[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 120 (Thursday, June 23, 2022)] [Notices] [Pages 37503-37504] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2022-13284] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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; Invention Promoters/Promotion Firms Complaints The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) 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 comment on this information collection renewal, which helps the USPTO assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on March 31, 2022 during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. Agency: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce. Title: Invention Promoters/Promotion Firms Complaints. OMB Control Number: 0651-0044. Needs and Uses: Pursuant to the Inventors' Rights Act of 1999, 35 U.S.C. 297, and implementing regulations at 37 CFR part 4, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is required to provide a forum for the publication of complaints concerning invention promoters and responses from the invention promoters. Upon receipt of a complaint, the USPTO will forward it to the inventor promoter for a response. The USPTO does not investigate these complaints or participate in any legal proceedings against invention promoters or promotion firms. Under the Act, USPTO is responsible for making complaints and responses available to the public on the USPTO's website. A complaint submitted to the USPTO must be clearly marked, or otherwise identified, as a complaint. The complaint must include: (1) The name and address of the complaint; (2) the name and address of the invention promoter; (3) the name of the customer; (4) the invention promotion services offered or performed by the invention promoter; (5) the name of the mass media in which the invention promoter advertised providing such services; (6) and example of the relationship between the customer and the invention promoter; and (7) a signature of the complainant. Identifying information is necessary so that the USPTO can both forward the complaint to the invention promoter or promotion firm as well as notify the complainant that the complaint has been forwarded. Complainants should understand that the complaints will be forwarded to the invention promoter for response and that the complaint and response will be made available to the public as required by the Inventors' Rights Act. If the USPTO does not receive a response from the invention promoter, the complaint will be published without a response. The USPTO does not accept under this program complaints that request confidentiality. This information collection contains one form, Complaint Regarding Invention Promoter (PTO/2048A), which is used by the public to submit a complaint under this program. This form is available for download from the USPTO website. Use of this form is voluntary, and the complainant may submit his or her complaint without the form via any of the approved methods of collection as long as the complainant includes the necessary information and the submission is clearly marked as a complaint filed under the Inventors' Rights Act. There is no associated form for submitting responses to a complaint. Form:PTO/2048A (Complaint Regarding Invention Promoter). Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved information collection. Affected Public: Private sector; individuals or households. Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary. Frequency: On occasion. Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 22 respondents. Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 22 responses. Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses in this information collection will take the public approximately 15 minutes (0.25 hours) to 30 minutes (0.5 hours) to complete. This includes the time to gather the necessary information, create the document, and submit the completed request to the USPTO. Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 8 hours. Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-Hourly Cost Burden: $51. This information collection request may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce, USPTO information collections currently under review by OMB. [[Page 37504]] Written comments and recommendations for this information collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on the following website 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 0651-0044. Further information can be obtained by: Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651- 0044 information request'' in the subject line of the message. Mail: Kimberly Hardy, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450. Kimberly Hardy, Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office. [FR Doc. 2022-13284 Filed 6-22-22; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-16-P