[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 220 (Thursday, November 14, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68422-68424]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-27215]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Actions (Formerly Board of
Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) Actions)
ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.
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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part
of its continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden,
invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this
opportunity to comment on this revision of a continuing information
collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public
Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).
[[Page 68423]]
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before January 13,
2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0063 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
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 the attention of Linda Horner, Acting Vice Chief
Judge, Patent Trial and Appeal Board, United States Patent and
Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by
telephone at 571-272-9797; or by email to [email protected].
Additional information about this collection is also available at
http://www.reginfo.gov under ``Information Collection Review.''
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB or Board) is established by
statute under 35 U.S.C. 6. This statute directs that PTAB ``shall on
written appeal of an applicant, review adverse decisions of examiners
upon applications for patent and shall determine priority and
patentability of invention in interferences.'' PTAB has the authority,
under pre-AIA sections of the Patent Act, i.e., 35 U.S.C. 134, 135,
306, and 315, to decide ex parte and inter partes appeals and
interferences. In addition, 35 U.S.C. 6 establishes the membership of
PTAB as the Director, the Deputy Director, the Commissioner for
Patents, the Commissioner for Trademarks, and the Administrative Patent
Judges. Each appeal and interference is decided by a merits panel of at
least three members of the Board.
Two of the Board's responsibilities under the statute include the
review of ex parte appeals from adverse decisions of examiners in those
situations where a written appeal is taken by a dissatisfied applicant,
and the administration of interferences to ``determine priority'' (or
decide who is the first inventor) whenever an applicant claims the same
patentable invention that is already claimed by another applicant or
patentee. In inter partes reexamination appeals, PTAB reviews
examiner's decisions adverse to a patent owner or a third-party
requestor.
PTAB's opinions and decisions for publicly available files are
published on the USPTO Web site.
There are no forms associated with these items. However, they are
governed by rules in Part 41. Failure to comply with the appropriate
rule may result in dismissal of the appeal or denial of entry of the
paper.
The USPTO is adding an existing information requirement, the
Petitions to the Chief Administrative Patent Judge, into this
information collection. This requirement is currently covered under
information collection 0651-0072 America Invents Act Section 10 Patent
Fee Adjustments. At the time of the publication of the USPTO
rulemaking, ``Setting and Adjusting Patent Fees'' (RIN 0651-AC54), the
petitions to the Chief Administrative Patent Judge were not covered by
any existing information collection request, so it was included in the
0651-0072 submission because the fee associated with this petition was
affected by the rulemaking. As part of this renewal, the USPTO is
moving this information requirement into this collection because it is
associated with the activities covered by this collection. However,
only the information requirement and the non-fee burden for the
petitions will be moved into 0651-0063. The fee will remain in 0651-
0072.
II. Method of Collection
By mail, hand delivery, or facsimile when an applicant files a
brief, petition, amendment, or request. These papers can also be filed
as attachments through EFS-Web.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-0063.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Individuals or households, businesses or other for
profits, non-profit institutions, and the Federal Government.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 34,537 responses per year. The
USPTO estimates that approximately 25% (8,634) of these responses will
be from small entities. The USPTO also estimates that approximately 93%
(32,119) of the briefs, requests, petitions, and amendments will be
filed electronically.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it takes the
public approximately 2 to 32 hours to complete this information,
depending on the complexity of the request. This includes the time to
gather the necessary information, prepare the brief, petition, and
other papers, and submit the completed request to the USPTO. The USPTO
calculates that, on balance, it takes the same amount of time to gather
the necessary information, prepare the brief, petition, and other
papers, and submit it to the USPTO, whether the applicant submits it in
paper form or electronically.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 858,683 hours per
year.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $334,027,687 per
year. The USPTO expects that all of the information in this collection
will be prepared by an attorney. Using the professional hourly rate of
$389 for attorneys in private firms, the USPTO estimates that the total
respondent cost burden for this collection is $334,027,687 per year.
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Estimated Estimated
Item Estimated time for response annual annual burden
(hours) responses hours
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Amendment..................................... 2 19 38
Electronic Amendment.......................... 2 248 496
Appeal Brief.................................. 32 1,781 56,992
Electronic Appeal Brief....................... 32 23,662 757,184
Reply Brief................................... 5 578 2,890
Electronic Reply Brief........................ 5 7,672 38,360
Request for Rehearing Before the PTAB......... 5 29 145
Electronic Request for Rehearing Before the 5 386 1,930
PTAB.
Petitions to the Chief Administrative Patent 4 11 44
Judge Under 37 CFR 41.3.
[[Page 68424]]
Electronic Petitions to the Chief 4 151 604
Administrative Patent Judge Under 37 CFR 41.3.
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Total..................................... ................................ 34,537 858,683
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Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden: $48,239 per
year. There are no maintenance, operation, capital start-up, or
recordkeeping costs associated with this information collection.
However, this collection does have annual (non-hour) costs in the form
of postage costs. There are also filing fees for the appeal briefs and
the petitions to the chief administrative patent judge, but these fees
are not included in the annual (non-hour) cost burden for this
collection. These fees are covered instead under 0651-0072 America
Invents Act Section 10 Patent Fee Adjustments.
The briefs, petitions, and other papers may be submitted by mail
through the United States Postal Service. The USPTO expects the items
in this collection to be mailed by Express Mail using the flat rate
envelope, which can accommodate both the varying submission weights of
these submissions and the various postal zones. Using the Express Mail
flat rate cost for mailing envelopes, the USPTO estimates that the
average cost for sending these submissions by Express Mail will be
$19.95 and that approximately 2,418 may be mailed to the USPTO.
The USPTO estimates that the total postage cost for this collection
will be $48,239 per year.
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Total
Item Responses Postage postage
cost cost
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Express Mailing Costs
Amendment........................ 19 $19.95 $379.00
Appeal Brief..................... 1,781 19.95 35,531.00
Reply Brief...................... 578 19.95 11,531.00
Request for Rehearing Before the 29 19.95 579.00
PTAB............................
Petitions to the Chief 11 19.95 219.00
Administrative Patent Judge
Under 37 CFR 41.3...............
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Total Postage Costs.......... 2,418 ........... 48,239.00
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IV. Request for Comments
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will
become a matter of public record.
The USPTO is soliciting public comments to: (a) Evaluate whether
the proposed 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 proposed 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.
Dated: November 8, 2013.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-27215 Filed 11-13-13; 8:45 am]
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