[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 81 (Thursday, April 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 18281]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-08737]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

United States Patent and Trademark Office


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Recording Assignments

    The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of 
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. Chapter 35).
    Agency: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.
    Title: Recording Assignments.
    OMB Control Number: 0651-0027.
    Form Number(s):

 PTO-1594
 PTO-1595

    Type of Request: Regular.
    Number of Respondents: 596,527 responses per year.
    Average Hours per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the public approximately 30 minutes (0.5 hours) to prepare the 
appropriate form or document and submit it to the USPTO.
    Burden Hours: 298,263.50 hours annually.
    Cost Burden: $3,292,293.88.
    Needs and Uses:
    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 rules 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.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits; not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain or Retain Benefits.
    OMB Desk Officer: Nicholas A. Fraser, email: 
[email protected].
    Once submitted, the request will be publicly available in 
electronic format through reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view 
Department of Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
    Paper copies can be obtained by:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0027 Recording Assignments'' in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: Marcie Lovett, Director, Records and Information 
Governance Division, Office of the Chief Technology Officer, United 
States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 
22313-1450.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent on or before May 29, 2018 to Nicholas A. 
Fraser, OMB Desk Officer, via email to [email protected], 
or by fax to 202 395-5167, marked to the attention of Nicholas A. 
Fraser.

Marcie Lovett,
Director, Records and Information Governance Division, OCTO, United 
States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2018-08737 Filed 4-25-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-16-P