[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 247 (Tuesday, December 27, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79283-79286]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-28151]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Secrecy and License to Export
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-
0034 Secrecy and License to Export. 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 February 27, 2023.
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.
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
[[Page 79284]]
should be directed to Parikha Mehta, Senior Legal Advisor, United
States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA
22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-3248; or by email at
[email protected] with ``0651-0034 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
In the interest of national security, patent laws and regulations
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.
A. Secrecy Orders
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 United States Patent and Trademark Office (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 force. 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 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 so require. The applicant is notified of such renewal.
When the USPTO places a secrecy order on a patent application, the
regulations authorize the applicant to petition the USPTO for permits
to allow disclosure, modification, or rescission of the secrecy order,
or to obtain a general or group permit. In each of these circumstances,
the petition is forwarded to the appropriate defense 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 agencies who caused the order to be issued that
the disclosure of the invention is no longer deemed detrimental to the
national security.
Unless expressly ordered otherwise, action on the application and
prosecution by the applicant will proceed during the time the
application is under secrecy order to the point indicated in 37 CFR
5.3. See the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) Section 130
(9th ed., rev. 10.2019, June 2020). For example, prosecution of a
national application under secrecy order may proceed only to the point
where it is found to be in condition for allowance. See 37 CFR 5.3(c).
Prosecution of international applications under secrecy order, on the
other hand, will proceed only to the point before record and search
copies would be transmitted to the international authorities or the
applicant. See 37 CFR 5.3(d). National applications under secrecy order
that come to a final rejection must be appealed or otherwise prosecuted
to avoid abandonment. See 37 CFR 5.3(a). Appeals in such cases must be
completed by the applicant. Unless specifically ordered by the
Commissioner for Patents, these appeals will not be set for hearing
until the secrecy order is removed. See id.
B. Foreign Filing License
In addition, this information 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 patent applications 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 information collection covers
petitions for a foreign filing license either with or without a
corresponding United States application. In addition, this information
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 information 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. 181-183 and 184-186 and administered by the USPTO through
37 CFR 5.1-5.5, 5.11-5.15, and 5.18-5.25.
II. Method of Collection
Electronically via the USPTO's patent electronic filing system, by
mail, or by hand delivery to the USPTO.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0651-0034.
Forms: None.
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: 7,524 respondents.
Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 7,524 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses
in this information collection will take the public approximately
between 30 minutes (0.5 hours) and 4 hours to complete. This includes
the time to gather the necessary information, create the document, and
submit the completed item to the USPTO.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 4,503 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden: $1,958,805.
[[Page 79285]]
Table 1--Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Private Sector Respondents
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Estimated
Estimated Responses per Estimated Estimated time Estimated Rate \1\ ($/ annual
Item No. Item annual respondent annual for response burden (hour/ hour) respondent
respondents responses (hours) year) cost burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (d) (c) x (d) = (f) (e) x (f) =
(c) (e) (g)
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1................. Petition for 10 1 10 3 30 $435 $13,050
Rescission of
Secrecy Order.
2................. Petition to Disclose 10 1 10 2 20 435 8,700
or Modification of
Secrecy Order.
3................. Petition for General 1 1 1 1 1 435 435
and Group Permits.
4................. Petition for 6,860 1 6,860 0.5 3,430 435 1,492,050
Expedited Handling
of License (no
corresponding
application).
5................. Petition for 294 1 294 0.5 147 435 63,945
Expedited Handling
of License
(corresponding U.S.
application).
6................. Petition for 3 1 3 0.5 2 435 870
Changing Scope of
License.
7................. Petition for 196 1 196 4 784 435 341,040
Retroactive License.
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Totals........... 7,374 .............. 7,374 .............. 4,414 .............. 1,920,090
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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 $435 per hour. (https://www.aipla.org/home/news-publications/economic-survey).
Table 2--Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Individual and Household Respondents
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Estimated Estimated
Estimated Responses per Estimated time for Estimated Rate \2\ ($/ annual
Item No. Item annual respondent annual response burden (hour/ hour) respondent
respondents responses (hours) year) cost burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (d) (c) x (d) = (f) (e) x (f) =
(c) (e) (g)
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4................. Petition for 140 1 140 0.5 70 $435 $30,450
Expedited Handling
of License (no
corresponding
application).
5................. Petition for 6 1 6 0.5 3 435 1,305
Expedited Handling
of License
(corresponding U.S.
application).
7................. Petition for 4 1 4 4 16 435 6,960
Retroactive License.
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Totals........... 150 .............. 150 .............. 89 .............. 38,715
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Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden:
$1,477,829.
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\2\ Ibid.
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There are no maintenance costs, capital start-up costs, or
recordkeeping costs associated with this information collection.
However, the USPTO estimates that the total annual (non-hour) cost
burden for this information collection, in the form of filing fees
($1,477,135) and postage ($694), is $1,477,829.
Filing Fees
The items with filing fees are listed in the table below.
Table 3--Filing Fees
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Total non-
IC No. Item Responses Filing fee hour cost
($) burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) =
(c)
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4............................. Petition for Expedited Handling 5,600 $220 $1,232,000
of License (no corresponding
application) (undiscounted
entity).
4............................. Petition for Expedited Handling 1,260 110 138,600
of License (no corresponding
application) (small entity).
4............................. Petition for Expedited Handling 140 55 7,700
of License (no corresponding
application) (micro entity).
5............................. Petition for Expedited Handling 240 220 52,800
of License (corresponding U.S.
application) (undiscounted
entity).
5............................. Petition for Expedited Handling 54 110 5,940
of License (corresponding U.S.
application) (small entity).
5............................. Petition for Expedited Handling 6 55 330
of License (corresponding U.S.
application) (micro entity).
6............................. Petition for Changing Scope of 1 220 220
License (undiscounted entity).
6............................. Petition for Changing Scope of 1 110 110
License (small entity).
6............................. Petition for Changing Scope of 1 55 55
License (micro entity).
7............................. Petition for Retroactive License 160 220 35,200
(undiscounted entity).
7............................. Petition for Retroactive License 36 110 3,960
(small entity).
[[Page 79286]]
7............................. Petition for Retroactive License 4 55 220
(micro entity).
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Totals....................... 7,503 .............. 1,477,135
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Postage
The USPTO estimates that 99% of the petitions in this information
collection are submitted electronically, by facsimile, or hand carried
because of the quick turnaround required, and only 1% of the 7,524
petitions will be submitted in the mail. 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 and that approximately 75
submissions will be mailed to the USPTO per year. Therefore, the USPTO
estimates that postage costs in this collection will be $694.
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 withhold PII from public view,
USPTO cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so.
Justin Isaac,
Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Adminstrative
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2022-28151 Filed 12-23-22; 8:45 am]
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