Patent Prosecution Highway Program, 6532-6533 [2018-02988]

Download as PDF 6532 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 14, 2018 / Notices • TTS is expected to affect only a limited number of animals; • There will be no loss or modification of ringed seal habitat and minimal, temporary impacts on prey; • Physical impacts to ringed seal subnivean lairs will be avoided; and • Mitigation requirements for ice camp activities would minimize impacts to animals during the pupping season. Based on the analysis contained herein of the likely effects of the specified activity on marine mammals and their habitat, and taking into consideration the implementation of the planned monitoring and mitigation measures, NMFS finds that the total marine mammal take from the planned activity will have a negligible impact on all affected marine mammal species or stocks. daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES Unmitigable Adverse Impact Analysis and Determination Impacts to subsistence uses of marine mammals resulting from the planned action are not anticipated. The planned action would occur outside of the primary subsistence use season (i.e. summer months), and the study area is 100–200 nmi seaward of known subsistence use areas. Harvest locations for ringed seals extend up to 80 nmi from shore during the summer months while winter harvest of ringed seals typically occurs closer to shore. Based on this information, NMFS has determined that there will not be an unmitigable adverse impact on subsistence uses from the Navy’s planned activities. Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 7(a)(2) of the ESA of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) requires that each Federal agency insure that any action it authorizes, funds, or carries out is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of designated critical habitat. To ensure ESA compliance for the issuance of IHAs, NMFS consults internally with our ESA Interagency Cooperation Division whenever we propose to authorize take for endangered or threatened species. No incidental take of ESA-listed species is authorized or expected to result from this activity. Therefore, NMFS has determined that consultation under section 7 of the ESA is not required for this action. Authorization NMFS has issued an IHA to the Navy for the potential harassment of ringed VerDate Sep<11>2014 22:07 Feb 13, 2018 Jkt 244001 seals incidental to the ICEX18 submarine test and training activities in the Beaufort Sea and Arctic Ocean, provided the previously described mitigation, monitoring and reporting requirements are incorporated. Dated: February 8, 2018. Donna S. Wieting, Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2018–03080 Filed 2–13–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Patent and Trademark Office Patent Prosecution Highway Program ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), invites comments on a proposed extension of an existing information collection: 0651–0058 (Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Program). DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before April 16, 2018. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods: • Email: InformationCollection@ uspto.gov. Include ‘‘0651–0058 comment’’ in the subject line of the message. • Federal Rulemaking Portal: https:// www.regulations.gov. • Mail: Marcie Lovett, Director, Records and Information Governance Division, Office of the Chief Technology 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 Raul.Tamayo@upsto.gov. Additional information about this collection is also available at https://www.reginfo.gov under ‘‘Information Collection Review.’’ SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SUMMARY: I. Abstract The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) is a framework in which an application whose claims have been determined to be patentable by an Office of Earlier Examination (OEE) is eligible to go through an accelerated PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 examination in an Office of Later Examination with a simple procedure upon an applicant’s request. By leveraging the search and examination work product of the OEE, PPH programs (1) deliver lower prosecution costs, (2) support applicants in their efforts to obtain stable patent rights efficiently around the world, and (3) reduce the search and examination burden, while improving the examination quality, of participating patent offices. Originally, the PPH programs were limited to the utilization of search and examination results of national applications between cross filings under the Paris Convention. Later, the potential of the PPH was greatly expanded by Patent Cooperation TreatyPatent Prosecution Highway (PCT–PPH) programs, which permitted participating patent offices to draw upon the positive results of the PCT work product from another participating office. The PCT– PPH programs used international written opinions and international preliminary examination reports developed within the framework of the PCT, thereby making the PPH available to a larger number of applicants. Information collected for the PCT is approved under OMB control number 0651–0021. In 2014, the USPTO and several other offices acted to consolidate and replace existing PPH and PCT–PPH programs, with the goal of streamlining the PPH process for both offices and applicants. To that end, the USPTO and other offices established the Global PPH pilot program and the IP5 PPH pilot program. The Global PPH and IP5 PPH pilot programs are running concurrently and are substantially identical, differing only with regard to their respective participating offices. The USPTO is participating in both the Global PPH pilot program and the IP5 PPH pilot program. For USPTO applications, the Global PPH and IP5 PPH pilot programs supersede any prior PPH program between the USPTO and each Global PPH and IP5 PPH participating office. Any existing PPH programs between the USPTO and offices that are not participating in either the Global PPH pilot program or the IP5 PPH pilot program remain in effect. Regardless of the pilot program used, the Global PPH pilot program, the IP5 PPH pilot program, and the other existing PPH programs, all provide pathways for patent applications to receive the benefits of coordinated patent review across intellectual property offices. The information gathered in this collection is integral to the PPH programs that USPTO participates in by identifying patent applications being E:\FR\FM\14FEN1.SGM 14FEN1 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 14, 2018 / Notices filed at multiple intellectual property offices across the globe, including at the USPTO. This includes declaring the OEE with whom the application has been filed, identifying information for the application at the OEE, and providing the necessary supporting documentation for the application. The forms also identify the correspondence between the claims being made at the USPTO with claims filed in the OEE and an explanation for that correspondence. The ten forms used to gather the information described above are: The Global Form (PTO/SB/20GLBL) and nine individual country forms allowing participants to file in a U.S. application to request to make the U.S. applicants special under a PPH or PCT–PPH program. The thirty-four forms in this collection that previously operated under individual countries’ Requests for Participation are being removed as they have been consolidated under the Global Form (PTO/SB/20GLBL). For more complete information on the PPH, including (1) a complete identification of participating countries and offices and the programs under which each country’s patent office is participating, (2) the forms needed to request entry into the PPH, both at the USPTO and other participating offices, and (3) information as to which of the PPH program remain pilots and which have been made permanent, please visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/init_ events/pph/index.jsp. II. Method of Collection Requests to participate in the PPH program must be submitted online under EFS-Web, the USPTO’s webbased electronic filing system. III. Data OMB Number: 0651–0058. IC Instruments and Forms: PTO/SB/ 20GLBL, PTO/SB/20AR, PTO/SB/20BR, PTO/SB/20CZ, PTO/SB/20EA, PTO/SB/ 20MX, PTO/SB/20NI, PTO/SB/20PH, PTO/SB/20RO, and PTO/SB/20TW. Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection. 6533 Affected Public: Individuals or households; business or other forprofits; and not-for-profit institutions. Estimated Number of Respondents: 8,110 responses per year. Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take the public approximately two hours to gather the necessary information, prepare the appropriate form, and submit a completed request to the USPTO. Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 16,200 hours. Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $7,104,360. The USPTO expects that the information in this collection will be prepared by attorney. The professional hourly rate for attorneys is $438. The rate is established by estimates in the 2017 Report on the Economic Survey, published by the Committee on Economics of Legal Practice of the American Intellectual Property Law Association. Using this hourly rate, the USPTO estimates that the total respondent cost burden for this collection is $7,104,360 per year. 1 ......... 2 ......... 3 ......... 4 ......... 5 ......... 6 ......... 7 ......... 8 ......... 9 ......... 10 ....... Totals Response time (hours) Item Burden hours Rate Respondent cost burden; (b) (c) = (a) × (b) (d) (e) = (c) × (d) Request for Participation in the Global/IP5 PPH Pilot Program in the USPTO (PTO/SB/20GLBL). National Institute of Industrial Property of Argentina (INPI-Argentina (PTO/SB/20AR). Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial (Brazil) (INPI) (PTO/SB/20BR). Industrial Property Office of the Czech Republic (IPOCZ) (PTO/SB/20CZ). Eurasian Patent Office of the Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO) (PTO/SB/20EA). Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (TMPI) (PTO/ SB/20MX). Nicaraguan Registry of Intellectual Property (NRIP) (PTO/SB/20NI). Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPH) (PTO/SB/20PH). Romanian State Office of Inventions and Trademarks (OSIM) (PTO/SB/20RO). Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) (PTO/SB/ 20TW). 2 (120 minutes) .............. 8,000 16,000 $438.00 $7,008,000.00 2 (120 minutes) .............. 10 20 438.00 8,760.00 2 (120 minutes) .............. 10 20 438.00 8,760.00 2 (120 minutes) .............. 10 20 438.00 8,760.00 2 (120 minutes) .............. 10 20 438.00 8,760.00 2 (120 minutes) .............. 10 20 438.00 8,760.00 2 (120 minutes) .............. 10 20 438.00 8,760.00 2 (120 minutes) .............. 10 20 438.00 8,760.00 2 (120 minutes) .............. 10 20 438.00 8,760.00 2 (120 minutes) .............. 30 60 438.00 26,280.00 .......................................................................................... ......................................... 8,110 16,220 .................... 7,104,360.00 Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden: $0. There are no capital start-up, maintenance, or postage costs associated with this collection. This collection also has no filing fees or recordkeeping costs. IV. Request for Comments daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES Responses (a) IC No. 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. Comments are invited on: VerDate Sep<11>2014 22:07 Feb 13, 2018 Jkt 244001 (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 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 9990 collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Marcie Lovett, Records and Information Governance Division Director, OCTO, United States Patent and Trademark Office. [FR Doc. 2018–02988 Filed 2–13–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–16–P E:\FR\FM\14FEN1.SGM 14FEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 31 (Wednesday, February 14, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6532-6533]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-02988]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

 Patent and Trademark Office


Patent Prosecution Highway Program

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as 
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)), invites comments on a proposed extension of an existing 
information collection: 0651-0058 (Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) 
Program).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before April 16, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0058 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
     Federal Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
     Mail: Marcie Lovett, Director, Records and Information 
Governance Division, Office of the Chief Technology 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]. Additional information about this 
collection is also available at https://www.reginfo.gov under 
``Information Collection Review.''

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) is a framework in which an 
application whose claims have been determined to be patentable by an 
Office of Earlier Examination (OEE) is eligible to go through an 
accelerated examination in an Office of Later Examination with a simple 
procedure upon an applicant's request. By leveraging the search and 
examination work product of the OEE, PPH programs (1) deliver lower 
prosecution costs, (2) support applicants in their efforts to obtain 
stable patent rights efficiently around the world, and (3) reduce the 
search and examination burden, while improving the examination quality, 
of participating patent offices.
    Originally, the PPH programs were limited to the utilization of 
search and examination results of national applications between cross 
filings under the Paris Convention. Later, the potential of the PPH was 
greatly expanded by Patent Cooperation Treaty-Patent Prosecution 
Highway (PCT-PPH) programs, which permitted participating patent 
offices to draw upon the positive results of the PCT work product from 
another participating office. The PCT-PPH programs used international 
written opinions and international preliminary examination reports 
developed within the framework of the PCT, thereby making the PPH 
available to a larger number of applicants. Information collected for 
the PCT is approved under OMB control number 0651-0021.
    In 2014, the USPTO and several other offices acted to consolidate 
and replace existing PPH and PCT-PPH programs, with the goal of 
streamlining the PPH process for both offices and applicants. To that 
end, the USPTO and other offices established the Global PPH pilot 
program and the IP5 PPH pilot program. The Global PPH and IP5 PPH pilot 
programs are running concurrently and are substantially identical, 
differing only with regard to their respective participating offices. 
The USPTO is participating in both the Global PPH pilot program and the 
IP5 PPH pilot program. For USPTO applications, the Global PPH and IP5 
PPH pilot programs supersede any prior PPH program between the USPTO 
and each Global PPH and IP5 PPH participating office. Any existing PPH 
programs between the USPTO and offices that are not participating in 
either the Global PPH pilot program or the IP5 PPH pilot program remain 
in effect. Regardless of the pilot program used, the Global PPH pilot 
program, the IP5 PPH pilot program, and the other existing PPH 
programs, all provide pathways for patent applications to receive the 
benefits of coordinated patent review across intellectual property 
offices.
    The information gathered in this collection is integral to the PPH 
programs that USPTO participates in by identifying patent applications 
being

[[Page 6533]]

filed at multiple intellectual property offices across the globe, 
including at the USPTO. This includes declaring the OEE with whom the 
application has been filed, identifying information for the application 
at the OEE, and providing the necessary supporting documentation for 
the application. The forms also identify the correspondence between the 
claims being made at the USPTO with claims filed in the OEE and an 
explanation for that correspondence.
    The ten forms used to gather the information described above are: 
The Global Form (PTO/SB/20GLBL) and nine individual country forms 
allowing participants to file in a U.S. application to request to make 
the U.S. applicants special under a PPH or PCT-PPH program. The thirty-
four forms in this collection that previously operated under individual 
countries' Requests for Participation are being removed as they have 
been consolidated under the Global Form (PTO/SB/20GLBL).
    For more complete information on the PPH, including (1) a complete 
identification of participating countries and offices and the programs 
under which each country's patent office is participating, (2) the 
forms needed to request entry into the PPH, both at the USPTO and other 
participating offices, and (3) information as to which of the PPH 
program remain pilots and which have been made permanent, please visit 
https://www.uspto.gov/patents/init_events/pph/index.jsp.

II. Method of Collection

    Requests to participate in the PPH program must be submitted online 
under EFS-Web, the USPTO's web-based electronic filing system.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0058.
    IC Instruments and Forms: PTO/SB/20GLBL, PTO/SB/20AR, PTO/SB/20BR, 
PTO/SB/20CZ, PTO/SB/20EA, PTO/SB/20MX, PTO/SB/20NI, PTO/SB/20PH, PTO/
SB/20RO, and PTO/SB/20TW.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; business or other for-
profits; and not-for-profit institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 8,110 responses per year.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the public approximately two hours to gather the necessary information, 
prepare the appropriate form, and submit a completed request to the 
USPTO.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 16,200 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $7,104,360. The 
USPTO expects that the information in this collection will be prepared 
by attorney. The professional hourly rate for attorneys is $438. The 
rate is established by estimates in the 2017 Report on the Economic 
Survey, published by the Committee on Economics of Legal Practice of 
the American Intellectual Property Law Association. Using this hourly 
rate, the USPTO estimates that the total respondent cost burden for 
this collection is $7,104,360 per year.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                        Respondent cost
       IC No.                     Item                     Response time  (hours)          Responses      Burden hours        Rate          burden;
                      ...........................  (a)..................................          (b)    (c) = (a) x (b)          (d)    (e) = (c) x (d)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...................  Request for Participation    2 (120 minutes)......................        8,000             16,000      $438.00      $7,008,000.00
                       in the Global/IP5 PPH
                       Pilot Program in the USPTO
                       (PTO/SB/20GLBL).
2...................  National Institute of        2 (120 minutes)......................           10                 20       438.00           8,760.00
                       Industrial Property of
                       Argentina (INPI-Argentina
                       (PTO/SB/20AR).
3...................  Instituto Nacional da        2 (120 minutes)......................           10                 20       438.00           8,760.00
                       Propriedade Industrial
                       (Brazil) (INPI) (PTO/SB/
                       20BR).
4...................  Industrial Property Office   2 (120 minutes)......................           10                 20       438.00           8,760.00
                       of the Czech Republic
                       (IPOCZ) (PTO/SB/20CZ).
5...................  Eurasian Patent Office of    2 (120 minutes)......................           10                 20       438.00           8,760.00
                       the Eurasian Patent
                       Organization (EAPO) (PTO/
                       SB/20EA).
6...................  Mexican Institute of         2 (120 minutes)......................           10                 20       438.00           8,760.00
                       Industrial Property (TMPI)
                       (PTO/SB/20MX).
7...................  Nicaraguan Registry of       2 (120 minutes)......................           10                 20       438.00           8,760.00
                       Intellectual Property
                       (NRIP) (PTO/SB/20NI).
8...................  Intellectual Property        2 (120 minutes)......................           10                 20       438.00           8,760.00
                       Office of the Philippines
                       (IPOPH) (PTO/SB/20PH).
9...................  Romanian State Office of     2 (120 minutes)......................           10                 20       438.00           8,760.00
                       Inventions and Trademarks
                       (OSIM) (PTO/SB/20RO).
10..................  Taiwan Intellectual          2 (120 minutes)......................           30                 60       438.00          26,280.00
                       Property Office (TIPO)
                       (PTO/SB/20TW).
                                                  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals..............  ...........................  .....................................        8,110             16,220  ...........       7,104,360.00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden: $0. There 
are no capital start-up, maintenance, or postage costs associated with 
this collection. This collection also has no filing fees or 
recordkeeping costs.

IV. Request for Comments

    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.
    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.

Marcie Lovett,
Records and Information Governance Division Director, OCTO, United 
States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2018-02988 Filed 2-13-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-16-P
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