Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Patent and Trademark Resource Center Metrics
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (hereafter "USPTO" or "Agency"), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on the extension and revision...
United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce.
ACTION:
Notice of information collection; request for comments.
SUMMARY:
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (hereafter “USPTO” or “Agency”), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on the extension and revision of an existing information collection: 0651-0068 (Patent and Trademark Resource Center Metrics). The purpose of this notice is to allow 60 days for public comments prior to submission of the information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
DATES:
To ensure consideration, you must submit comments regarding this information collection on or before December 7, 2026.
ADDRESSES:
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by any of the following methods. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information.
Mail:
Justin Isaac, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
Telephone:
Johnna Childs, Librarian, Patent and Trademark Resource Center Program, 571-270-3793.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information should be directed to Johnna Childs at: Patent and Trademark Resource Center Program, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; 571-270-3793; or
Johnna.Childs@uspto.gov
with “0651-0068 comment” in the subject line. Additional information about this information collection is also available at
www.reginfo.gov
under “Information Collection Review.”
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC) Program is authorized under the provision of 35 U.S.C. 2(a)(2), which provides that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) shall be responsible for disseminating information with respect to patents and trademarks to the public. The PTRC Program is comprised of public, state, and academic libraries. Each participating library designated as a PTRC must fulfill the following requirements: assist the public in the efficient use of patent and trademark resources; provide free access to patent and trademark resources provided by the USPTO; and send representatives to attend USPTO-hosted PTRC training seminars.
The USPTO collects information about the public's use of the PTRCs and training provided through the PTRC program. The PTRC Program requirements stipulate that all participating libraries must submit quarterly metrics for the public's use of PTRC services and public outreach efforts provided by the PTRCs. To facilitate that requirement, the USPTO electronically collects these metrics on a quarterly basis. This information collection enables the USPTO to see how stakeholders are being served by the PTRCs and to ascertain what changes may be needed in the types of services provided. These metrics also provide the PTRC Program Office with insight into the trainings it should offer to PTRC librarians.
II. Method of Collection
Items in this information collection must be submitted as electronic submissions.
III. Data
OMB Control Number:
0651-0068.
Forms:
PTO-8601 (PTRC Metric Worksheet)
Type of Review:
Extension and revision of a currently approved information collection.
Affected Public:
State, local, and tribal governments.
Respondent's Obligation:
Mandatory.
Frequency:
Quarterly.
Estimated Number of Annual Respondents:
150 respondents.
Estimated Number of Annual Responses:
600 responses.
Estimated Time per Response:
The USPTO estimates that the responses in this information collection will take the public approximately 30 minutes (0.50 hours) to complete. This includes the time to gather the necessary
( printed page 63530)
information, create the document, and submit the completed item to the USPTO.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours:
300 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden:
$12,186.
Table 1—Total Reporting Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to State, Local, and Tribal Government Respondents
1
The USPTO uses the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupation Employment Statistics wage category 25-4022 (Librarians and Media Collections Specialists) to represent an estimated wage of respondents. The USPTO estimates that the hourly wage rate will be in the 75th percentile, as respondents will likely be living in metropolitan areas;
data.bls.gov/oesprofile/?major_group=250000&occupation=254022&measure=01&areas=INDUSTRY,STATE,MSA.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden:
$0. There are no capital start-up costs, maintenance costs, recordkeeping costs, filing fees, or postage costs associated with this information collection.
IV. Request for Comments
The USPTO is soliciting public comments to:
(a) Evaluate whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;
(b) Evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden of the collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
(c) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
(d) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
All comments submitted in response to this notice are a matter of public record. The USPTO will include or summarize each comment in the request to OMB to approve this information collection. Before including an address, phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable information (PII) in a comment, be advised that the entire comment—including PII—may be made publicly available at any time. While one may request in a comment to withhold PII from public view, the USPTO cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so.
Justin Isaac,
Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Use this for formal legal and research references to the published document.
91 FR 63529
Web Citation
Suggested Web Citation
Use this when citing the archival web version of the document.
“Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Patent and Trademark Resource Center Metrics,” thefederalregister.org (October 6, 2026), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2026-20470/agency-information-collection-activities-submission-to-the-office-of-management-and-budget-for-review-and-approval-comme.
www.regulations.gov
www.reginfo.gov
35 U.S.C. 2(a)(2)
data.bls.gov/oesprofile/?major_group=250000&occupation=254022&measure=01&areas=INDUSTRY,STATE,MSA