81 FR 56612 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; “Pro Bono Survey”

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 162 (August 22, 2016)

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 162 (Monday, August 22, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56612-56613]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-19865]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

United States Patent and Trademark Office


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; ``Pro Bono Survey''

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) 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).
    Title: Pro Bono Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 0651--New.
    Form Number(s): N/A.
    Type of Request: Regular.
    Number of Respondents: 20 respondents providing quarterly 
responses, for a total of 80 responses per year.
    Average Hours per Response: 2 hours.
    Burden Hours: 160 hours.
    Cost Burden: $65,600.00
    Needs and Uses: The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), Public 
Law 112-29 Sec.  32 (2011) directs the USPTO to work with and support 
intellectual property law associations across the country in the 
establishment of pro bono programs designed to assist financially 
under-resourced independent inventors and small businesses. In support 
of this law, the USPTO, in collaboration with various non-profit 
organizations, has established a series of autonomous regional hubs 
that act as matchmakers to help connect low income inventors with 
volunteer patent attorneys across the United States.
    This information collection will ascertain the effectiveness of 
each individual regional hub with respect to their matchmaking efforts. 
The USPTO has worked with the Pro Bono Advisory Council (PBAC) to 
determine what information is necessary to ascertain the effectiveness 
of each regional pro bono hub's matchmaking operations. PBAC is a well-
established group of patent practitioners and patent pro bono regional 
hub administrators who have committed to provide support and guidance 
to patent pro bono programs across the country. The USPTO is 
responsible for the collection of this information, which is collected 
on a quarterly basis.
    Specifically, the information will allow PBAC and the USPTO to 
ascertain the origination state of applicants, where applicants are 
being referred from, and what portion of applicants are completing and 
returning financial screening applications. Additionally the 
information will help track the number of invention screenings, 
disqualified applicants, corporations/law firms agreeing to accept 
cases, backlog of unmatched applicants, hours donated by lawyer 
referral service panel attorneys, and provisional and non-provisional 
applications filed, all on a quarterly basis. The information will also 
allow PBAC and the USPTO to understand program financial information 
including project cost, and depth of donor support.
    The information, at its highest level, will allow PBAC and the 
USPTO to ascertain whether the regional hubs are matching qualified low 
income inventors with volunteer patent attorneys. It will also help 
establish the total economic benefit derived by low-income inventors in 
the form of donated

[[Page 56613]]

legal services. This information can then be used to promote the 
program to under-resourced inventors and patent practitioners.
    Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions.
    Frequency: Quarterly.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain or Maintain 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.
    Further information can be obtained by:
     Email: [email protected], 
[email protected], or [email protected]. Include ``Pro 
Bono Survey copy request'' 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.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent on or before September 21, 2016 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.

    Dated: August 16, 2016.
Marcie Lovett,
Records Management Division Director, USPTO, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2016-19865 Filed 8-19-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P