[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 167 (Tuesday, August 30, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52938-52940]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18598]
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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; Patent and PTAB Pro Bono Programs
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-
0082 Patent and PTAB Pro Bono Programs. The purpose of this notice is
to allow 60 days for public comment preceding submission of the
information collection to OMB.
DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this information
collection must be received on or before October 31, 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-
0082 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Mail: Justin Isaac, Office of the Chief Administrative
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450,
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to Stacey G. White, Lead Administrative Patent
Judge, USPTO--Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Texas Regional Office; 207
S Houston St., Dallas, TX 75202 by telephone at (469) 295-9061; or by
email to [email protected] with ``0651-0082 comment'' in the
subject line. Additional information about this collection is also
available at http://www.reginfo.gov under ``Information Collection
Review.''
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), Public Law 112-29 Sec.
32 (2011) directs the USPTO to work with and support intellectual
property law associations across the country in the establishment of
pro bono programs designed to assist financially under-resourced
independent inventors and small businesses. To support this, the
USPTO--in collaboration with various non-profit organizations--
implemented the Patent Pro Bono program; a series of autonomous
regional hubs that act as matchmakers to help connect low-income
inventors with volunteer patent attorneys across the United States. The
Patent Pro Bono program comprises a network of regional hubs organized
by various bar associations, law school IP clinics, and lawyer referral
services that provide services across all fifty states, the District of
Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
In 2022, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) began
coordinating pro bono opportunities through the newly created PTAB Pro
Bono Program, having supported the establishment of a national
clearinghouse that acts as a matchmaker to connect under-resourced
inventors with volunteer patent practitioners across the United States
for assistance in preparing and arguing ex parte appeals before the
PTAB. The PTAB Bar Association's national clearinghouse provides access
to legal representation for pro bono ex parte appeal services across
all fifty states and the District of Columbia.
Each pro bono program will be requesting that their respective
regional hubs and a national clearinghouse collect demographic
information from those seeking assistance that will be self-identified
by the applicant. The requested standardized demographic information,
collected through Applicant Intake Forms, will be a
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voluntary part of the overall application materials that each
independent inventor fills out when seeking pro bono assistance. The
information collected will be kept confidential by the regional hubs
and the national clearinghouse and only aggregate information is shared
with the USPTO. This aggregate information, will also be used to help
determine the extent to which women, minorities, and veterans engage
the Pro Bono Programs supported by USPTO.
This renewal of 0651-0082 broadens the scope of the information
collection to include the PTAB Pro Bono Program, in addition to the
Patent Pro Bono Program that was covered under this collection. The
name of the information collection has been adjusted from ``Pro Bono
Survey'' to ``Patent and PTAB Pro Bono Programs'' in order to include
related programs under this single information collection. This
information collection includes an instrument capturing data for the
Patent Pro Bono program (Patent Pro Bono Survey) and its applicant
participations (Patent Applicant Intake Form). The information
collection also has a similar instrument that covers the collection of
data for the PTAB program (PTAB Pro Bono Survey) and the applicants
requesting to participate in that PTAB offering (PTAB Applicant Intake
Form).
II. Method of Collection
The Pro Bono surveys will be conducted electronically through web
forms created to support these surveys. Applicant Intake forms may be
offered electronically or in person depending the needs of the
participating organizations.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0651-0082.
Forms:
USPTO/550 (Patent Pro Bono Survey)
USPTO/551 (Patent Applicant Intake Form)
USPTO/552 (PTAB Pro Bono Survey)
USPTO/553 (PTAB Applicant Intake Form)
Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved
information collection.
Affected Public: Private sector; individuals or households.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 1,763 respondents.
Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 1,832 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses
in this information collection will take the public approximately
between 5 minutes (0.083 hours) and 2 hours to complete. This includes
the time to gather the necessary information, fill out the item, and
submit the completed item to the USPTO.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 332 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden: $16,329.
Table 1--Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Pro Bono Program Respondents
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Estimated
Estimated Responses Estimated annual Estimated time for response Estimated Rate \1\ annual
Item No. Item Respondent type annual per responses (hours) burden (hour/ ($/hour) respondent
respondents respondent year) cost burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (c) (d).......................... (c) x (d) = (f) (e) x (f) =
(e) (g)
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1................. Patent Pro Bono Survey Private Sector........... 22 4 88 2............................ 176 $55.41 $9,752
(PTO Form 550).
2................. Patent Applicant Intake Individuals or Households 1,700 1 1,700 0.083 (5 minutes)............ 141 41.45 5,844
Form (or equivalent)
(PTO Form 551).
3................. PTAB Pro Bono Survey Private Sector........... 1 4 4 2............................ 8 55.41 443
(PTAB 552).
4................. PTAB Applicant Intake Individuals or Households 40 1 40 0.17 (10 minutes)............ 7 41.45 290
Form (PTAB Form 553).
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Totals................ ......................... 1,763 ........... 1,832 ............................. 332 .......... 16,329
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\1\ The hourly rate for the survey of pro bono administrators (BLS 11-1021) is based the BLS 2021 National Occupation Employment and Wage Statistics. The hourly rate for the intake form uses
the average of mean rates for Engineers (17-0000) and Scientists (19-0000).
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden: $1,333.
There are no maintenance costs, recordkeeping costs, filing fees, or
postage costs associated with this information collection. There are
startup costs for the PTAB clearinghouse to create the system required
to capture information which USPTO estimates will cost $4,000. This one
time cost of $4,000 is annualized over a three year period for an
annual cost of $1,333.
IV. Request for Comments
The USPTO is soliciting public comments to:
(a) Evaluate 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) Evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden of
the 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
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withhold PII from public view, USPTO cannot guarantee that it will be
able to do so.
Justin Isaac,
Acting Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief
Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2022-18598 Filed 8-29-22; 8:45 am]
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