth in subpart D, part 11 of title 37 of the Code of Federal
Regulations, prescribe the manner in which agents, attorneys, and other
practitioners, representing applicants and other parties before the
USPTO should conduct themselves professionally. Part 11 outlines
practitioners' responsibilities for recordkeeping and reporting
violations or complaints of misconduct to the USPTO. Subpart C of part
11 sets forth the manner by which the USPTO investigates misconduct and
imposes discipline.
The USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct require a practitioner to
maintain complete records of all funds, securities, and other
properties of clients coming into his or her possession, and to render
appropriate accounts to the client regarding the funds, securities, and
other properties of clients coming into the practitioner's possession,
collectively known as ``client property.'' These recordkeeping
requirements are necessary to maintain the integrity of client
property. State bars require attorneys to perform similar
recordkeeping.
Part 11 also requires a practitioner to report knowledge of certain
violations of the USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct to the USPTO. The
Director of the Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED) may, after
notice and opportunity for a hearing, suspend, exclude, or disqualify
any practitioner from further practice before the USPTO based on non-
compliance with the USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct. Practitioners
who have been excluded or suspended from practice before the USPTO,
practitioners transferred to disability inactive status, and
practitioners who have resigned must keep and maintain records of their
steps to comply with the suspension or exclusion order, transfer to
disability inactive status, or resignation. These records are necessary
to demonstrate eligibility for reinstatement. Reports of alleged
violations of the USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct are used by the
Director of OED to conduct investigations and disciplinary hearings, as
appropriate.
This information collection covers the various reporting and
recordkeeping requirements set forth in Part 11 for practitioners
representing applicants and other parties before the USPTO. Also
covered are petitions for reinstatement for suspended or excluded
practitioners and the means for reporting violations or complaints of
misconduct to the USPTO.
II. Method of Collection
Items in this information collection may be submitted via online
electronic submissions. Applicants may also submit the information in
paper form by mail, fax, or hand delivery.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0651-0017.
Forms: No forms.
Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved
information collection.
Affected Public: Individuals or households.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
Estimated Number of Annual Respondents 13,190 respondents.
Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 13,190 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses
in this information collection will take the public from approximately
1 to 3 hours to complete. This includes the time to gather the
necessary information, prepare the forms or documents, and submit the
completed request to the USPTO.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 14,192 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden: $6,173,520.
Table 1--Total Reporting Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Individuals or Households Respondents
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Estimated
Estimated Responses per Estimated time for Estimated Rate \1\ ($/ Estimated annual
Item No. Item annual respondent annual response burden (hour/ hour) respondent cost
respondents responses (hours) year) burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (d) (c) x (d) = (f) (e) x (f) = (g)
(c) (e)
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1................. Complaint/Violation 216 1 216 3 648 $435 $281,880
Reporting.
2................. Petition for 5 1 5 1 5 435 2,175
Reinstatement under the
Provisions Section
11.60(c).
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Totals.................................. 221 ................. 221 ........... 653 ........... 284,055
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The USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct require practitioner agents
to maintain various records to maintain the integrity of client
property and meet other requirements. Additional recordkeeping
requirements are also given for practitioners who are under suspension
or exclusion. The USPTO estimates that it will take a practitioner
between 1 and 20 hours to perform these recordkeeping actions.
Approximately 12,969 pracitioners require recordkeeping actions, for a
total of 13,539 hours.
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\1\ 2021 Report of the Economic Survey, published by the
Committee on Economics of Legal Practice of the American
Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA); pg. F-27. The USPTO
uses the average billing rate for intellectual property attorneys in
private firms which is $435 per hour. (https://www.aipla.org/home/news-publications/economic-survey).
Table 2--Total Recordkeeping Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Individuals or Households Respondents
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Estimated Estimated time Estimated annual
Item No. Item annual for response Estimated burden Rate \2\ ($/ respondent cost
responses (hours) (hour/year) hour) burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (c) (d) (c) x (d) = (e)
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3......................... Recordkeeping Maintenance and 12,939 1 12,939 $435 $5,628,465
Disclosure (includes advertisements,
disclosure requirements relating to
soliciting professional employment,
notifications by non-attorney
practitioner of inadvertently sent
documents, and financial books and
records such as trust accounts,
fiduciary accounts, and operating
accounts).
4......................... Recordkeeping Maintenance Regarding 30 20 600 435 261,000
Practitioners Under Suspension or
Exclusion.
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Totals........................................................ 12,969 .............. 13,539 .............. 5,889,465
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Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden: $8,419.
This information collection has no capital start-up, maintenance costs,
or recordkeeping costs. However, this information collection does have
annual costs in the form of filing fees and postage costs.
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\2\ Ibid.
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Filing Fees
There is one filing fee associated with this information
collection. This fee is listed in the table below.
Table 3--Estimated Total Annual Respondent Filing Fee Cost Burden
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Estimated
Item No. Item annual Filing fee ($) Total non-hour
responses cost burden (yr)
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (c)
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2....................... Petition for Reinstatement under 5 $1,680 $8,400
the Provisions Section 11.60(c).
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Totals .............. .............. $8,400
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Postage Costs
Although the USPTO prefers that the items in this information
collection be submitted electronically, responses may be submitted by
mail through the United States Postal Service (USPS). The USPTO
estimates that 1% of the 221 items will be submitted in the mail
resulting in 2 mailed items. The USPTO estimates that the average
postage cost for a mailed submission, using a Priority Mail 2-day flat
rate legal envelope, will be $9.25. Therefore, the USPTO estimates $19
in postage costs associated with this information collection.
IV. Request for Comments
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.
All comments submitted in response to this notice are a matter of
public record. 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 aware that the entire
comment-- including PII--may be made publicly available at any time.
While you may ask in your comment to withhold PII from public view,
USPTO cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so.
Kimberly Hardy,
Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Adminstrative
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2022-02607 Filed 2-7-22; 8:45 am]
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