[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 205 (Monday, October 26, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54952-54955]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-25652]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Patent Cooperation Treaty
ACTION: Proposed Collection; Comment Request.
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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part
of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden,
invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this
opportunity to comment on the continuing information collection, as
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before December 28,
2009.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
E-mail: Susan.Fawcett@uspto.gov. Include A0651-0021
comment@ in the subject line of the message.
Fax: 571-273-0112, marked to the attention of Susan K.
Fawcett.
Mail: Susan K. Fawcett, Records Officer, Office of the
Chief Information Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office,
P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to Rafael Bacares, Office of PCT Legal
Administration, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box
1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-3276; or by e-
mail to Rafael.Bacares@uspto.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
This collection of information is required by the provisions of the
Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), which became operational in June 1978
and is administered by the International Bureau (IB) of the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland. The
provisions of the PCT have been implemented by the United States in
Part IV of Title 35 of the U.S. Code and Subpart C of Title 37 of the
Code of Federal Regulations. The purpose of the PCT is to provide a
standardized filing format and procedure that allows an applicant to
seek protection for an invention in several countries by filing one
international application in one location, in one language, and paying
one initial set of fees.
The information in this collection is used by the public to submit
a patent application under the PCT and by the United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) to fulfill its obligation to process, search,
and examine the application as directed by the treaty. The USPTO acts
as the United States Receiving Office (RO/US) for international
applications filed by residents and nationals of the United States.
These applicants send most of their correspondence directly to the
USPTO, but they may also file certain documents directly with the IB.
The USPTO also serves as an International Searching Authority (ISA) and
an International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA).
The USPTO is updating this information collection to reflect the
current practice and fee structure for PCT applications entering the
national stage at the USPTO. A form is being added to this collection
for the previously approved information requirement for the withdrawal
of an international application. This form (PCT/IB/372) is developed
and maintained by the WIPO.
II. Method of Collection
By mail, hand delivery, or electronically to the USPTO. Electronic
submissions are made through EFS-Web, the USPTO's online filing system
for patent applications and related documents.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-0021.
Form Number(s): PCT/RO/101, PCT/RO/134, PCT/IB/372, PCT/IPEA/401,
PTO-1382, PTO-1390, PTO/SB/61/PCT, PTO/SB/64/PCT.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other
for-profits; and not-for-profit institutions.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 363,809 responses per year.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take
the public from 15 minutes (0.25 hours) to 8 hours to gather the
necessary information, prepare the appropriate form or documents, and
submit the information to the USPTO.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 341,840 hours per
year.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $105,970,400 per
year. The USPTO expects that the information in this collection will be
prepared by attorneys. Using the professional rate of $310 per hour for
attorneys in private firms, the USPTO estimates that the respondent
cost burden for submitting the information in this collection will be
$105,970,400 per year.
[[Page 54953]]
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Estimated
Estimated annual
Item Estimated time for response annual burden
responses hours
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Request and Fee Calculation Sheet (Annex and 1 hour............................... 53,527 53,527
Notes) (PCT/RO/101).
Description/claims/drawings/abstracts.......... 3 hours.............................. 53,527 160,581
Application Data Sheet......................... 23 minutes........................... 39,592 15,045
Transmittal Letter to the United States 15 minutes........................... 48,174 12,044
Receiving Office (RO/US) (PTO-1382).
Transmittal Letter to the United States 15 minutes........................... 58,794 14,699
Designated/Elected Office (DO/EO/US)
Concerning a Submission Under 35 U.S.C. 371
(PTO-1390).
PCT/Model of Power of Attorney................. 15 minutes........................... 5,353 1,338
PCT/Model of General Power of Attorney......... 15 minutes........................... 536 134
Extensions of time............................. 15 minutes........................... 21,000 5,250
Priority documents............................. 15 minutes........................... 20 5
Indications Relating to a Deposited 15 minutes........................... 20 5
Microorganism (PCT/RO/134).
Response to invitation to correct defects...... 2 hours.............................. 18,524 37,048
Request for rectification of obvious errors.... 30 minutes........................... 589 295
Demand and Fee Calculation Sheet (Annex and 1 hour............................... 3,365 3,365
Notes) (PCT/IPEA/401).
Amendments..................................... 1 hour............................... 3,365 3,365
Fee Authorization.............................. 15 minutes........................... 48,174 12,044
Requests to transmit copies of international 15 minutes........................... 501 125
application.
Withdrawal of international application (PCT/IB/ 15 minutes........................... 1,306 327
372).
Translations................................... 2 hours.............................. 1,655 3,310
Petition for Revival of an International 8 hours.............................. 55 440
Application for Patent Designating the U.S.
Abandoned Unavoidably Under 37 CFR 1.137(a)
(PTO/SB/61/PCT).
Petition for Revival of an International 1 hour............................... 1,027 1,027
Application for Patent Designating the U.S.
Abandoned Unintentionally Under 37 CFR
1.137(b) (PTO/SB/64/PCT).
Petitions to the Commissioner for international 4 hours.............................. 581 2,324
applications.
Petitions to the Commissioner in national stage 4 hours.............................. 3,287 13,148
examination.
Acceptance of an unintentionally delayed claim 2 hours.............................. 117 234
for priority.
Request for the restoration of the right of 3 hours.............................. 720 2,160
priority (37 CFR 1.78).
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Totals..................................... ..................................... 363,809 341,840
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Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden:
$282,024,234 per year. There are no capital start-up or maintenance
costs associated with this information collection. However, this
collection does have annual (non-hour) costs in the form of
translations, drawings, fees, recordkeeping costs, and postage costs.
Under the terms of the PCT, the USPTO may require documents
submitted for a PCT application to be translated into English when
necessary. This requirement may carry additional costs for the
applicant to contract for a translation of the documents in question.
The USPTO believes that the average length of the documents to be
translated will be 10 pages and that it will cost $150 per page for the
translation, for an average translation cost of $1,500 per document.
The USPTO estimates that it receives approximately 1,655 English
translations annually, for a total cost of $2,482,500 per year for
English translations of non-English language documents for PCT
applications.
Applicants may also incur costs for drawings that are submitted as
part of PCT applications. Some applicants may produce their own
drawings, while others may contract out the work to various patent
illustration firms. For the purpose of estimating burden for this
collection, the USPTO will consider all applicants to have their
drawings prepared by these firms. The USPTO estimates that drawings may
cost an average of $58 per sheet to produce and that on average 11
sheets of drawings are submitted per application, for an average total
cost of $638 to produce a set of drawings for an application. The USPTO
expects that approximately 91% of the estimated 53,527 applications per
year will have drawings filed with them, for a total of 48,710 sets of
drawings at a total cost of $31,076,980 per year.
The estimated filing fees for this collection are calculated in the
accompanying table. The fees listed for Requests and Demands represent
an estimate of the average fees for filing the appropriate items
associated with those requirements for an international application.
The basic national fee under 37 CFR 1.492(a) for an international
application entering the national stage is fixed at $330 ($165 for
small entities). The search and examination fees under 37 CFR 1.492(b)-
(c) vary depending on the outcome of the written opinion prepared by
the ISA/US, the international preliminary examination report prepared
by the IPEA/US, and other related factors as noted in the accompanying
table. The basic national fee, search fee, examination fee, and the
fees for petitions to revive unavoidably or unintentionally abandoned
international applications are discounted for small entities.
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Estimated
Item annual Fee amount Estimated annual
responses filing costs
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Request and Fee Calculation Sheet (Annex and Notes) (PCT/RO/ 53,527 $3,504.00 $187,558,608.00
101)........................................................
Description/claims/drawings/abstracts........................ 53,527 0.00 0.00
Application Data Sheet....................................... 39,592 0.00 0.00
Transmittal Letter to the United States Receiving Office (RO/ 48,174 0.00 0.00
US) (PTO-1382)..............................................
[[Page 54954]]
Transmittal Letter to the United States Designated/Elected 808 330.00 266,640.00
Office (DO/EO/US) (PTO-1390)--U.S. was the ISA or IPEA and
all claims satisfy PCT Article 33(1)-(4); includes $330
basic fee, $0 search fee, and $0 examination fee............
Transmittal Letter to the DO/EO/US (PTO-1390)--U.S. was the 202 165.00 33,330.00
ISA or IPEA and all claims satisfy PCT Article 33(1)-(4);
includes $165 basic fee, $0 search fee, and $0 examination
fee for small entity........................................
Transmittal Letter to the DO/EO/US (PTO-1390)--U.S. was the 1,935 650.00 1,257,750.00
ISA; includes $330 basic fee, $100 search fee, and $220
examination fee.............................................
Transmittal Letter to the DO/EO/US (PTO-1390)--U.S. was the 2,604 325.00 846,300.00
ISA; includes $165 basic fee, $50 search fee, and $110
examination fee for small entity............................
Transmittal Letter to the DO/EO/US (PTO-1390)--International 40,994 980.00 40,174,120.00
search report prepared by other than the U.S. and provided
to the USPTO or previously communicated to the U.S. by the
IB; includes $330 basic fee, $430 search fee, and $220
examination fee.............................................
Transmittal Letter to the DO/EO/US (PTO-1390)--International 9,667 490.00 4,736,830.00
search report prepared by other than the U.S. and provided
to the USPTO or previously communicated to the U.S. by the
IB; includes $165 basic fee, $215 search fee, and $110
examination fee for small entity............................
Transmittal Letter to the DO/EO/US (PTO-1390)--All other 1,669 1,090.00 1,819,210.00
situations; includes $330 basic fee, $540 search fee, and
$220 examination fee........................................
Transmittal Letter to the DO/EO/US (PTO-1390)--All other 915 545.00 498,675.00
situations; includes $165 basic fee, $270 search fee, and
$110 examination fee for small entity.......................
PCT/Model of Power of Attorney............................... 5,353 0.00 0.00
PCT/Model of General Power of Attorney....................... 536 0.00 0.00
Extensions of time........................................... 21,000 0.00 0.00
Priority documents........................................... 20 0.00 0.00
Indications Relating to a Deposited Microorganism (PCT/RO/ 20 0.00 0.00
134)........................................................
Response to invitation to correct defects.................... 18,524 0.00 0.00
Request for rectification of obvious errors.................. 589 0.00 0.00
Demand and Fee Calculation Sheet (Annex and Notes) (PCT/IPEA/ 3,365 771.00 2,594,415.00
401)........................................................
Amendments................................................... 3,365 0.00 0.00
Fee Authorization............................................ 48,174 0.00 0.00
Requests to transmit copies of international application..... 501 0.00 0.00
Withdrawal of international application (PCT/IB/372)......... 1,306 0.00 0.00
Translations................................................. 1,655 0.00 0.00
Petition for Revival of an International Application for 25 540.00 13,500.00
Patent Designating the U.S. Abandoned Unavoidably Under 37
CFR 1.137(a) (PTO/SB/61/PCT)................................
Petition for Revival of an International Application for 30 270.00 8,100.00
Patent Designating the U.S. Abandoned Unavoidably Under 37
CFR 1.137(a) (PTO/SB/61/PCT)--small entity..................
Petition for Revival of an International Application for 565 1,620.00 915,300.00
Patent Designating the U.S. Abandoned Unintentionally Under
37 CFR 1.137(b) (PTO/SB/64/PCT).............................
Petition for Revival of an International Application for 462 810.00 374,220.00
Patent Designating the U.S. Abandoned Unintentionally Under
37 CFR 1.137(b) (PTO/SB/64/PCT)--small entity...............
Petitions to the Commissioner for international applications. 581 130.00 75,530.00
Petitions to the Commissioner in national stage examination.. 3,287 200.00 657,400.00
Acceptance of an unintentionally delayed claim for priority.. 117 1,410.00 164,970.00
Request for the restoration of the right of priority (37 CFR 720 1,410.00 1,015,200.00
1.78).......................................................
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Totals................................................... 363,809 .............. 243,010,098.00
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In addition to the filing fees listed in the table, applicants may
also incur fees for late filings, multiple dependent claims, and
lengthy applications. The fee for the late filing of search or
examination fees under 37 CFR 1.492(h) is $130 for large entities and
$65 for small entities. The USPTO estimates that it will receive
approximately 20,053 of these late payment fees for large entities and
7,632 for small entities per year, for a total of $3,102,970. The fee
for the late filing of an English translation of an international
application under 37 CFR 1.492(i) is $130. The USPTO estimates that it
will receive approximately 116 of these late translation fees per year,
for a total of $15,080. The fee for applications containing a multiple
dependent claim is $390 for large entities and $195 for small entities.
The USPTO estimates that it will receive approximately 3,530 of these
multiple dependent claim fees for large entities and 1,158 for small
entities per year, for a total of $1,602,510. Applications with
specifications and drawings that exceed 100 pages may be subject to an
application size fee of $270 ($135 for small entities) for each
additional 50 pages or fraction thereof. The USPTO estimates that it
will receive approximately 2,205 of the $270 size fees from large
entities and approximately 621 of the $135 size fees from small
entities per year, for a total of $679,185. The total estimated fees
for this collection, including filing fees and other additional fees,
will be approximately $248,409,843 per year.
There are recordkeeping costs associated with filing PCT
submissions online using EFS-Web. The USPTO recommends that customers
print and retain a copy of the acknowledgment receipt after a
successful online submission. The USPTO estimates that it will take
five seconds (0.001 hours) to print a copy of the acknowledgment
receipt and that approximately 309,238 PCT-related items per year will
be submitted via EFS-Web, for a total of approximately 309 hours per
year for printing this receipt. The USPTO expects that these receipts
will be printed by paraprofessionals at an
[[Page 54955]]
estimated rate of $100 per hour, for an estimated recordkeeping cost of
$30,900 per year.
Customers may incur postage costs when submitting the information
in this collection to the USPTO by mail. The USPTO estimates that the
average first-class postage cost for a mailed submission will be 44
cents and that up to 54,571 submissions will be mailed to the USPTO per
year. The total estimated postage cost for this collection is $24,011
per year.
The total annual (non-hour) respondent cost burden for this
collection associated with translations, drawings, fees, recordkeeping,
and postage is estimated to be $282,024,234 per year.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information;
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on respondents, e.g., the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized or
included in the request for OMB approval of this information
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.
Dated: October 20, 2009.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. E9-25652 Filed 10-23-09; 8:45 am]
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