80 FR 13330 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request; “Third-Party Submissions and Protests”
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Patent and Trademark Office Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 49 (March 13, 2015)
Patent and Trademark Office
Patent and Trademark Office
Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 49 (March 13, 2015)
| Page Range | 13330-13332 | |
| FR Document | 2015-05781 |
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 49 (Friday, March 13, 2015)] [Notices] [Pages 13330-13332] From the Federal Register Online [www.thefederalregister.org] [FR Doc No: 2015-05781] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Patent and Trademark Office Proposed Collection; Comment Request; ``Third-Party Submissions and Protests'' AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce. ACTION: Notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, 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 May 12, 2015. ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:Email: InformationCollection@uspto.gov. Include ``0651- 0062 Third-Party Submissions and Protests'' in the subject line of the message. Mail: Marcie Lovett, Records Management Division Director, 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 Raul Tamayo, Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Patent Legal Administration, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-7728; or by email to Raul.Tamayo@uspto.gov with ``Paperwork'' in the subject line. Additional information about this collection is also available at http://www.reginfo.gov under ``Information Collection Review.'' SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Abstract The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is required by 35 U.S.C. 131 et seq. to examine an application for patent and, when appropriate, issue a patent. The provisions of 35 U.S.C. 122(c), 122(e), 131, and 151, as well as 37 CFR 1.290 and 1.291, limit the ability of a third party to have information entered and considered in, or to protest, a patent application pending before the Office. 37 CFR 1.290 provides a mechanism for third parties to submit to the USPTO, for consideration and inclusion in the record of a patent application, any patents, published patent applications, or other printed publications of potential relevance to the examination of the application. A preissuance submission under 37 CFR 1.290 may be made in any non- provisional utility, design, and plant application, as well as in any continuing application. A preissuance submission under 37 CFR 1.290 must include a concise description of the asserted relevance of each document submitted, and must be submitted within a certain statutorily specified time period. 37 CFR 1.291 permits a member of the public to file a protest against a pending application. Protests pursuant to 37 CFR 1.291 are supported by a separate statutory provision from third-party submissions under 37 CFR 1.290 (35 U.S.C. 122(c) v. 35 U.S.C. 122(e)). As a result, there are several differences between protests and third- party submissions. For example, 37 CFR 1.291 permits the submission of information that is not permitted in a third-party submission under 37 CFR 1.290. Specifically, 37 CFR 1.291 provides for the submission of information other than publications, including any facts or information adverse to patentability, and arguments to that effect. Further, 37 CFR 1.291 requires a protest to include a concise explanation of the relevance of each item of information submitted. Unlike the concise description of relevance required for a preissuance submission under 37 CFR 1.290, which is limited to a description of a document's relevance, the concise explanation for a protest under 37 CFR 1.291 allows for arguments against patentability. Additionally, the specified time period for submitting a protest differs from the time period for submitting third-party submissions, and is impacted by whether the protest is accompanied by the written consent of the applicant. This information collection (the information collected via third- party submissions under 37 CFR 1.290 and protests under 37 CFR 1.291) is necessary so that the public may contribute to the quality of issued patents. The USPTO will use this information, as appropriate, during the patent examination process to assist in evaluating the patent application. II. Method of Collection Electronically when using the USPTO online filing system EFS-Web, or by mail or hand delivery. III. Data OMB Number: 0651-0062. IC Instruments: The individual instruments in this collection, as well as their associated forms, are listed in the table below. Table 1--Information Collection Instruments and Forms ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Information IC No. collection Form number instrument ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1............................... Third-Party No Form Submissions in Associated. Nonissued Application; electronic. 2............................... Third-Party PTO/SB/ Submissions in 429. Nonissued Application; paper. 3............................... Protests by the No Form Public Against Associated. Pending Applications Under 37 CFR 1.291; paper. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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: 1,560 responses per year. Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take the public approximately 10 hours to gather the necessary information, prepare the appropriate form or other documents, and submit the information to the USPTO. Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 15,600 hours. Estimated Total Annual Cost Burden (Hourly): $6,068,400. The USPTO expects that attorneys will complete the instruments associated with this information collection. The professional hourly rate for an attorney is $389. Using this hourly rate, the USPTO [[Page 13331]] estimates $6,068,400 per year for the total hourly costs associated with respondents. Table 2--Hourly Cost Burden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Estimated time IC Number Information collection for response Estimated annual Estimated annual Rate ($/hr) Total cost ($/ instrument (minutes) responses burden hours hr) (a) (b) (a) x (b) = (c) (d) (c) x (d) = (e) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.............................. Third-Party Submissions in 10 hours 1,500 15,000 $389.00 $5,835,000.00 Nonissued Applications (electronic). 2.............................. Third-Party Submissions in 10 hours 50 500 389.00 194,500.00 Nonissued Applications (paper). 3.............................. Protests by the Public 10 hours 10 100 389.00 38,900.00 Against Pending Applications Under 37 CFR 1.291 (paper). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals..................... ............................. ................ 1,560 15,600 ................ 6,068,400.00 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Estimated Total Annual Cost Burden (Non-Hourly): $237,619.25 per year. There are no capital start-up, recordkeeping or maintenance costs associated with this information collection. There are, however, annual (non-hour) costs associated with this information collection in the form of filing fees and postage costs. When submitting the information in this collection to the USPTO electronically, the applicant is strongly urged to retain a copy of the file submitted to the USPTO as evidence of authenticity in addition to keeping the acknowledgment receipt as clear evidence of the date the file was received by the USPTO. The USPTO does not, however, require this recordkeeping, and thus does not consider this action to be a recordkeeping cost imposed on the applicant. This collection has a non-hourly annual cost burden in the form of filing fees. 37 CFR 1.290 requires the payment of the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(o) for every ten documents, or fraction thereof, listed in each third-party preissuance submission. The USPTO provides an exemption from this fee requirement where a preissuance submission listing three or fewer total documents is the first preissuance submission submitted in an application by a third party, or a party in privity with the third party. Taking the fee and exemption into account, the USPTO estimates that the average fee per submission for the third-party submissions is $180, with the average fee for small entities totaling $90. There is no fee for filing protests under 37 CFR 1.291 unless the filed protest is the second or subsequent protest by the same real party in interest, in which case the 37 CFR 1.17(i) fee of $130 must be included (the USPTO estimates 1 of the 10 protests filed per year will trigger this fee). The table below illustrates the total amount of and distribution of filing fees associated with this collection. Table 3--Non-Hourly Cost Burden--Filing Fees ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information collection Total non-hour IC Number instrument Responses (yr) Filing fee ($) cost burden (yr) (a) (b) (a) x (b) = (c) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1-2.......................... Third-Party Submissions in 1,085 $180 $195,300.00 Nonissued Applications. 1-2.......................... Third-Party Submissions in 465 90 41,850.00 Nonissued Applications (small entity). 3............................ Protests by the public 1 130 130.00 against pending applications under 37 CFR 1.291. ----------------------------------------------------- Total.................... ........................... 1,551 ................ 237,280.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This collection also has a non-hourly annual cost burden in the form of postage costs. Customers may incur postage costs when submitting the Information Collection instruments contained within this collection to the USPTO by mail through the United States Postal Service. The USPTO estimates that the average first class postage cost for a one-pound submission mailed in a flat-rate envelope to be $5.75. The USPTO further estimates that the vast majority--roughly 98 percent--of all paper submissions will be delivered by mail, with the remainder delivered by hand delivery, for an estimate that approximately 59 submissions will require postage. Therefore, the estimated postage cost for this collection will be $339.25. The total non-hour respondent cost burden for this collection in the form of filing fees ($237,280) and postage costs ($339.25) is approximately $237,619.25 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, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and [[Page 13332]] clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses. Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized or included in the request for OMB approval of this information collection; they will also become a matter of public record. Dated: March 9, 2015. Marcie Lovett, Records Management Division Director, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer. [FR Doc. 2015-05781 Filed 3-12-15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-16-P
![13330 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 49 / Friday, March 13, 2015 / Notices
accordance with 19 CFR 351.216(e), the collection is also available at http:// accompanied by the written consent of
Department intends to issue the final www.reginfo.gov under ‘‘Information the applicant.
results of its antidumping duty CCR not Collection Review.’’ This information collection (the
later than 270 days after the date on SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: information collected via third-party
which the review was initiated. submissions under 37 CFR 1.290 and
This notice is published in I. Abstract protests under 37 CFR 1.291) is
accordance with sections 751(b)(l) and The United States Patent and necessary so that the public may
777(i)(l) of the Act and 19 CFR Trademark Office (USPTO) is required contribute to the quality of issued
351.216(b) and 351.221(b)(1). by 35 U.S.C. 131 et seq. to examine an patents. The USPTO will use this
Dated: March 9, 2015.
application for patent and, when information, as appropriate, during the
appropriate, issue a patent. The patent examination process to assist in
Gary Taverman,
provisions of 35 U.S.C. 122(c), 122(e), evaluating the patent application.
Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for 131, and 151, as well as 37 CFR 1.290
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
and 1.291, limit the ability of a third II. Method of Collection
Operations.
party to have information entered and Electronically when using the USPTO
[FR Doc. 2015–05830 Filed 3–12–15; 8:45 am]
considered in, or to protest, a patent online filing system EFS-Web, or by
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P mail or hand delivery.
application pending before the Office.
37 CFR 1.290 provides a mechanism
for third parties to submit to the III. Data
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE USPTO, for consideration and inclusion OMB Number: 0651–0062.
in the record of a patent application, IC Instruments: The individual
Patent and Trademark Office
any patents, published patent instruments in this collection, as well as
Proposed Collection; Comment applications, or other printed their associated forms, are listed in the
Request; ‘‘Third-Party Submissions publications of potential relevance to table below.
and Protests’’ the examination of the application.
A preissuance submission under 37 TABLE 1—INFORMATION COLLECTION
AGENCY: United States Patent and CFR 1.290 may be made in any non- INSTRUMENTS AND FORMS
Trademark Office, Commerce. provisional utility, design, and plant
ACTION: Notice. application, as well as in any continuing IC Information
application. A preissuance submission collection Form number
No.
SUMMARY: The United States Patent and under 37 CFR 1.290 must include a instrument
Trademark Office (USPTO), as part of its concise description of the asserted 1 .... Third-Party Sub- • No Form Asso-
continuing effort to reduce paperwork relevance of each document submitted, missions in ciated.
and respondent burden, invites the and must be submitted within a certain Nonissued Ap-
general public and other Federal statutorily specified time period. plication; elec-
agencies to comment on proposed and/ 37 CFR 1.291 permits a member of the tronic.
or continuing information collections, public to file a protest against a pending 2 .... Third-Party Sub- • PTO/SB/429.
as required by the Paperwork Reduction application. Protests pursuant to 37 CFR missions in
Act of 1995, Public Law 104–13 (44 1.291 are supported by a separate Nonissued Ap-
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). statutory provision from third-party plication; paper.
submissions under 37 CFR 1.290 (35 3 .... Protests by the • No Form Asso-
DATES: Written comments must be Public Against ciated.
submitted on or before May 12, 2015. U.S.C. 122(c) v. 35 U.S.C. 122(e)). As a
Pending Appli-
result, there are several differences cations Under
ADDRESSES: Written comments may be
between protests and third-party 37 CFR 1.291;
submitted by any of the following
submissions. paper.
methods: For example, 37 CFR 1.291 permits
• Email: InformationCollection@ the submission of information that is
uspto.gov. Include ‘‘0651–0062 Third- Type of Review: Revision of a
not permitted in a third-party currently approved collection.
Party Submissions and Protests’’ in the submission under 37 CFR 1.290.
subject line of the message. Affected Public: Individuals or
Specifically, 37 CFR 1.291 provides for households; businesses or other for-
• Mail: Marcie Lovett, Records the submission of information other
Management Division Director, Office of profits; and not-for-profit institutions.
than publications, including any facts or Estimated Number of Respondents:
the Chief Information Officer, United information adverse to patentability, 1,560 responses per year.
States Patent and Trademark Office, and arguments to that effect. Further, 37 Estimated Time per Response: The
P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313– CFR 1.291 requires a protest to include USPTO estimates that it will take the
1450. a concise explanation of the relevance of public approximately 10 hours to gather
• Federal Rulemaking Portal: http:// each item of information submitted. the necessary information, prepare the
www.regulations.gov. Unlike the concise description of appropriate form or other documents,
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: relevance required for a preissuance and submit the information to the
Requests for additional information submission under 37 CFR 1.290, which USPTO.
should be directed to Raul Tamayo, is limited to a description of a Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden:
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Patent document’s relevance, the concise 15,600 hours.
Legal Administration, United States explanation for a protest under 37 CFR Estimated Total Annual Cost Burden
Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1.291 allows for arguments against (Hourly): $6,068,400. The USPTO
1450, Alexandria, VA 22313–1450; by patentability. Additionally, the expects that attorneys will complete the
telephone at 571–272–7728; or by email specified time period for submitting a instruments associated with this
to Raul.Tamayo@uspto.gov with protest differs from the time period for information collection. The professional
‘‘Paperwork’’ in the subject line. submitting third-party submissions, and hourly rate for an attorney is $389.
Additional information about this is impacted by whether the protest is Using this hourly rate, the USPTO
VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:27 Mar 12, 2015 Jkt 235001 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\13MRN1.SGM 13MRN1](https://thefederalregister.org/doc/80_FR_13379/page/1.svg)
![13332 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 49 / Friday, March 13, 2015 / Notices
clarity of the information to be check the agenda on the Web site to DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the confirm the time).
burden of the collection of information The OEAB expects that public International Trade Administration
on respondents, including through the statements at its meetings will not be [A–570–918]
use of automated collection techniques repetitive of previously submitted
or other forms of information verbal or written statements. In general, Steel Wire Garment Hangers From the
technology, e.g., permitting electronic each individual or group making a People’s Republic of China: Final
submission of responses. verbal presentation will be limited to a Results of Antidumping Duty
Comments submitted in response to total time of three minutes. The Administrative Review, 2012–2013
this notice will be summarized or Designated Federal Officer should
included in the request for OMB receive written comments by March 24, AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance,
approval of this information collection; 2015, to provide sufficient time for International Trade Administration,
they will also become a matter of public OEAB review. Written comments Department of Commerce.
received after March 24, 2015, will be SUMMARY: On November 5, 2014, the
record.
distributed to the OEAB but may not be Department of Commerce (‘‘the
Dated: March 9, 2015. Department’’) published the Preliminary
reviewed prior to the meeting date.
Marcie Lovett, Results of the fifth administrative
Seats will be available on a first-come,
Records Management Division Director, first-served basis. review of the antidumping duty order
USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Special Accomodations: These on steel wire garment hangers from the
Officer. People’s Republic of China (‘‘PRC’’).1
meetings are physically accessible to
[FR Doc. 2015–05781 Filed 3–12–15; 8:45 am] We invited parties to comment on the
people with disabilities. Requests for
BILLING CODE 3510–16–P sign language interpretation or other Preliminary Results. Based on our
auxiliary aids should be directed to analysis of the comments and
David McKinnie, Designated Federal information received, we have not made
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Officer, at (206) 526–6950 by March 16, changes to the final margin calculations
2015. of Shanghai Wells Hanger Co., Ltd.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric (‘‘Shanghai Wells’’).2 Listed below in
Administration FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
David McKinnie, Designated Federal the ‘‘Final Results of the Administrative
Ocean Exploration Advisory Board Officer, Ocean Exploration Advisory Review’’ section of this notice are the
(OEAB); Notice of Public Meeting Board, National Oceanic and final dumping margins. The period of
Atmospheric Administration, 7600 Sand review (‘‘POR’’) is October 1, 2012,
AGENCY: Office of Ocean Exploration Point Way, NE., Seattle, WA 98115, through September 31, 2013.3
and Research (OER), National Oceanic (206) 526–6950. DATES: Effective Date: March 13, 2015.
and Atmospheric Administration FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Josh
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NOAA
(NOAA), Department of Commerce Startup or Alexis Polovina, AD/CVD
(DOC). established the OEAB under the Federal
Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and Operations, Office V, Enforcement and
ACTION: Notice of public meeting. Compliance, International Trade
legislation that gives the agency
statutory authority to operate an ocean Administration, Department of
SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the
exploration program and to coordinate a Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution
schedule and proposed agenda of a
national program of ocean exploration. Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230;
forthcoming meeting of the Ocean
The OEAB advises NOAA leaderships telephone: (202) 482–5260 or (202) 482–
Exploration Advisory Board (OEAB).
on strategic planning, exploration 3927, respectively.
OEAB members will discuss and
provide advice on Federal ocean priorities, competitive ocean SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
exploration programs, with a particular exploration grant programs and other
emphasis on National Oceanic and matters as the NOAA Administrator 1 See Steel Wire Garment Hangers From the
requests. People’s Republic of China: Preliminary Results of
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2012–
Office of Ocean Exploration and OEAB members represent government 2013, 79 FR 65616 (November 5, 2014)
Research (OER) activities, in the areas agencies involved in ocean exploration, (‘‘Preliminary Results’’).
of: Strategic planning, current and the private sector, academic institutions, 2 The Department previously found that Shanghai
and not-for-profit institutions involved Wells Hanger Co., Ltd., Hong Kong Wells Ltd. (‘‘HK
future exploration priorities, the Wells’’) and Hong Kong Wells Ltd. (USA) (‘‘Wells
competitive grants process, citizen in all facets of ocean exploration—from USA’’) are affiliated and that Shanghai Wells
exploration, the next National Forum on advanced technology to citizen Hanger Co., Ltd. and HK Wells comprise a single
Ocean Exploration, and other matters as exploration. entity (collectively, ‘‘Shanghai Wells’’). Because
described in the agenda found on the In addition to advising NOAA there were no changes in this review to the facts
leadership, NOAA expects the OEAB to that supported that decision, we continue to find
OEAB Web site at http://oeab/noaa.gov. Shanghai Wells, HK Wells, and USA Wells are
Time and Dates: The announced play a leadership role in helping to affiliated and that Shanghai Wells and HK Wells
meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, define and develop a national program comprise a single entity. See Steel Wire Garment
March 31, 2015, from 8:30 a.m.–4:30 of ocean exploration—a network of Hangers From the People’s Republic of China:
stakeholders and partnerships Preliminary Results and Preliminary Rescission, in
p.m. PDT, and Wednesday, April 1, Part, of the First Antidumping Duty Administrative
2015, from 9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. PDT. advancing national priorities for ocean Review, 75 FR 68758, 68761 (November 9, 2010),
exploration. unchanged in First Administrative Review of Steel
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at
Wire Garment Hangers From the People’s Republic
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Dated: March 6, 2015.
of China: Final Results and Final Partial Rescission
Seaside Forum, 8610 Kennel Way, La Jason Donaldson, of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 76 FR
Jolla, CA 92037. Chief Financial Officer, Office of Oceanic and 27994, 27996 (May 13, 2011).
3 The deadline for the final results was March 5,
Status: The meeting will be open to Atmospheric Research, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration. 2015, however, due to inclement weather, the
public participation with a 15-minute government was closed on March 5, 2015.
public comment period on Wednesday, [FR Doc. 2015–05775 Filed 3–12–15; 8:45 am] Therefore, the deadline for the final results falls on
April 1, 2015, at 9:30 a.m. PDT (please BILLING CODE 3510–KA–P the next business day, March 6, 2015.
VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:27 Mar 12, 2015 Jkt 235001 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\13MRN1.SGM 13MRN1](https://thefederalregister.org/doc/80_FR_13379/page/3.svg)
Document Created: 2015-12-18 11:42:29
Document Modified: 2015-12-18 11:42:29
| Category | Regulatory Information | |
| Collection | Federal Register | |
| sudoc Class | AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106: | |
| Publisher | Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration | |
| Section | Notices | |
| Action | Notice. | |
| Dates | Written comments must be submitted on or before May 12, 2015. | |
| Contact | Requests for additional information should be directed to Raul Tamayo, Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Patent Legal Administration, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-7728; or by email to [email protected] with ``Paperwork'' in the subject line. Additional information about this collection is also available at http://www.reginfo.gov under ``Information Collection Review.'' | |
| FR Citation | 80 FR 13330 |
2024 Federal Register | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy
USC | CFR | eCFR