[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 207 (Friday, October 25, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 85171-85172]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-24920]
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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; Patents for Humanity Program and Trademarks for Humanity
Program
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-
0066 (Patents for Humanity Program and Trademarks for Humanity
Program). 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 December 24, 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-
0066 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 Soma Saha, Patent Attorney, Office of Policy and
International Affairs, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O.
Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-9300; or
by email at [email protected] or
[email protected] with ``0651-0066 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
Since 2012, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
has conducted the Patents for Humanity Program, a biannual award
program to incentivize the distribution of patented technologies or
products for the purpose of addressing humanitarian needs. The program
is open to any patent owners or patent licensees, including inventors
who have not assigned their ownership rights to others, assignees, and
exclusive or non-exclusive licenses. The USPTO collects information
from applicants that describe what actions they have taken with their
patented technology to address the welfare of impoverished populations,
or how they furthered research by others on technologies for
humanitarian purposes. There are numerous categories of awards
including: Medicine, Nutrition, Sanitation, Household Energy, and
Living Standards. Sometimes the program includes additional categories
specific for that year, for example, green energy.
The Patents for Humanity program provides winners with recognition
and an acceleration certificate for one future patent matter. The
applications that are chosen for an award will receive a certificate
redeemable to accelerate select matters before the USPTO. The
certificates can be redeemed to accelerate one of the following
matters: an ex parte reexamination proceeding, including one appeal to
the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) from that proceeding; a patent
application, including one appeal to the PTAB from that application; or
an appeal to the PTAB of a claim twice rejected in a patent application
or reissue application or finally rejected in an ex parte
reexamination, without accelerating the underlying matter which
generated the appeal. Finally, due to the January 2021 passage of the
Patents for Humanity Program Improvement Act, winners of the Patents
for Humanity program are now able to transfer their certificates to
third parties, including by sale.\1\
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\1\ https://www.congress.gov/116/plaws/publ316/PLAW-116publ316.pdf.
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In 2023, the USPTO added the Trademarks for Humanity Program to
promote and incentivize brand owners who offer products and services
that help address humanitarian issues utilizing a federally registered
trademark. Applicants are required to describe how their mark and their
goods or services satisfy the program criteria to address humanitarian
issues. Like the Patents for Humanity Program, this trademark-focused
program operates biannually and can have a variety of topics depending
upon the year. Trademarks for Humanity awards are focused on
recognition and do not confer transfer of awards certificates like the
Patents for Humanity Program.
Applications for both programs must provide non-public contact
information in order for the USPTO to notify them about their award
status. Applicants may opt to provide contact information for the
public to reach them with any inquiries. Applications must be submitted
via email and will be posted on the USPTO website. A panel of
independent judges evaluate the applications and send the top-scoring
ones to reviewers from participating federal agencies to recommend
award recipients. Awards are public, and recipients receive recognition
for their humanitarian efforts from the USPTO and executive branch
leadership. Winners of both the Patents for Humanity Program and the
Trademarks for Humanity Program are invited to participate in an awards
ceremony.
This information collection covers the two application forms for
the Patents for Humanity Program and the single application form for
the Trademarks for Humanity Program. This information collection also
covers the information gathered in Patents for Humanity petitions to
extend an acceleration certificate redemption beyond 12 months, as well
as the transfer of awards certificates. To account for the recent
addition of the Trademarks for Humanity Program, the name of this
information collection has been changed from ``Patents for Humanity
Program'' to ``Patents for Humanity Program and Trademarks for Humanity
Program.''
II. Method of Collection
Items in this information collection must be submitted
electronically.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0651-0066.
Forms: (PFH--Patents for Humanity, TFH--Trademarks for Humanity)
PTO/PFH/001 (Humanitarian Use Application)
PTO/PFH/002 (Humanitarian Research Use Application)
PTO/PFH/003 (Petition to Extend the Redemption Period of a
Patents for Humanity Program Acceleration Certificate)
PTO/TFH/001 (Trademarks for Humanity Application)
[[Page 85172]]
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.
Frequency: Biannually.
Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 82 respondents.
Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 82 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses
in this information collection will take the public approximately
between 30 minutes (0.50 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: 322 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden: $143,934.
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\2\ 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 intellectual property work in all
firms which is $447 per hour (https://www.aipla.org/home/news-publications/economic-survey).
Table 1--Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Private Sector Respondents
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Estimated
Estimated Responses Estimated Estimated time Estimated Rate 2 ($/ annual
Item No. Item annual per annual for response burden (hour/ hour) respondent
respondents respondent 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............................. Humanitarian 25 1 25 4 100 $447 $44,700
Program
Application
(Humanitarian
Use).
2............................. Humanitarian 25 1 25 4 100 447 44,700
Program
Application
(Humanitarian
Research).
3............................. Petition to 1 1 1 1 1 447 447
Extend the
Redemption
Period of the
Humanitarian
Award
Certificate.
4............................. Transfer of 1 1 1 0.50 1 447 447
Awards (30 minutes)
Certificate.
5............................. Trademarks for 30 1 30 4 120 447 53,640
Humanity
Application.
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Totals.................... 82 ........... 82 .............. 322 ........... 143,934
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Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden: $0. There
are no capital start-up costs, 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. 2024-24920 Filed 10-24-24; 8:45 am]
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