81_FR_70592 81 FR 70395 - Secrecy and License To Export

81 FR 70395 - Secrecy and License To Export

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 197 (October 12, 2016)

Page Range70395-70397
FR Document2016-24592

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 take this opportunity to comment on the extension 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)).

Federal Register, Volume 81 Issue 197 (Wednesday, October 12, 2016)
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 197 (Wednesday, October 12, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70395-70397]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-24592]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office


Secrecy and License To Export

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.

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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part 
of its

[[Page 70396]]

continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites 
the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity 
to comment on the extension 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)).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before December 12, 
2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0034 comment'' 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.

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 [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.''

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    In the interest of national security, patent laws and rules place 
certain limitations on the disclosure of information contained in 
patents and patent applications and on the filing of applications for 
patents in foreign countries.
    In particular, whenever the publication or disclosure of an 
invention by the publication of an application or by the granting of a 
patent is, in the opinion of the head of an interested Government 
agency, determined to be detrimental to national security, the 
Commissioner for Patents at the USPTO must issue a secrecy order and 
withhold the publication of a patent application and the grant of a 
patent for such period as the national interest requires. A patent will 
not be issued on the application, nor will the application be 
published, as long as the secrecy order is in force. If a secrecy order 
is applied to an international application, the application will not be 
forwarded to the International Bureau as long as the secrecy order is 
in force.
    Three types of secrecy orders, each of a different scope, can be 
issued. The first type, Secrecy Order and Permit for Foreign Filing in 
Certain Countries, is intended to permit the widest utilization of the 
technical data in the patent application while still controlling any 
publication or disclosure that would result in an unlawful exportation. 
The second type, the Secrecy Order and Permit for Disclosing Classified 
Information, is to treat classified technical data presented in a 
patent application in the same manner as any other classified material. 
The third type of secrecy order is used where the other types of orders 
do not apply, including orders issued by direction of agencies other 
than the Department of Defense.
    Under the provision of 35 U.S.C. 181, a secrecy order remains in 
effect for a period of one year from its date of issuance. A secrecy 
order may be renewed for additional periods of not more than one year 
upon notice by a government agency that the national interest continues 
to so require. The applicant is notified of such renewal.
    When the USPTO places a secrecy order on a patent application, the 
rules authorize the applicant to petition the USPTO for permits to 
allow disclosure, modification, or rescission of the secrecy order, or 
to obtain a general or group permit. In each of these circumstances, 
the petition is forwarded to the appropriate defense agency for 
decision. Also, the Commissioner for Patents at the USPTO may rescind 
any order upon notification by the heads of the departments and the 
chief officers of the agencies who caused the order to be issued that 
the disclosure of the invention is no longer deemed detrimental to the 
national security.
    Unless expressly ordered otherwise, action on the application and 
prosecution by the applicant will proceed during the time the 
application is under secrecy order to a specific point as indicated 
under 37 CFR 5.3. Applications under secrecy order that come to a final 
rejection must be appealed or otherwise prosecuted to avoid 
abandonment. Appeals in such cases must be completed by the applicant, 
but unless specifically indicated by the Commissioner for Patents at 
the USPTO, will not be set for hearing until the secrecy order is 
removed.
    In addition to the issuance of secrecy orders, the USPTO is 
required to grant foreign filing licenses to applicants. The filing of 
a patent application is considered a request for a foreign filing 
license. However, in some instances an applicant may need a license for 
filing patent application in foreign countries prior to a filing in the 
USPTO or sooner than the anticipated licensing of a pending patent 
application.
    To file a patent application in a foreign country, the applicant 
can petition the USPTO for a foreign filing license either with or 
without a corresponding United States application. In addition, the 
applicant can petition to change the scope of a license and, when a 
patent application is filed through error in a foreign country without 
the appropriate filing license, an applicant can petition the USPTO for 
a retroactive license.
    This collection includes the information needed by the USPTO to 
review the various types of petitions regarding secrecy orders and 
foreign filing licenses. This collection of information is required by 
35 U.S.C. 181-188 and administered through 37 CFR 5.1-5.33.
    There are no forms associated with this collection of information.

II. Method of Collection

    By mail, facsimile or hand carried to the USPTO.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0034.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits; not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 2,559 responses per year. The 
USPTO estimates that approximately 20% (507) of these responses will be 
from small entities.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the public from 30 minutes (0.5 hours) to 4 hours to gather the 
necessary information, prepare the appropriate documents, and submit 
the information required for this collection.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 1,607.5 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $659,075.00. The 
USPTO expects that the information in this collection will be prepared 
by attorneys at an estimated rate of $410 per hour. Therefore, the 
USPTO estimates that the respondent cost burden for this collection 
will be approximately $659,075.00 per year.

[[Page 70397]]



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                               Estimated time     Estimated
                     Item                       for response       annual       Estimated annual    Rate ($/hr)
                                                   (hours)        responses       burden hours
                                                          (a)             (b)     (a) x (b)/60 =
                                                                                             (c)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Petition for Rescission of Secrecy Order..             3.0              10               30.0             410
2. Petition to Disclose or Modification of                2.0              15               30.0             410
 Secrecy Order...............................
3. Petition for General and Group Permits....             1.0               1                1.0             410
4. Petition for Expedited Handling of License             0.5           2,200            1,100.0             410
 (no corresponding application)..............
5. Petition for Expedited Handling of License             0.5             250              125.0             410
 (corresponding U.S. application)............
6. Petition for Changing Scope of License....             0.5               3                1.5             410
7. Petition for Retroactive License..........             4.0              80                320             410
                                              ------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals...................................  ..............           2,559            1,607.5  ..............
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden: 
$448,267.70.
    There are no capital start-up, maintenance, or record keeping costs 
associated with this information collection. However, this collection 
does have annual (non-hour) costs in the form of filing fees for the 
foreign filing petitions and postage costs. No fees are associated with 
the secrecy order petitions.
    The license petitions all charge the 37 CFR 1.17(g) fee, for which 
small and micro entity discounts recently have been introduced. The 
USPTO estimates that 20% of the responses in this collection will come 
from small entities and approximately 10% of the small entity 
respondents will qualify as micro entities.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                  Total non-hour
                              Item                                   Responses    Filing fee ($)    cost burden
                                                                                                        ($)
                                                                             (a)             (b)     (a) x (b) =
                                                                                                             (c)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Petition for Rescission of Secrecy Order.....................              10            0.00            0.00
2. Petition to Disclose or Modification of Secrecy Order........              15            0.00            0.00
3. Petition for General and Group Permits.......................               1            0.00            0.00
4. Petition for Expedited Handling of License (no corresponding            1,716          200.00      343,200.00
 application)...................................................
4. Petition for Expedited Handling of License (no corresponding              440          100.00       44,000.00
 application) (small entity)....................................
4. Petition for Expedited Handling of License (no corresponding               44           50.00        2,200.00
 application) (micro entity)....................................
5. Petition for Expedited Handling of License (corresponding                 195          200.00       39,000.00
 U.S. application)..............................................
5. Petition for Expedited Handling of License (corresponding                  50          100.00        5,000.00
 U.S. application) (small entity)...............................
5. Petition for Expedited Handling of License (corresponding                   5           50.00          250.00
 U.S. application) (micro entity)...............................
6. Petition for Changing Scope of License.......................               1          200.00          200.00
6. Petition for Changing Scope of License (small entity)........               1          100.00          100.00
6. Petition for Changing Scope of License (micro entity)........               1           50.00           50.00
7. Petition for Retroactive License.............................              62          200.00       12,400.00
7. Petition for Retroactive License (small entity)..............              16          100.00        1,600.00
7. Petition for Retroactive License (micro entity)..............               2           50.00          100.00
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................................           2,559  ..............      448,100.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The USPTO estimates that 99% of the petitions in this collection 
are submitted by facsimile or hand carried because of the quick 
turnaround required. For the 1% of the public that chooses to submit 
the petitions to the USPTO by mail through the United States Postal 
Service, the USPTO estimates that the average postage cost for a USPS 
Priority Mail, flat-rate envelope submission is $6.45, and that 26 
submissions will be mailed to the USPTO per year for a total estimated 
postage cost of $167.70.
    Therefore, the USPTO estimates that the total (non-hour) cost 
burden for this collection in the form of filing fees and postage costs 
is estimated to be approximately $448,267.70.

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;
    (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents, e.g., the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology. Comments submitted in response to this 
notice will be summarized or included in the request for OMB approval 
of this information collection; they also will become a matter of 
public record.

    Dated: October 3, 2016.
Rhonda Foltz,
Director, Office of Information Management Services, OCIO, United 
States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2016-24592 Filed 10-11-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-16-P



                                                                            Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 12, 2016 / Notices                                                70395

                                                  Fisheries Service, Office of Protected                  plan must contain: (1) Objective,                     the scientific community, industry,
                                                  Resources, Marine Mammal and Sea                        measurable criteria which, when met,                  environmental entities, and any other
                                                  Turtle Conservation Division, 1315 East                 would result in a determination that the              interested parties concerning the status
                                                  West Highway, Silver Spring, MD                         species is no longer threatened or                    of the North Pacific loggerhead. The 5-
                                                  20910.                                                  endangered; (2) site-specific                         year review and recovery plan will
                                                    Instructions: NMFS, may not consider                  management actions necessary to                       consider the best scientific and
                                                  comments if they are sent by any other                  achieve the plan’s goals; and (3)                     commercial data and all new
                                                  method, to any other address or                         estimates of the time required and costs              information that has become available
                                                  individual, or received after the end of                to implement recovery actions.                        since the listing determination.
                                                  the comment period. All comments                        Recovery plans describe actions                       Categories of requested information
                                                  received are a part of the public record                beneficial to the conservation and                    include: (1) Species biology including,
                                                  and NMFS will generally post for public                 recovery of species listed under the                  but not limited to, population trends,
                                                  viewing on www.regulations.gov                          ESA, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et                    distribution, abundance, demographics,
                                                  without change. All personal identifying                seq.). The ESA requires the                           and genetics; (2) habitat conditions
                                                  information (e.g., name, address, etc.),                development of recovery plans for each                including, but not limited to, amount,
                                                  confidential business information, or                   listed species unless such a plan would               distribution, and important features for
                                                  otherwise sensitive information                         not promote the conservation of the                   conservation; (3) status and trends of
                                                  submitted voluntarily by the sender is                  species. This new recovery plan will                  threats to the species and its habitats; (4)
                                                  publicly accessible. NMFS will accept                   focus solely on the North Pacific                     conservation measures that have been
                                                  anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in                    loggerhead DPS.                                       implemented that benefit the species,
                                                  the required fields if you wish to remain                  In addition, the ESA requires that we              including monitoring data
                                                  anonymous).                                             conduct a review of listed species at                 demonstrating effectiveness of such
                                                                                                          least once every five years. This will be             measures; (5) need for additional
                                                  FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
                                                                                                          the first 5-year review for the North                 conservation measures; and (6) other
                                                  Alexis Gutierrez, Office of Protected
                                                                                                          Pacific loggerhead since the 2011 listing             new information, data, or corrections
                                                  Resources, phone, 301–427–8441, email:
                                                                                                          as endangered. On the basis of such                   including, but not limited to, taxonomic
                                                  Alexis.Gutierrez@noaa.gov.
                                                                                                          reviews under section 4(c)(2)(B), we                  or nomenclature changes, identification
                                                  SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:                              determine whether any species should                  of erroneous information contained in
                                                  Background                                              be removed from the list (i.e., delisted)             the list of endangered and threatened
                                                                                                          or reclassified from endangered to                    species, and improved analytical
                                                     Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta                      threatened or from threatened to
                                                  caretta) were globally listed as                                                                              methods for evaluating extinction risk.
                                                                                                          endangered (16 U.S.C. 1533(c)(2)(B)).                    If you wish to provide information for
                                                  threatened under the ESA (16 U.S.C.                     Delisting a species must be supported                 this 5-year review and/or the recovery
                                                  1531 et seq.) in 1978. A Recovery Plan                  by the best scientific and commercial                 plan, you may submit your information
                                                  for the U.S. Pacific population of                      data available and only considered if                 and materials electronically or via mail
                                                  Loggerhead Sea Turtles was published                    such data substantiate that the species is            (see ADDRESSES section). We request that
                                                  in 1998. In 2007, the 5-year review of                  neither endangered nor threatened for                 all information be accompanied by
                                                  the loggerhead sea turtle recommended                   one or more of the following reasons: (1)             supporting documentation such as
                                                  the application of the DPS policy (61 FR                The species is considered extinct; (2)                maps, bibliographic references, or
                                                  4722; February 7, 1996). On July 16,                    the species is considered to be                       reprints of pertinent publications. We
                                                  2007, NMFS and USFWS received a                         recovered; and/or (3) the original data               also would appreciate the submitter’s
                                                  petition from the Center for Biological                 available when the species was listed, or             name, address, and any association,
                                                  Diversity and Turtle Island Restoration                 the interpretation of such data, were in              institution, or business that the person
                                                  Network requesting that loggerhead                      error. Any change in Federal                          represents; however, anonymous
                                                  turtles in the North Pacific Ocean be                   classification would require a separate               submissions will also be accepted.
                                                  reclassified as a DPS with endangered                   rulemaking process. The regulations in                   Upon completion, the draft recovery
                                                  status and that critical habitat be                     50 CFR 424.21 require that we publish                 plan will be available for public review
                                                  designated. On November 16, 2007,                       a notice in the Federal Register                      and comment through the publication of
                                                  NMFS and USFWS received a petition                      announcing those species currently                    Federal Register notice.
                                                  from the Center for Biological Diversity                under active review. This notice
                                                  and Oceana requesting that loggerhead                                                                           Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.
                                                                                                          announces our active review of the
                                                  turtles in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean                 North Pacific loggerhead currently listed               Dated: October 6, 2016.
                                                  be reclassified as a DPS with                           as endangered (76 FR 58868; September                 Daniel Bess,
                                                  endangered status and that critical                     22, 2011), as well as our intent to                   Acting Deputy Director, Office of Protected
                                                  habitat be designated. NMFS and                         prepare a recovery plan.                              Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
                                                  USFWS determined that the July 16,                         Background information on the North                [FR Doc. 2016–24676 Filed 10–11–16; 8:45 am]
                                                  2007, North Pacific petition and the                    Pacific loggerhead including the                      BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
                                                  November 16, 2007, Northwest Atlantic                   endangered listing is available on the
                                                  petition both presented substantial                     NMFS Office of Protected Species Web
                                                  information that the petitioned actions                 site at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/                 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
                                                  may be warranted. The 2009 Status                       species/turtles/loggerhead.html.
                                                  Review identified nine DPSs. In 2011,                                                                         Patent and Trademark Office
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                                                  we published a final rule (76 FR 58868;                 Public Solicitation of New Information
                                                  September 22, 2011) determining nine                      To ensure that the 5-year review and                Secrecy and License To Export
                                                  DPSs for loggerhead sea turtles.                        recovery plan are complete and based                  ACTION:    Proposed collection; comment
                                                     Upon listing a species, section 4(f)(1)              on the best available scientific and                  request.
                                                  of the ESA requires the preparation and                 commercial information, we are
                                                  implementation of a recovery plan and                   soliciting new information from the                   SUMMARY: The United States Patent and
                                                  revision to those plans as necessary. The               public, governmental agencies, Tribes,                Trademark Office (USPTO), as part of its


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                                                  70396                     Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 12, 2016 / Notices

                                                  continuing effort to reduce paperwork                   the International Bureau as long as the               filing of a patent application is
                                                  and respondent burden, invites the                      secrecy order is in force.                            considered a request for a foreign filing
                                                  general public and other Federal                           Three types of secrecy orders, each of             license. However, in some instances an
                                                  agencies to take this opportunity to                    a different scope, can be issued. The                 applicant may need a license for filing
                                                  comment on the extension of a                           first type, Secrecy Order and Permit for              patent application in foreign countries
                                                  continuing information collection, as                   Foreign Filing in Certain Countries, is               prior to a filing in the USPTO or sooner
                                                  required by the Paperwork Reduction                     intended to permit the widest                         than the anticipated licensing of a
                                                  Act of 1995, Public Law 104–13 (44                      utilization of the technical data in the              pending patent application.
                                                  U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).                                  patent application while still controlling               To file a patent application in a
                                                  DATES: Written comments must be                         any publication or disclosure that                    foreign country, the applicant can
                                                  submitted on or before December 12,                     would result in an unlawful                           petition the USPTO for a foreign filing
                                                  2016.                                                   exportation. The second type, the                     license either with or without a
                                                                                                          Secrecy Order and Permit for Disclosing               corresponding United States
                                                  ADDRESSES: You may submit comments                      Classified Information, is to treat
                                                  by any of the following methods:                                                                              application. In addition, the applicant
                                                                                                          classified technical data presented in a
                                                     • Email: InformationCollection@                      patent application in the same manner
                                                                                                                                                                can petition to change the scope of a
                                                  uspto.gov. Include ‘‘0651–0034                                                                                license and, when a patent application
                                                                                                          as any other classified material. The                 is filed through error in a foreign
                                                  comment’’ in the subject line of the                    third type of secrecy order is used
                                                  message.                                                                                                      country without the appropriate filing
                                                                                                          where the other types of orders do not
                                                     • Mail: Marcie Lovett, Records                                                                             license, an applicant can petition the
                                                                                                          apply, including orders issued by                     USPTO for a retroactive license.
                                                  Management Division Director, Office of
                                                                                                          direction of agencies other than the
                                                  the Chief Information Officer, United                                                                            This collection includes the
                                                                                                          Department of Defense.
                                                  States Patent and Trademark Office,                        Under the provision of 35 U.S.C. 181,              information needed by the USPTO to
                                                  P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313–                    a secrecy order remains in effect for a               review the various types of petitions
                                                  1450.                                                   period of one year from its date of                   regarding secrecy orders and foreign
                                                  FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:                        issuance. A secrecy order may be                      filing licenses. This collection of
                                                  Requests for additional information                     renewed for additional periods of not                 information is required by 35 U.S.C.
                                                  should be directed to Raul Tamayo,                      more than one year upon notice by a                   181–188 and administered through 37
                                                  Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Patent                  government agency that the national                   CFR 5.1–5.33.
                                                  Legal Administration, United States                     interest continues to so require. The                    There are no forms associated with
                                                  Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box                   applicant is notified of such renewal.                this collection of information.
                                                  1450, Alexandria, VA 22313–1450; by                        When the USPTO places a secrecy                    II. Method of Collection
                                                  telephone at 571–272–7728; or by email                  order on a patent application, the rules
                                                  to Raul.Tamayo@uspto.gov with                           authorize the applicant to petition the                 By mail, facsimile or hand carried to
                                                  ‘‘Paperwork’’ in the subject line.                      USPTO for permits to allow disclosure,                the USPTO.
                                                  Additional information about this                       modification, or rescission of the                    III. Data
                                                  collection is also available at http://                 secrecy order, or to obtain a general or
                                                  www.reginfo.gov under ‘‘Information                     group permit. In each of these                           OMB Number: 0651–0034.
                                                  Collection Review.’’                                    circumstances, the petition is forwarded                 Form Number(s): None.
                                                  SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:                              to the appropriate defense agency for                    Type of Review: Revision of a
                                                                                                          decision. Also, the Commissioner for                  currently approved collection.
                                                  I. Abstract                                             Patents at the USPTO may rescind any                     Affected Public: Businesses or other
                                                     In the interest of national security,                order upon notification by the heads of               for-profits; not-for-profit institutions.
                                                  patent laws and rules place certain                     the departments and the chief officers of
                                                  limitations on the disclosure of                                                                                 Estimated Number of Respondents:
                                                                                                          the agencies who caused the order to be
                                                  information contained in patents and                                                                          2,559 responses per year. The USPTO
                                                                                                          issued that the disclosure of the
                                                  patent applications and on the filing of                                                                      estimates that approximately 20% (507)
                                                                                                          invention is no longer deemed
                                                  applications for patents in foreign                                                                           of these responses will be from small
                                                                                                          detrimental to the national security.
                                                  countries.                                                 Unless expressly ordered otherwise,                entities.
                                                     In particular, whenever the                          action on the application and                            Estimated Time per Response: The
                                                  publication or disclosure of an                         prosecution by the applicant will                     USPTO estimates that it will take the
                                                  invention by the publication of an                      proceed during the time the application               public from 30 minutes (0.5 hours) to 4
                                                  application or by the granting of a                     is under secrecy order to a specific point            hours to gather the necessary
                                                  patent is, in the opinion of the head of                as indicated under 37 CFR 5.3.                        information, prepare the appropriate
                                                  an interested Government agency,                        Applications under secrecy order that                 documents, and submit the information
                                                  determined to be detrimental to national                come to a final rejection must be                     required for this collection.
                                                  security, the Commissioner for Patents                  appealed or otherwise prosecuted to                      Estimated Total Annual Respondent
                                                  at the USPTO must issue a secrecy order                 avoid abandonment. Appeals in such                    Burden Hours: 1,607.5 hours.
                                                  and withhold the publication of a patent                cases must be completed by the                           Estimated Total Annual Respondent
                                                  application and the grant of a patent for               applicant, but unless specifically                    Cost Burden: $659,075.00. The USPTO
                                                  such period as the national interest                    indicated by the Commissioner for                     expects that the information in this
                                                  requires. A patent will not be issued on                                                                      collection will be prepared by attorneys
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                                                                                                          Patents at the USPTO, will not be set for
                                                  the application, nor will the application               hearing until the secrecy order is                    at an estimated rate of $410 per hour.
                                                  be published, as long as the secrecy                    removed.                                              Therefore, the USPTO estimates that the
                                                  order is in force. If a secrecy order is                   In addition to the issuance of secrecy             respondent cost burden for this
                                                  applied to an international application,                orders, the USPTO is required to grant                collection will be approximately
                                                  the application will not be forwarded to                foreign filing licenses to applicants. The            $659,075.00 per year.




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                                                                                      Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 12, 2016 / Notices                                                                                                  70397

                                                                                                                                                                     Estimated time                   Estimated          Estimated annual                       Rate
                                                                                                      Item                                                            for response                      annual            burden hours                          ($/hr)
                                                                                                                                                                         (hours)                      responses

                                                                                                                                                                               (a)                       (b)             (a) × (b)/60 = (c)
                                                  1. Petition for Rescission of Secrecy Order ..............................................                                            3.0                      10                           30.0                        410
                                                  2. Petition to Disclose or Modification of Secrecy Order ..........................                                                   2.0                      15                           30.0                        410
                                                  3. Petition for General and Group Permits ................................................                                            1.0                       1                            1.0                        410
                                                  4. Petition for Expedited Handling of License (no corresponding applica-
                                                    tion) ........................................................................................................                      0.5                    2,200                      1,100.0                         410
                                                  5. Petition for Expedited Handling of License (corresponding U.S. appli-
                                                    cation) .....................................................................................................                       0.5                     250                          125.0                        410
                                                  6. Petition for Changing Scope of License ................................................                                            0.5                       3                             1.5                       410
                                                  7. Petition for Retroactive License ............................................................                                      4.0                      80                            320                        410
                                                        Totals ..................................................................................................    ........................                  2,559                      1,607.5        ........................



                                                    Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour)                                         the form of filing fees for the foreign                                    been introduced. The USPTO estimates
                                                  Respondent Cost Burden: $448,267.70.                                        filing petitions and postage costs. No                                     that 20% of the responses in this
                                                    There are no capital start-up,                                            fees are associated with the secrecy                                       collection will come from small entities
                                                  maintenance, or record keeping costs                                        order petitions.                                                           and approximately 10% of the small
                                                  associated with this information                                               The license petitions all charge the 37                                 entity respondents will qualify as micro
                                                  collection. However, this collection                                        CFR 1.17(g) fee, for which small and                                       entities.
                                                  does have annual (non-hour) costs in                                        micro entity discounts recently have

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Total non-hour
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Filing fee
                                                                                                                      Item                                                                              Responses                                         cost burden
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      ($)                      ($)

                                                                                                                                                                                                               (a)                     (b)               (a) × (b) = (c)

                                                  1.   Petition   for Rescission of Secrecy Order ................................................................................                                      10                  0.00                     0.00
                                                  2.   Petition   to Disclose or Modification of Secrecy Order ............................................................                                             15                  0.00                     0.00
                                                  3.   Petition   for General and Group Permits ..................................................................................                                       1                  0.00                     0.00
                                                  4.   Petition   for Expedited Handling of License (no corresponding application) ...........................                                                       1,716                200.00               343,200.00
                                                  4.   Petition   for Expedited Handling of License (no corresponding application) (small entity) .....                                                                440                100.00                44,000.00
                                                  4.   Petition   for Expedited Handling of License (no corresponding application) (micro entity) .....                                                                 44                 50.00                 2,200.00
                                                  5.   Petition   for Expedited Handling of License (corresponding U.S. application) ........................                                                          195                200.00                39,000.00
                                                  5.   Petition   for Expedited Handling of License (corresponding U.S. application) (small entity) ..                                                                  50                100.00                 5,000.00
                                                  5.   Petition   for Expedited Handling of License (corresponding U.S. application) (micro entity) ..                                                                   5                 50.00                   250.00
                                                  6.   Petition   for Changing Scope of License ..................................................................................                                       1                200.00                   200.00
                                                  6.   Petition   for Changing Scope of License (small entity) ............................................................                                              1                100.00                   100.00
                                                  6.   Petition   for Changing Scope of License (micro entity) ...........................................................                                               1                 50.00                    50.00
                                                  7.   Petition   for Retroactive License ..............................................................................................                                62                200.00                12,400.00
                                                  7.   Petition   for Retroactive License (small entity) .........................................................................                                      16                100.00                 1,600.00
                                                  7.   Petition   for Retroactive License (micro entity) ........................................................................                                        2                 50.00                   100.00

                                                        Totals ....................................................................................................................................                  2,559    ........................         448,100.00



                                                    The USPTO estimates that 99% of the                                         (a) Whether the proposed collection of                                     Dated: October 3, 2016.
                                                  petitions in this collection are submitted                                  information is necessary for the proper                                    Rhonda Foltz,
                                                  by facsimile or hand carried because of                                     performance of the functions of the                                        Director, Office of Information Management
                                                  the quick turnaround required. For the                                      agency, including whether the                                              Services, OCIO, United States Patent and
                                                  1% of the public that chooses to submit                                     information shall have practical utility;                                  Trademark Office.
                                                  the petitions to the USPTO by mail                                            (b) the accuracy of the agency’s                                         [FR Doc. 2016–24592 Filed 10–11–16; 8:45 am]
                                                  through the United States Postal                                            estimate of the burden (including hours                                    BILLING CODE 3510–16–P
                                                  Service, the USPTO estimates that the                                       and cost) of the proposed collection of
                                                  average postage cost for a USPS Priority                                    information;
                                                  Mail, flat-rate envelope submission is                                        (c) ways to enhance the quality,
                                                                                                                              utility, and clarity of the information to                                 BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL
                                                  $6.45, and that 26 submissions will be                                                                                                                 PROTECTION
                                                  mailed to the USPTO per year for a total                                    be collected; and
                                                  estimated postage cost of $167.70.                                            (d) ways to minimize the burden of
                                                                                                                                                                                                         Consumer Advisory Board Meeting
                                                                                                                              the collection of information on
                                                    Therefore, the USPTO estimates that                                       respondents, e.g., the use of automated                                             Bureau of Consumer Financial
mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES




                                                                                                                                                                                                         AGENCY:
                                                  the total (non-hour) cost burden for this                                   collection techniques or other forms of                                    Protection.
                                                  collection in the form of filing fees and                                   information technology. Comments                                           ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
                                                  postage costs is estimated to be                                            submitted in response to this notice will
                                                  approximately $448,267.70.                                                  be summarized or included in the                                           SUMMARY:   This notice sets forth the
                                                  IV. Request for Comments                                                    request for OMB approval of this                                           announcement of a public meeting of
                                                                                                                              information collection; they also will                                     the Consumer Advisory Board (CAB or
                                                       Comments are invited on:                                               become a matter of public record.                                          Board) of the Bureau of Consumer


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Document Created: 2016-10-12 00:55:19
Document Modified: 2016-10-12 00:55:19
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionNotices
ActionProposed collection; comment request.
DatesWritten comments must be submitted on or before December 12, 2016.
ContactRequests 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 Citation81 FR 70395 

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