[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 93 (Monday, May 13, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41396-41398]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10399]


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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; National Summer Teacher Institute (NSTI) and Master Teacher in 
Intellectual Property Program (MTIP)

AGENCY: 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 of an existing information collection: 0651-0077 
(National Summer Teacher Institute (NSTI) and Master Teacher in 
Intellectual Property Program (MTIP)). 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 July 12, 2024.

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-
0077 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
     Federal eRulemaking 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: Request for additional information 
should be directed to Joyce Ward, Education Director, Office of Public 
Engagement, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, 
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-8424; or by email

[[Page 41397]]

at [email protected] with ``0651-0077 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 United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) conducts the 
National Summer Teacher Institute (NSTI) on Innovation, STEM, and 
Intellectual Property. This program, which focuses on innovation, STEM, 
entrepreneurship, and intellectual property, is offered in support of 
USPTO's ongoing education and outreach programming and Department of 
Commerce Innovation initiatives. The Institute, launched in 2014, is 
part of the USPTO's ongoing efforts to foster innovation, 
competitiveness and economic growth, domestically and abroad, by 
providing relevant intellectual property, innovation, and invention 
education resources to school administrators, teachers, students, and 
parents.
    In 2023, USPTO introduced the Master Teacher in Intellectual 
Property Program (MTIP) to align and support the USPTO's mission to 
foster innovation, competitiveness, domestic and international economic 
growth, and deliver invention IP training to educators across the 
nation. The MTIP builds a network of qualified NSTI participants and 
intellectual property educators and enable them to become teacher-
leaders. These teacher leaders in turn provide professional development 
to U.S. educators who seek to learn more about invention and IP 
education. MTIP teacher-leaders share USPTO resources and practical 
classroom experience they learned through their implementation of 
lessons learned at the NSTI.
    USPTO facilitates the enhancement of internal and external 
relations, including stakeholder partnerships and collaborations, and 
support for Government-wide efforts to promote STEM education 
initiatives. In order to obtain a broad range of participants for the 
NSTI and MTIP, the USPTO must collect data related to courses taught, 
teaching experience, and school district demographics.
    Both NSTI and MTIP combine experiential training tools, practices, 
and project-based learning models to support elementary, middle, and 
high school teachers in incorporating concepts of making, inventing, 
entrepreneurship, and innovation into classroom instruction. Recent 
focuses include the creation and protection of intellectual property; 
including inventions, knowledge discovery, creative ideas, and 
expressions of the human mind that may have commercial value and are 
protectable under patent, trademark, copyright, or trade secret laws. 
Intellectual property is modeled as both a teaching and learning 
platform to help inspire and motivate student achievement in science, 
technology, engineering, and mathematics.
    This information collection covers data gathered from applicants 
and participants in the NSTI and MTIP programs. The USPTO gathers this 
information from program applications, and participant surveys, 
workshops, and webinars. The application collects data which the USPTO 
uses to determine who will be accepted into the respective programs. 
The participant survey is used to gather feedback from participants for 
future program enhancements, while the webinar survey allows the USPTO 
to understand the particular needs and interests of participants.
    To account for the recent addition of the MTIP program, the name of 
this information collection has been changed from ``National Summer 
Teacher Institute'' to ``National Summer Teacher Institute (NSTI) and 
Master Teacher in Intellectual Property Program (MTIP)''.

II. Method of Collection

    Items in this information collection must be submitted 
electronically.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0651-0077.
    Forms:

 PTO/NSTI/001 (NSTI Application)
 PTO/NSTI/002 (NSTI Participant Survey)
 PTO/NSTI/003 (NSTI Webinar Survey)
 PTO/MTIP/001 (MTIP Application)
 PTO/MTIP/002 (MTIP Participant Survey)
 PTO/MTIP/003 (MTIP Webinar Survey)

    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 14,000 respondents.
    Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 27,400 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses 
in this information collection will take the public approximately 
between 8 minutes (0.13 hours) and 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: 5,998 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden: $200,334.

                                   Table 1--Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Individual or Household Respondents
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                                                                                                                                             Estimated
                                       Estimated    Responses      Estimated     Estimated time  for response     Estimated     Rate \1\      annual
   Item No.             Item             annual        per          annual                  (hour)              annual burden   ($/hour)    respondent
                                      respondents   respondent     responses                                     (hour/year)                cost burden
                                              (a)          (b)     (a) x (b) =  (b)..........................     (a) x (b) =        (d)     (c) x (d) =
                                                                           (c)                                            (c)                        (e)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.............  NSTI Application            2,100            1           2,100  0.50 (30 minutes)............           1,050     $33.40         $35,070
                 (PTO/NSTI/001).
1.............  NSTI Application            * 900            1             900  0.50 (30 minutes)............             450      33.40          15,030
                 (PTO/NSTI/001).
2.............  NSTI Participant                             1             900  0.25 (15 minutes)............             225      33.40           7,515
                 Survey (PTO/NSTI/
                 002).
3.............  NSTI Webinar Survey                          2           1,800  0.13 (8 minutes).............             234      33.40           7,816
                 (PTO/NSTI/003).
3.............  NSTI Webinar Survey         4,000            2           8,000  0.13 (8 minutes).............           1,040      33.40          34,736
                 (PTO/NSTI/003).
4.............  MTIP Application            2,100            1           2,100  0.50 (30 minutes)............           1,050      33.40          35,070
                 (PTO/MTIP/001).
4.............  MTIP Application           ** 900            1             900  0.50 (30 minutes)............             450      33.40          15,030
                 (PTO/MTIP/001).
5.............  MTIP Participant                             1             900  0.25 (15 minutes)............             225      33.40           7,515
                 Survey (PTO/MTIP/
                 002).
6.............  MTIP Webinar/                                2           1,800  0.13 (8 minutes).............             234      33.40           7,816
                 Workshop Survey
                 (PTO/MTIP/003).

[[Page 41398]]

 
6.............  MTIP Webinar/               4,000            2           8,000  0.13 (8 minutes).............           1,040      33.40          34,736
                 Workshop Survey
                 (PTO/MTIP/003).
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    Totals..........................       14,000  ...........          27,400  .............................           5,998  .........         200,334
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\1\ The USPTO expects that secondary schoolteachers will complete the applications and surveys. The professional hourly rate for secondary school
  teachers is $33.40, as found in the May 2022 Occupational Labor Statistics Report for secondary school teachers (25-2031). The hourly rate is based on
  the mean annual wage ($69,480), divided by 2,080 (the average annual work hours based on a 40-hour work week); https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes252031.htm.
* Respondents for these three lines are individuals who are selected to participate in the NSTI Program or its equivalent. These respondents are
  distinct from applicants who are not accepted into the program and those who may attend program webinars or workshops.
** Respondents for these three lines are individuals who are selected to participate in the MTIP Program. These respondents are distinct from applicants
  who are not accepted into the program and those who may attend program webinars or workshops.

    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden: $0. There 
are no capital start-up, maintenance costs, recordkeeping costs, filing 
fees, or postage costs associated with this information collection.

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. The 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, the 
USPTO cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so.

Justin Isaac,
Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative 
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2024-10399 Filed 5-10-24; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-16-P