[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 215 (Wednesday, November 6, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66740-66742]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-26578]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
[OMB Control No. 9000-0096; Docket No. 2013-0077; Sequence No. 10]
Federal Acquisition Regulation; Submission for OMB Review;
Patents
AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Notice of request for comments regarding an extension to an
existing OMB clearance.
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SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the
Regulatory Secretariat will be submitting to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a
previously approved information collection requirement concerning
patents.
DATES: Submit comments on or before December 6, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments identified by Information Collection 9000-
0096, Patents, by any of the following methods:
Regulations.gov: http://www.regulations.gov.
Submit comments via the Federal eRulemaking portal by searching for
``9000-0096; Patents''. Select the link ``Submit a Comment'' that
corresponds with ``Information Collection 9000-0096, Patents''. Follow
the instructions provided at the ``Submit a Comment'' screen. Please
include your name, company name (if any), and ``Information Collection
9000-0096, Patents'' on your attached document.
Fax: 202-501-4067.
Mail: General Services Administration, Regulatory
Secretariat Division (MVCB), IC 9000-0096, 1800 F Street NW., 2nd
Floor, Washington, DC 20405.
Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite Information
Collection 9000-0096, Patents, in all correspondence related to this
collection. Submit comments regarding this burden estimate or any other
aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for
reducing this burden to: FAR Desk Officer, OMB, Room 10102, NEOB,
Washington, DC 20503. All comments received will be posted without
change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal and/or
business confidential information provided.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Marissa Petrusek, Procurement
Analyst, at 202-501-0136. For information pertaining to status or
publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat at 202-501-
4755.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Purpose
The patent coverage in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart
27.2 requires the contractor to report each notice of a claim of patent
or copyright infringement that came to the contractor's attention in
connection with performing a Government contract (FAR 27.202-1 and
52.227-2).
The contractor is also required to report all royalties anticipated
or paid in excess of $250 for the use of patented inventions by
furnishing the name and address of licensor, date of license agreement,
patent number, brief description of item or component, percentage or
dollar rate of royalty per unit, unit price of contract item, and
number of units (FAR 27.202-5, 52.227-6, and 52.227-9).
Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
functions of the FAR, and whether it will have practical utility;
whether our estimate of the public burden of this collection of
information is accurate, and based on valid assumptions and
methodology; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and ways in which we can minimize the
burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond,
through the use of appropriate technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
A notice was published in the Federal Register at 78 FR 30304, on
May 22, 2013.
B. Analysis of Public Comments
Two respondents submitted comments on the extension of the
previsouly approved information collection. The analysis of the public
comment is summarized as follows:
A. Approval To Extend This Information Collection Requirement
Comment: One respondent commented that the extension of the
information collection would violate the fundamental purposes of the
Paperwork Reduction Act because the analysis significantly
underestimates the paperwork burden imposed by this requirement and has
therefore not provided sufficient justification for the requested
extension. The respondent further stated that the agency and OMB
[[Page 66741]]
should assess the need to extend this information collection
requirement in the context of assessing the total information
collection burden. The respondent further commented that the
``collective burden of compliance'' required of the Government
acquisition community annually totals over 30 million hours. According
to the respondent, the collective burden greatly exceeds the agency's
estimates and outweighs any potential utility of the extension.
Comment: A second respondent noted that this extension should not
be granted unless it is a no cost extension to the government. The
burden is small and understood prior to contract award.
Response: The criteria for extension of an information collection
requirement must be based primarily on the need and use for the
required information. It is essential for contractors to report
responsibility requirements, regardless of the number of responses. If
the agencies have determined that the information is essential to
protect the interests of the Government, then the extension should be
approved.
B. Accuracy of the Data Estimates
Comment: One respondent commented that the agency did not
accurately estimate the public burden, challenging that the agency's
methodology for calculating the burden is insufficient and inadequate
and does not reflect the total burden. The respondent stated that--
Thirty respondents responding just once annually is
grossly understated. Under FAR 52.227-6, Royalty Information, any
response to a solicitation containing costs or charges for royalties
totaling more than $250 triggers this information collection.
The Agencies estimate the hours per response of thirty
minutes (.5 hours) is inadequate. Each information collection
requirement effectively imposes three separate requirements on the
public: (1) The need to monitor whether reporting is required; (2) the
need to compile and collect the required information; and (3) the need
to disclose that information to the Government.
Response: Based on data extrapolated from the Federal Business
Operations Web site, and in consultation with subject matter experts,
the Councils have increased the number of respondents and the burden
hour estimates from 30 to 104 respondents and from .5 hours to 1 hour,
and separated out the data. This re-evaluation resulted in slightly
upward adjustment from the data previously published in the Federal
Register at 78 FR 30304, on May 22, 2013.
C. Collective Burden of Compliance
Comment: One respondent objects to the overall collective burden
imposed by the Government on all respondents.
Response: The Councils cannot effectively address the broad
allegations with regard to the accuracy and utility of the entire
collective burden imposed on all Federal acquisitions. The Councils can
only effectively address each individual collection requirement that is
under consideration for OMB approval. The Councils constantly review
information collection requirements imposed by the FAR regulations for
ways to reduce the burdens and still achieve the objectives of the
regulations, whether based on policy or statute.
D. Agencies' Estimated Burden Should Be Increased
Comment: One respondent provided that the Agency should reassess
the estimated total burden hours and revise the estimate upwards to be
more accurate, as was done in FAR Case 2007-006.
Response: The Council takes serious consideration, during the open
comment period, to all comments received and will adjust the paperwork
burden estimate based on reasonable considerations provided by the
respondents. This is evidenced, as the respondent notes, in FAR Case
2007-006 where an adjustment was made from the total preparation hours
from 3 to 60. This change was made considering particularly the hours
that would be required for review within the company, prior to release
to the Government. In this particular instance, the burden was prepared
using the burden hours method taking into consideration the time,
effort and financial resources put on the entity submitting the
information. This includes reviewing instructions; using technology to
collect, process, and disclose information; adjusting existing
practices to comply with requirements; searching data sources;
completing and reviewing the response; and transmitting or disclosing
information. The estimated hours must also be viewed as an average
between the hours that a simple disclosure by a very small business
might require and the much higher numbers that might be required for a
very complex disclosure by a major corporation. Also, it must be noted
that the burden includes estimated hours only for those actions which a
company would not undertake in the normal course of business. In this
instances, the total burden hours were revised slightly upwards.
C. Annual Reporting Burden
This information collection reflects a slight adjustment from what
was published in the Federal Register at 78 FR 30304, on May 22, 2013,
for the number of respondents required to comply with FAR 52.227-2,
52.227-6 and 52.227-9. This change is primarily due to a re-evaluation
based on consultations with subject matter experts and updated data
retrieved from the Federal Business Opportunities Web site.
For FAR 52.227-2, data extrapolated from the Federal Business
Opportunties Web site indicates that there were a total of 18
solicitations. The Government estimates that there are an additional 18
solicitations which were not accounted for in Federal Business
Opportunties. It is further estimated that each solicitation would
result in approximately two contract awards, or 72 (36 * 2) unique
vendors. Of the 72 unique vendors, it is estimated that approximately
30 percent or 20 unique vendors would have claims of patent (or
copyright) infringement made against them as a result of their contract
work requiring government notification. It is estimated that there is
an average of one response per contract, resulting in approximately 20
responses per year. Two burden hours are estimated per response to
monitor claims of patent or copyright infringement and prepare, review,
and submit the required notification. It is estimated that this work
would be completed by a mid-level program manager and an attorney.
For FAR 52.227-6, data extrapolated from the Federal Business
Opportunties Web site indicates that there were a total of eight
solicitations. The Government estimates that there are an additional 12
solicitations which were not accounted for in Federal Business
Opportunties, totaling 20. It is further estimated that each
solicitation would result in approximately two contract awards, or 40
(20 * 2) unique vendors, required to submit royalty information with
their proposal. Of the 40 unique vendors, it is estimated that
approximately 10 percent or four unique vendors would be required to
submit additional information prior to contract award. It is estimated
that there is an average of one response per solicitation, resulting in
approximately 44 responses per year. One burden hours is estimated per
response to disclose the requested information in the proposal
including such items as the amount of royalty paid, the patent numbers
and a brief description of the component on which the royalty is paid,
and to submit the required notification. It is estimated that
[[Page 66742]]
one hour is needed to provide a copy of the current license agreement
and redact any proprietary data, and to submit it to the government. It
is estimated that this work would be completed by a mid-level program
manager.
For FAR 52.227-9, data extrapolated from Federal Business
Opportunties Web site indicates that there was a total of one
solicitation. The Government estimates that there are an additional
nine solicitations which were not accounted for in Federal Business
Opportunties, totaling 10. It is further estimated that each
solicitation would result in approximately one contract award, or 10
unique vendors. It is also estimated that each contract will have three
subcontractors, for a total of 30 unique subcontractor vendors. Of the
40 (10 + 30) unique vendors, it is estimated that approximately 100
percent or 40 unique vendors would be required to submit a statement of
royalties paid. It is estimated that there is an average of one
response per solicitation, resulting in approximately 40 responses per
year. 0.5 burden hours are estimated per response to submit a statement
of royalties paid or required to be paid by the contract.
a. FAR 52.227-2:
Number of Respondents: 20.
Responses per Respondent: 1.
Total Responses: 20.
Average Burden Hours per Response: 2.
Total Burden Hours: 40.
b. FAR 52.227-6:
Number of Respondents: 44.
Responses per Respondent: 1.
Total Responses: 44.
Average Burden Hours per Response: 1.
Total Burden Hours: 44.
c. FAR 52.227-9:
Number of Respondents: 40.
Responses per Respondent: 1.
Total Responses: 40.
Average Burden Hours per Response: .5.
Total Burden Hours: 20.
Obtaining Copies of Proposals: Requesters may obtain a copy of the
information collection documents from the General Services
Administration, Regulatory Secretariat (MVCB), 1800 F Street NW.,
Washington, DC 20405, telephone 202-501-4755. Please cite OMB Control
No. 9000-0096, Patents, in all correspondence.
Dated: October 31, 2013.
Karlos Morgan, Sr.,
Acting Director, Federal Acquisition Policy Division, Office of
Government-wide Acquisition Policy, Office of Acquisition Policy,
Office of Government-wide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2013-26578 Filed 11-5-13; 8:45 am]
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