[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 117 (Monday, June 17, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51313-51315]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-13275]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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; Recording Assignments
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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-
0027 (Recording Assignments). 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 August 16, 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-
0027 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 R. Johnson, Manager, Assignment Division,
United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria,
VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 703-756-1265 or by email at
[email protected] with ``0651-0027 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
This collection of information is required by 35 U.S.C. 261 and 262
for patents and 15 U.S.C. 1057 and 1060 for trademarks. These statutes
authorize the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to
record patent and trademark assignment documents, including transfers
of properties (i.e., patents and trademarks), liens, licenses,
assignments of interest, security interests, mergers, and explanations
of transactions or other documents that record the transfer of
ownership of a particular patent or trademark property from one party
to another. Assignments are recorded for applications, patents, and
trademark registrations.
The USPTO administers these statutes through 37 CFR 2.146, 2.171,
and 37 CFR part 3. These regulations permit the public, corporations,
other federal agencies, and government-owned or government-controlled
corporations to submit patent and trademark assignment documents and
other documents related to title transfers to the USPTO to be recorded.
In accordance with 37 CFR 3.54, the recording of an assignment document
by the USPTO is an administrative action and not a determination of the
validity of the document or of the effect that the document has on the
title to an application, patent, or trademark.
Once the assignment documents are recorded, they are available for
public inspection. The only exceptions are those documents that are
sealed under secrecy orders according to 37 CFR 3.58, or related to
unpublished patent applications maintained in confidence under 35
U.S.C. 122 and 37 CFR 1.14. The public uses these records to conduct
ownership and chain-of-title searches. The public may view these
records either at the USPTO Public Search Facility or at the National
Archives and Records Administration, depending on the date they were
recorded. The public may also search patent and trademark assignment
information online through the USPTO website.
[[Page 51314]]
This information collection covers the recordation of patent and
trademark assignments. In order to record an assignment, the respondent
must submit an assignment document along with the appropriate cover
sheet. The USPTO provides two forms for this purpose, the Recordation
Form Cover Sheet--Trademarks Only (PTO-1594), and the Recordation Form
Cover Sheet--Patents Only (PTO-1595), which capture all of the
necessary data for accurately recording various assignments. Customers
may submit assignments electronically by using Assignment Center, which
is available on the USPTO website.\1\ This system allows customers to
fill out the required cover sheet information online using web-based
forms and then attach the assignment documents to be submitted for
recordation. The USPTO also provides paper forms that may be used to
record an assignment. These forms may be downloaded in PDF format from
the USPTO website.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov.
\2\ https://www.uspto.gov/forms/pto1595.pdf and https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/pto1594.pdf, respectively.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. Method of Collection
The items in this information collection can be submitted
electronically, or in paper form by mail or fax.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0651-0027.
Forms:
PTO-1594 (Recordation Form Cover Sheet--Trademarks Only)
PTO-1595 (Recordation Form Cover Sheet--Patents Only)
Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved
information collection.
Affected Public: Private sector.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 724,442 respondents.
Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 724,442 responses.
Frequency: On occasion.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses
in this information collection will take the public approximately 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: 362,222 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden: $103,233,270.
Table 1--Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Private Sector Respondents
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Responses Estimated annual
Item No. Item annual per Estimated annual Estimated time for burden (hours/ Rate \3\ ($/ Estimated annual
respondents respondent responses response (hours) year) hour) burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (c) (d)................... (c) x (d) = (e) (f) (e) x (f) = (g)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1............ Patent 637,311 1 637,311 0.5 (30 minutes)...... 318,656 $285 $90,816,960
Assignments.
2............ Trademark 87,131 1 87,131 0.5 (30 minutes)...... 43,566 285 12,416,310
Assignments.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals....... 724,442 ........... 724,442 ...................... 362,222 ........... 103,233,270
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden:
$9,148,303. There are no capital start-up costs, maintenance 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 and
postage, is $9,148,303.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ In this information collection the USPTO uses an average of
the rates for intellectual property attorneys and paralegals/
paraprofessionals. The USPTO uses the average billing rate for
intellectual property work in all firms, which is $447 per hour
(https://www.aipla.org/home/news-publications/economic-survey. 2023
Report of the Economic Survey, published by the Committee on
Economics of Legal Practice of the American Intellectual Property
Law Association (AIPLA); pg. F-41.). The USPTO uses the average
billing rate for paralegals/paraprofessionals, which is $122 per
hour (https://nala.org/paralegal-info/). 2022 National Utilization
and Compensation Survey Report published by the National Association
of Legal Assistants (NALA); pg. 38.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Filing Fees
The filing fees in this information collection are listed in the
table below.
Table 2--Filing Fees
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated
Item No. Fee Item annual Estimated Estimated non-hour
code responses cost cost burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (c)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1......................... 8021 Recording each patent 214 $50 $10,700
assignment, agreement or
other paper, per property--
if not submitted
electronically.
2......................... 8521 Recording trademark 87,131 40 3,485,240
assignment, agreement or
other ownership document,
first mark per document.
2......................... 8522 Recording trademark 226,081 25 5,652,025
assignment, agreement or
other ownership document,
second and subsequent marks
in the same document.
---------------------------------------------
Totals.................... 313,426 ........... 9,147,965
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 approximately 243 items will be submitted in the mail.
The USPTO estimates that the average postage cost for a mailed
submission, using a one-ounce large flat envelope mailed First Class,
will be $1.39. Therefore, the USPTO estimates the total mailing costs
for this information collection at $338.
[[Page 51315]]
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. 2024-13275 Filed 6-14-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P