Size Standard for Purposes of United States Patent and Trademark Office Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for Patent-Related Regulations, 38388-38389 [E6-10564]
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38388
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 129 / Thursday, July 6, 2006 / Notices
Patent and Trademark Office, 2051
Jamieson Avenue, Suite 300,
Alexandria, VA 22314; Office of the
Chief Information Officer, United States
Patent and Trademark Office, Madison
West Building, 600 Dulany Street,
Alexandria, VA 22314.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE
SYSTEM:
Registered patent attorneys and agents
and other members of the public who
maintain deposit accounts or make
electronic funds transfer (EFT)
payments to pay the cost of products
and services rendered by the United
States Patent and Trademark Office
(USPTO).
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
For deposit accounts: Name, address,
telephone number, fax number, contact
e-mail address, taxpayer ID number,
Agency Location Code (ALC), deposit
account number, type of account,
authorized users list, access code, and
financial transactions with the USPTO.
For EFT: Bank account holder’s name,
address, bank name, bank routing
number, bank account number and type
of account, contact phone number, and
contact e-mail address.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
35 U.S.C. 2 and 41 and 15 U.S.C.
1113.
The USPTO collects customer
financial information for fee processing.
Under 35 U.S.C. 41 and 15 U.S.C. 1113,
as implemented in 37 CFR 1.16–1.28,
2.6–2.7, and 2.206–2.209, the USPTO
charges fees for processing and other
services related to patents, trademarks,
and information products. This system
of records contains the information
necessary to allow customers to
establish deposit accounts at the
USPTO, maintain existing accounts, or
charge the appropriate fee amount to the
appropriate deposit account. This
system of records also allows customers
to establish and maintain a user profile
in order to make fee payments from
their bank accounts by EFT.
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ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE
SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND
THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
See Prefatory Statement of General
Routine Uses Nos. 1–5, 9–10 and 13, as
found at 46 FR 63501–63502 (December
31, 1981). The financial information is
used to establish and maintain deposit
accounts and EFT user profiles for
USPTO customers and to validate and
process fee sales. Account information
may also be disclosed to financial
institutions for verification and
17:01 Jul 05, 2006
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DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING
AGENCIES:
Not applicable.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING,
RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND
DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
Microfilm and magnetic storage
media.
RETRIEVABILITY:
Deposit account records may be
retrieved by: Deposit account number,
holder name, and access code. EFT
records may be retrieved by: Bank
routing number and bank account
number. The files are searchable in a
database available only to authorized
staff.
RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
Records retention and disposal is in
accordance with the series record
schedules.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
Director, Office of Finance, United
States Patent and Trademark Office,
2051 Jamieson Avenue, Suite 300,
Alexandria, VA 22314.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
Information may be obtained from the
Privacy Officer, Office of General Law,
United States Patent and Trademark
Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA
Frm 00033
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
Requests from individuals should be
addressed to the same address as stated
in the notification section above.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
The rules for access, contesting
contents, and appealing initial
determinations by the individual
concerned appear in 37 CFR Part 102
Subpart B. Requests from individuals
should be addressed to the same address
as stated in the notification section
above.
Subject individuals and those
authorized by the individual to furnish
information.
EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
None.
Dated: June 29, 2006.
Susan K. Brown,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief
Information Officer, Architecture,
Engineering and Technical Services, Data
Architecture and Services Division.
[FR Doc. E6–10526 Filed 7–5–06; 8:45 am]
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Buildings employ security guards.
Records are maintained in areas
accessible only to authorized personnel
who are properly screened, cleared, and
trained. Where information is
retrievable by terminal, all appropriate
system safeguards (hardware and
software) are utilized. Financial
information is collected using
appropriate encryption technology and
records are stored on a secure server.
Access to electronic records is limited to
key personnel and is restricted to the
specific functions required by their
duties. System operators and
administrators are trained to keep
financial information secure.
PO 00000
22313–1450. Requesters should provide
name, account information, and record
sought, pursuant to the inquiry
provisions appearing in 37 CFR Part 102
Subpart B.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
STORAGE:
SAFEGUARDS:
PURPOSE(S):
VerDate Aug<31>2005
processing of transactions. For EFT
payments, the contact phone number
and e-mail address are used in order to
communicate with the customer in case
there are any problems with the EFT
information or the EFT fee sale. After a
sale is completed, the information is
stored as a historical transaction along
with the identifying mark of the sale
item. This historical information is used
to verify that a customer has paid the
appropriate fees for their goods or
services.
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No.: PTO–P–2006–0034]
Size Standard for Purposes of United
States Patent and Trademark Office
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for
Patent-Related Regulations
United States Patent and
Trademark Office, Commerce.
ACTION: Request for comments.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) uses the
Small Business Administration (SBA)
size standard for the purpose of paying
reduced patent fees as its size standard
when conducting an analysis or making
a certification under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act for patent-related
regulations. The Small Business
Administration Office of Advocacy
(SBA-Advocacy) has questioned
whether this is the appropriate size
standard for conducting an analysis or
making a certification under the
Regulatory Flexibility Act. Pursuant to
the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the
USPTO is providing this opportunity for
public comment on the establishment of
E:\FR\FM\06JYN1.SGM
06JYN1
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 129 / Thursday, July 6, 2006 / Notices
the SBA’s definition of ‘‘small business
concern’’ for the purpose of paying
reduced patent fees as the definition of
‘‘small business concern’’ for Regulatory
Flexibility Act purposes for patentrelated regulations.
Comment Deadline Date: To be
ensured of consideration, written
comments must be received on or before
August 7, 2006. No public hearing will
be held.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent
by electronic mail message over the
Internet addressed to rfapatents.comments@uspto.gov.
Comments may also be submitted by
mail addressed to: Mail Stop
Comments—Patents, Commissioner for
Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA,
22313–1450, or by facsimile to (571)
273–7735, marked to the attention of
Christina T. Donnell. Although
comments may be submitted by mail or
facsimile, the Office prefers to receive
comments via the Internet.
Comments may also be sent by
electronic mail message over the
Internet via the Federal eRulemaking
Portal. See the Federal eRulemaking
Portal Web site (https://
www.regulations.gov) for additional
instructions on providing comments via
the Federal eRulemaking Portal.
The comments will be available for
public inspection at the Office of the
Commissioner for Patents, located in
Madison East, Tenth Floor, 600 Dulany
Street, Alexandria, Virginia, and will be
available via the Office Internet Web site
(address: https://www.uspto.gov).
Because comments will be made
available for public inspection,
information that is not desired to be
made public, such as an address or
phone number, should not be included
in the comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Christina T. Donnell, Senior Petition
Attorney, Office of Petitions, Office of
the Deputy Commissioner for Patent
Examination Policy, by telephone at
(571) 272–3211, by mail addressed to:
Mail Stop Comments—Patents,
Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box
1450, Alexandria, VA, 22313–1450, or
by facsimile to (571) 273–7735, marked
to the attention of Christina T. Donnell.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The patent
statute provides that ‘‘fees charged
under [35 U.S.C. 41](a), (b) and (d)(1)
shall be reduced by 50 percent with
respect to their application to any small
business concern as defined under
section 3 of the Small Business Act, and
to any independent inventor or
nonprofit organization as defined in
regulations issued by the Director.’’ 35
U.S.C. 41(h)(1). The SBA defines a small
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:01 Jul 05, 2006
Jkt 208001
business concern for the purpose of
paying reduced patent fees as one: ‘‘(a)
Whose number of employees, including
affiliates, does not exceed 500 persons;
and (b) Which has not assigned, granted,
conveyed, or licensed (and is under no
obligation to do so) any rights in the
invention to any person who made it
and could not be classified as an
independent inventor, or to any concern
which would not qualify as a non-profit
organization or a small business concern
under this section.’’ 13 CFR 121.802.
The USPTO uses the SBA size
standard for the purpose of paying
reduced patent fees in 13 CFR 121.802
as the size standard when conducting an
analysis or making a certification under
the Regulatory Flexibility Act for patentrelated regulations. See e.g., Changes To
Support Implementation of the United
States Patent and Trademark Office 21st
Century Strategic Plan, 69 FR 56481,
56530 (Sept 21, 2004) (discussion
indicating that small entities for
purposes of Regulatory Flexibility Act
are considered a subset of the small
entities for purposes of paying reduced
patent fees). The SBA-Advocacy,
however, has questioned whether the
USPTO’s size standard is underinclusive because it excludes ‘‘any
business concern that has assigned,
granted, conveyed, or licensed (and is
under no obligation to do so) any rights
in the invention to any person who
made it and could not be classified as
an independent inventor, or to any
concern which would not qualify as a
non-profit organization or a small
business concern under [13 CFR
121.802].’’ 13 CFR 121.802(b).
The size standard set forth in 13 CFR
121.802 is the size standard ‘‘for the
purpose of paying reduced patent fees’’
and thus appears to be limited to
payment of patent fees. See 13 CFR
121.801. The SBA small business size
standards are set forth in 13 CFR
121.201. The USPTO uses the SBA size
standard for the purpose of paying
reduced patent fees as its size standard
when conducting an analysis or making
a certification under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act because the USPTO has
no business need (other than to conduct
an analysis or make a certification under
the Regulatory Flexibility Act) to collect
information from patentees and patent
applicants concerning whether they are
a small business concern using the size
standards set forth in 13 CFR 121.201,
and thus, the USPTO does not collect
this information. The USPTO is
proposing to use the size standard set
forth in 13 CFR 121.802 as its size
standard when conducting an analysis
or making a certification under the
Regulatory Flexibility Act to avoid the
PO 00000
Frm 00034
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
38389
need to collect information from
patentees and patent applicants
concerning whether they are a small
business concern using the size
standards set forth in 13 CFR 121.201.
The Regulatory Flexibility Act
permits an agency head to establish, for
purposes of Regulatory Flexibility Act
analysis and certification, one or more
definitions of ‘‘small business concern’’
that are appropriate to the activities of
the agency, after consultation with the
Office of Advocacy of the Small
Business Administration and after
opportunity for public comment. See 5
U.S.C. 601(3) and 13 CFR 121.903(c).
Therefore, the USPTO is publishing for
comment a definition of small business
concern for purposes of the USPTO
conducting an analysis or making a
certification under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act for patent-related
regulations. Specifically, the USPTO’s
definition of small business concern for
Regulatory Flexibility Act purposes is a
business or other concern that: (1) Meets
the SBA’s definition of a ‘‘business
concern or concern’’ set forth in 13 CFR
121.105; and (2) meets the size
standards set forth in 13 CFR 121.802
for the purpose of paying reduced
patent fees, namely an entity: (a) Whose
number of employees, including
affiliates, does not exceed 500 persons;
and (b) which has not assigned, granted,
conveyed, or licensed (and is under no
obligation to do so) any rights in the
invention to any person who made it
and could not be classified as an
independent inventor, or to any concern
which would not qualify as a non-profit
organization or a small business concern
under this definition.
Dated: June 28, 2006.
Jon W. Dudas,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual
Property and Director of the United States
Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. E6–10564 Filed 7–5–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–16–P
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Office of the Secretary
Defense Science Board; Meetings
Department of Defense.
Notice of Advisory Committee
Meetings.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
SUMMARY: The Defense Science Board
Task Force on Technology Vectors will
meet in closed session on July 11 and
12, 2006: at Strategic Analysis, Inc.
(SAI), 3601 Wilson Boulevard, Suite
500, Arlington, VA. This meeting will
continue to map the study’s direction
E:\FR\FM\06JYN1.SGM
06JYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 129 (Thursday, July 6, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38388-38389]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-10564]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No.: PTO-P-2006-0034]
Size Standard for Purposes of United States Patent and Trademark
Office Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for Patent-Related Regulations
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.
ACTION: Request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) uses the
Small Business Administration (SBA) size standard for the purpose of
paying reduced patent fees as its size standard when conducting an
analysis or making a certification under the Regulatory Flexibility Act
for patent-related regulations. The Small Business Administration
Office of Advocacy (SBA-Advocacy) has questioned whether this is the
appropriate size standard for conducting an analysis or making a
certification under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Pursuant to the
Regulatory Flexibility Act, the USPTO is providing this opportunity for
public comment on the establishment of
[[Page 38389]]
the SBA's definition of ``small business concern'' for the purpose of
paying reduced patent fees as the definition of ``small business
concern'' for Regulatory Flexibility Act purposes for patent-related
regulations.
Comment Deadline Date: To be ensured of consideration, written
comments must be received on or before August 7, 2006. No public
hearing will be held.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent by electronic mail message over the
Internet addressed to rfa-patents.comments@uspto.gov. Comments may also
be submitted by mail addressed to: Mail Stop Comments--Patents,
Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA, 22313-1450, or
by facsimile to (571) 273-7735, marked to the attention of Christina T.
Donnell. Although comments may be submitted by mail or facsimile, the
Office prefers to receive comments via the Internet.
Comments may also be sent by electronic mail message over the
Internet via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. See the Federal
eRulemaking Portal Web site (https://www.regulations.gov) for additional
instructions on providing comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal.
The comments will be available for public inspection at the Office
of the Commissioner for Patents, located in Madison East, Tenth Floor,
600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, Virginia, and will be available via the
Office Internet Web site (address: https://www.uspto.gov). Because
comments will be made available for public inspection, information that
is not desired to be made public, such as an address or phone number,
should not be included in the comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christina T. Donnell, Senior Petition
Attorney, Office of Petitions, Office of the Deputy Commissioner for
Patent Examination Policy, by telephone at (571) 272-3211, by mail
addressed to: Mail Stop Comments--Patents, Commissioner for Patents,
P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA, 22313-1450, or by facsimile to (571)
273-7735, marked to the attention of Christina T. Donnell.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The patent statute provides that ``fees
charged under [35 U.S.C. 41](a), (b) and (d)(1) shall be reduced by 50
percent with respect to their application to any small business concern
as defined under section 3 of the Small Business Act, and to any
independent inventor or nonprofit organization as defined in
regulations issued by the Director.'' 35 U.S.C. 41(h)(1). The SBA
defines a small business concern for the purpose of paying reduced
patent fees as one: ``(a) Whose number of employees, including
affiliates, does not exceed 500 persons; and (b) Which has not
assigned, granted, conveyed, or licensed (and is under no obligation to
do so) any rights in the invention to any person who made it and could
not be classified as an independent inventor, or to any concern which
would not qualify as a non-profit organization or a small business
concern under this section.'' 13 CFR 121.802.
The USPTO uses the SBA size standard for the purpose of paying
reduced patent fees in 13 CFR 121.802 as the size standard when
conducting an analysis or making a certification under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act for patent-related regulations. See e.g., Changes To
Support Implementation of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
21st Century Strategic Plan, 69 FR 56481, 56530 (Sept 21, 2004)
(discussion indicating that small entities for purposes of Regulatory
Flexibility Act are considered a subset of the small entities for
purposes of paying reduced patent fees). The SBA-Advocacy, however, has
questioned whether the USPTO's size standard is under-inclusive because
it excludes ``any business concern that has assigned, granted,
conveyed, or licensed (and is under no obligation to do so) any rights
in the invention to any person who made it and could not be classified
as an independent inventor, or to any concern which would not qualify
as a non-profit organization or a small business concern under [13 CFR
121.802].'' 13 CFR 121.802(b).
The size standard set forth in 13 CFR 121.802 is the size standard
``for the purpose of paying reduced patent fees'' and thus appears to
be limited to payment of patent fees. See 13 CFR 121.801. The SBA small
business size standards are set forth in 13 CFR 121.201. The USPTO uses
the SBA size standard for the purpose of paying reduced patent fees as
its size standard when conducting an analysis or making a certification
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act because the USPTO has no business
need (other than to conduct an analysis or make a certification under
the Regulatory Flexibility Act) to collect information from patentees
and patent applicants concerning whether they are a small business
concern using the size standards set forth in 13 CFR 121.201, and thus,
the USPTO does not collect this information. The USPTO is proposing to
use the size standard set forth in 13 CFR 121.802 as its size standard
when conducting an analysis or making a certification under the
Regulatory Flexibility Act to avoid the need to collect information
from patentees and patent applicants concerning whether they are a
small business concern using the size standards set forth in 13 CFR
121.201.
The Regulatory Flexibility Act permits an agency head to establish,
for purposes of Regulatory Flexibility Act analysis and certification,
one or more definitions of ``small business concern'' that are
appropriate to the activities of the agency, after consultation with
the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration and after
opportunity for public comment. See 5 U.S.C. 601(3) and 13 CFR
121.903(c). Therefore, the USPTO is publishing for comment a definition
of small business concern for purposes of the USPTO conducting an
analysis or making a certification under the Regulatory Flexibility Act
for patent-related regulations. Specifically, the USPTO's definition of
small business concern for Regulatory Flexibility Act purposes is a
business or other concern that: (1) Meets the SBA's definition of a
``business concern or concern'' set forth in 13 CFR 121.105; and (2)
meets the size standards set forth in 13 CFR 121.802 for the purpose of
paying reduced patent fees, namely an entity: (a) Whose number of
employees, including affiliates, does not exceed 500 persons; and (b)
which has not assigned, granted, conveyed, or licensed (and is under no
obligation to do so) any rights in the invention to any person who made
it and could not be classified as an independent inventor, or to any
concern which would not qualify as a non-profit organization or a small
business concern under this definition.
Dated: June 28, 2006.
Jon W. Dudas,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. E6-10564 Filed 7-5-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P
