Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Appeals, 42699-42700 [2023-14014]
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 126 / Monday, July 3, 2023 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Patent Trial and Appeal
Board (PTAB) Appeals
United States Patent and
Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:
The United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO), as required
by the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, invites comments on the
extension and revision of an existing
information collection: 0651–0063
Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)
Appeals. The purpose of this notice is
to allow 60 days for public comment
preceding submission of the information
collection to OMB.
DATES: To ensure consideration,
comments regarding this information
collection must be received on or before
September 1, 2023.
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.
• Email: InformationCollection@
uspto.gov. Include ‘‘0651–0063
comment’’ in the subject line of the
message.
• Federal Rulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov.
• Mail: Justin Isaac, Office of the
Chief Administrative Officer, United
States Patent and Trademark Office,
P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313–
1450.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Request for additional information
should be directed to Michael Tierney,
Vice Chief Administrative Patent Judge,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board, United
States Patent and Trademark Office,
P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313–
1450; by telephone at 571–272–9797; or
SUMMARY:
by email to Michael.Tierney@uspto.gov.
Additional information about this
information collection is also available
at https://www.reginfo.gov under
‘‘Information Collection Review.’’
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board
(PTAB or Board) is established by
statute under 35 U.S.C. 6. This statute
directs, in relevant part, that PTAB shall
‘‘on written appeal of an applicant,
review adverse decisions of examiners
upon applications for patents pursuant
to section 134(a).’’ PTAB has the
authority, under 35 U.S.C. 134 and 306
to decide appeals in applications and ex
parte reexamination proceedings, and
under pre-AIA sections of the Patent
Act, i.e., 35 U.S.C. 134, 135, and 315, to
decide appeals in inter partes
reexamination proceedings and
interferences. In addition, 35 U.S.C. 6
establishes the membership of PTAB as
the Director, the Deputy Director, the
Commissioner for Patents, the
Commissioner for Trademarks, and the
Administrative Patent Judges. Each
appeal and interference is decided by a
merits panel of at least three members
of the Board.
The Board’s responsibilities under the
statute include the review of ex parte
appeals from adverse decisions of
examiners in those situations where a
written appeal is taken by a dissatisfied
applicant or patent owner. In inter
partes reexamination appeals, PTAB
reviews examiner’s decisions adverse to
a patent owner or a third-party
requester. PTAB’s opinions and
decisions for publicly available files are
published on the USPTO website. The
Board also conducts interference
proceedings.
The items associated with this
information collection include appeals
in applications and ex parte
reexamination proceedings, and appeals
in inter partes reexamination
proceedings and interference
proceedings that are governed by the
regulations in 37 CFR part 41. Failure to
comply with the appropriate regulations
may result in dismissal of the appeal or
denial of entry of the submission.
This revision and extension of the
information collection includes a line
item to expressly specify certain filings
made to the Board related to
interference proceedings, including
statements, motions, oppositions, and
replies in preliminary and priority
phases of an interference.
II. Method of Collection
Items in this information collection
may be submitted via mail, hand
delivery, facsimile, filed as attachments
through the USPTO’s patent electronic
filing system, or through the Patent Trial
and Appeal Board End-to-End System
(PTAB E2E), a separate electronic filing
system.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0651–0063.
Forms: (AIA = America Invents Act;
SB = Specimen Book).
• PTO/AIA/31: (Notice of Appeal
from the Examiner to the Patent Trial
and Appeal Board).
• PTO/SB/31: (Notice of Appeal).
• PTO/AIA/32: (Request for Oral
Hearing before the Patent Trial and
Appeal Board).
• PTO/SB/32: (Request for Oral
Hearing before the Patent Trial and
Appeal Board).
Type of Review: Extension and
revision of a currently approved
information collection.
Affected Public: Private sector.
Respondent’s Obligation: Required to
Obtain or Retain Benefits.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
12,529 respondents.
Estimated Number of Responses:
22,149 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: The
USPTO estimates that the responses in
this information collection will take the
public approximately 0.5 to 120 hours
to complete. This includes the time to
gather the necessary information, create
the document, and submit the
completed request to the USPTO.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent
Burden Hours: 238,999 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent
Hourly Cost Burden: $103,964,565.
TABLE 1—TOTAL BURDEN HOURS AND HOURLY COSTS TO PRIVATE SECTOR RESPONDENTS
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Item
No.
1
2
3
4
.........
.........
.........
.........
Item
Estimated
annual
respondents
Responses
per
respondent
Estimated
annual
responses
Estimated
time for
response
(hours)
Estimated
burden
(hour/year)
Rate 1
($/hour)
Estimated
annual
respondent
cost burden
(a)
(b)
(a) × (b) = (c)
(d)
(c) × (d) = (e)
(f)
(e) × (f) = (g)
Notice of Appeal .........................................
Appeal Brief ................................................
Amendment to Cancel Claims ....................
Reply Brief ..................................................
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:10 Jun 30, 2023
Jkt 259001
PO 00000
12,312
* 6,768
* 112
* 2,197
Frm 00022
1
1
1
1
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
12,312
6,768
112
2,197
0.5
32
2
5
E:\FR\FM\03JYN1.SGM
6,156
216,576
224
10,985
03JYN1
$435
435
435
435
$2,677,860
94,210,560
97,440
4,778,475
42700
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 126 / Monday, July 3, 2023 / Notices
TABLE 1—TOTAL BURDEN HOURS AND HOURLY COSTS TO PRIVATE SECTOR RESPONDENTS—Continued
Item
No.
5 .........
6 .........
7 .........
8 .........
Item
Estimated
annual
respondents
Responses
per
respondent
Estimated
annual
responses
Estimated
time for
response
(hours)
Estimated
burden
(hour/year)
Rate 1
($/hour)
Estimated
annual
respondent
cost burden
(a)
(b)
(a) × (b) = (c)
(d)
(c) × (d) = (e)
(f)
(e) × (f) = (g)
Petitions to the Chief Administrative Patent
Judge Under 37 CFR 41.3.
Request for Oral Hearing ...........................
Request for Rehearing Before the PTAB ...
Statements, Motions, Oppositions, and Replies in Preliminary and Priority Phases
of an Interference.
* 46
1
46
4
184
435
80,040
* 477
207
10
1
1
3
477
207
30
0.5
5
120
239
1,035
3,600
435
435
435
103,965
450,225
1,566,000
Totals ...................................................
12,529
........................
22,149
....................
238,999
................
103,964,565
1 2021
Report of the Economic Survey published by the Committee on Economics of Legal Practice of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA);
pg. F–27. The USPTO uses the average billing rate for attorneys in private firms which is $435 per hour.
* These lines (2–6) are subsets of the respondents from line 1, and not included in the total for this column. USPTO includes these numbers to show how the values in column C are calculated.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent
Non-hourly Cost Burden: $17,185,623.
There are no capital start-up,
maintenance cost, or recordkeeping
costs associated with this information
collection. However, USPTO estimates
that the total annual (non-hour) cost
burden for this information collection,
in the form of filing fees ($17,183,424)
and postage ($2,199) is $17,185,623.
Filing Fees
The 12 filing fees associated with this
information collection as outlined in the
table below:
TABLE 2—FILING FEES
Item
No.
Fee
code
Item
1
1
1
2
2
2
4
.........
.........
.........
.........
.........
.........
.........
1401
2401
3401
1404
2404
3404
1413
4
4
6
6
6
.........
.........
.........
.........
.........
2413
3413
1403
2403
3403
Total cost
($)
(a)
(b)
(a) × (b) = (c)
8,737
3,230
345
1
1
1
3,131
$840
336
168
2,100
840
420
2,360
$7,339,080
1,085,280
57,960
2,100
840
420
7,389,160
797
91
319
134
24
944
472
1,360
544
272
752,368
42,952
433,840
72,896
6,528
Totals .................................................................................................................................................
16,811
............
17,183,424
Although the USPTO prefers that the
items in this information collection be
submitted electronically, responses may
be submitted by mail through the
United States Postal Service (USPS).
The USPTO estimates that 1% of the
22,149 items will be submitted in the
mail resulting in 221 mailed items. The
USPTO estimates that the average
postage cost for a mailed submission,
using a Priority Mail 2-day flat rate legal
envelope, will be $9.95. Therefore, the
USPTO estimates the total mailing costs
for this information collection at $2,199.
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Fee
($)
Notice of appeal (undiscounted) ...............................................................................................................
Notice of appeal (small) ............................................................................................................................
Notice of appeal (micro) ...........................................................................................................................
Filing a brief in support of an appeal in an inter partes reexamination proceeding (undiscounted) .......
Filing a brief in support of an appeal in an inter partes reexamination proceeding (small) ....................
Filing a brief in support of an appeal in an inter partes reexamination proceeding (micro) ....................
Forwarding an Appeal in an Application or Ex Parte Reexamination Proceeding to the Board
(undiscounted).
Forwarding an Appeal in an Application or Ex Parte Reexamination Proceeding to the Board (small)
Forwarding an Appeal in an Application or Ex Parte Reexamination Proceeding to the Board (micro)
Request for oral hearing (undiscounted) ..................................................................................................
Request for oral hearing (small) ...............................................................................................................
Request for oral hearing (micro) ..............................................................................................................
Postage Costs
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
VerDate Sep<11>2014
Estimated
annual
responses
17:10 Jun 30, 2023
Jkt 259001
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 appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other
technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology,
e.g., permitting electronic submission of
responses.
All comments submitted in response
to this notice are a matter of public
record. USPTO will include or
summarize each comment in the request
PO 00000
Frm 00023
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 9990
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 aware that the entire
comment—including PII—may be made
publicly available at any time. While
you may ask in your comment to
withhold PII from public view, 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.
[FR Doc. 2023–14014 Filed 6–30–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–16–P
E:\FR\FM\03JYN1.SGM
03JYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 126 (Monday, July 3, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42699-42700]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14014]
[[Page 42699]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Appeals
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on
the extension and revision of an existing information collection: 0651-
0063 Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Appeals. The purpose of this
notice is to allow 60 days for public comment preceding submission of
the information collection to OMB.
DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this information
collection must be received on or before September 1, 2023.
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.
Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0063 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
Federal Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Mail: Justin Isaac, Office of the Chief Administrative
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450,
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Request for additional information
should be directed to Michael Tierney, Vice Chief Administrative Patent
Judge, Patent Trial and Appeal Board, United States Patent and
Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by
telephone at 571-272-9797; or by email to [email protected].
Additional information about this information collection is also
available at https://www.reginfo.gov under ``Information Collection
Review.''
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB or Board) is established by
statute under 35 U.S.C. 6. This statute directs, in relevant part, that
PTAB shall ``on written appeal of an applicant, review adverse
decisions of examiners upon applications for patents pursuant to
section 134(a).'' PTAB has the authority, under 35 U.S.C. 134 and 306
to decide appeals in applications and ex parte reexamination
proceedings, and under pre-AIA sections of the Patent Act, i.e., 35
U.S.C. 134, 135, and 315, to decide appeals in inter partes
reexamination proceedings and interferences. In addition, 35 U.S.C. 6
establishes the membership of PTAB as the Director, the Deputy
Director, the Commissioner for Patents, the Commissioner for
Trademarks, and the Administrative Patent Judges. Each appeal and
interference is decided by a merits panel of at least three members of
the Board.
The Board's responsibilities under the statute include the review
of ex parte appeals from adverse decisions of examiners in those
situations where a written appeal is taken by a dissatisfied applicant
or patent owner. In inter partes reexamination appeals, PTAB reviews
examiner's decisions adverse to a patent owner or a third-party
requester. PTAB's opinions and decisions for publicly available files
are published on the USPTO website. The Board also conducts
interference proceedings.
The items associated with this information collection include
appeals in applications and ex parte reexamination proceedings, and
appeals in inter partes reexamination proceedings and interference
proceedings that are governed by the regulations in 37 CFR part 41.
Failure to comply with the appropriate regulations may result in
dismissal of the appeal or denial of entry of the submission.
This revision and extension of the information collection includes
a line item to expressly specify certain filings made to the Board
related to interference proceedings, including statements, motions,
oppositions, and replies in preliminary and priority phases of an
interference.
II. Method of Collection
Items in this information collection may be submitted via mail,
hand delivery, facsimile, filed as attachments through the USPTO's
patent electronic filing system, or through the Patent Trial and Appeal
Board End-to-End System (PTAB E2E), a separate electronic filing
system.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0651-0063.
Forms: (AIA = America Invents Act; SB = Specimen Book).
PTO/AIA/31: (Notice of Appeal from the Examiner to the
Patent Trial and Appeal Board).
PTO/SB/31: (Notice of Appeal).
PTO/AIA/32: (Request for Oral Hearing before the Patent
Trial and Appeal Board).
PTO/SB/32: (Request for Oral Hearing before the Patent
Trial and Appeal Board).
Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved
information collection.
Affected Public: Private sector.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain or Retain Benefits.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 12,529 respondents.
Estimated Number of Responses: 22,149 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses
in this information collection will take the public approximately 0.5
to 120 hours to complete. This includes the time to gather the
necessary information, create the document, and submit the completed
request to the USPTO.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 238,999 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden: $103,964,565.
Table 1--Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Private Sector Respondents
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Estimated
Estimated Responses per Estimated time for Estimated Rate \1\ annual
Item No. Item annual respondent annual response burden (hour/ ($/hour) respondent
respondents responses (hours) year) cost burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (d) (c) x (d) = (f) (e) x (f) =
(c) (e) (g)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.................... Notice of Appeal........... 12,312 1 12,312 0.5 6,156 $435 $2,677,860
2.................... Appeal Brief............... * 6,768 1 6,768 32 216,576 435 94,210,560
3.................... Amendment to Cancel Claims. * 112 1 112 2 224 435 97,440
4.................... Reply Brief................ * 2,197 1 2,197 5 10,985 435 4,778,475
[[Page 42700]]
5.................... Petitions to the Chief * 46 1 46 4 184 435 80,040
Administrative Patent
Judge Under 37 CFR 41.3.
6.................... Request for Oral Hearing... * 477 1 477 0.5 239 435 103,965
7.................... Request for Rehearing 207 1 207 5 1,035 435 450,225
Before the PTAB.
8.................... Statements, Motions, 10 3 30 120 3,600 435 1,566,000
Oppositions, and Replies
in Preliminary and
Priority Phases of an
Interference.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals.................. 12,529 .............. 22,149 ........... 238,999 ......... 103,964,565
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 2021 Report of the Economic Survey published by the Committee on Economics of Legal Practice of the American Intellectual Property Law Association
(AIPLA); pg. F-27. The USPTO uses the average billing rate for attorneys in private firms which is $435 per hour.
* These lines (2-6) are subsets of the respondents from line 1, and not included in the total for this column. USPTO includes these numbers to show how
the values in column C are calculated.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden:
$17,185,623. There are no capital start-up, maintenance cost, or
recordkeeping costs associated with this information collection.
However, USPTO estimates that the total annual (non-hour) cost burden
for this information collection, in the form of filing fees
($17,183,424) and postage ($2,199) is $17,185,623.
Filing Fees
The 12 filing fees associated with this information collection as
outlined in the table below:
Table 2--Filing Fees
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated
Item No. Fee Item annual Fee ($) Total cost ($)
code responses
(a) (b) (a) x (b) =
(c)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1....................... 1401 Notice of appeal (undiscounted)..... 8,737 $840 $7,339,080
1....................... 2401 Notice of appeal (small)............ 3,230 336 1,085,280
1....................... 3401 Notice of appeal (micro)............ 345 168 57,960
2....................... 1404 Filing a brief in support of an 1 2,100 2,100
appeal in an inter partes
reexamination proceeding
(undiscounted).
2....................... 2404 Filing a brief in support of an 1 840 840
appeal in an inter partes
reexamination proceeding (small).
2....................... 3404 Filing a brief in support of an 1 420 420
appeal in an inter partes
reexamination proceeding (micro).
4....................... 1413 Forwarding an Appeal in an 3,131 2,360 7,389,160
Application or Ex Parte
Reexamination Proceeding to the
Board (undiscounted).
4....................... 2413 Forwarding an Appeal in an 797 944 752,368
Application or Ex Parte
Reexamination Proceeding to the
Board (small).
4....................... 3413 Forwarding an Appeal in an 91 472 42,952
Application or Ex Parte
Reexamination Proceeding to the
Board (micro).
6....................... 1403 Request for oral hearing 319 1,360 433,840
(undiscounted).
6....................... 2403 Request for oral hearing (small).... 134 544 72,896
6....................... 3403 Request for oral hearing (micro).... 24 272 6,528
----------------------------------------
Totals........................... 16,811 ....... 17,183,424
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Postage Costs
Although the USPTO prefers that the items in this information
collection be submitted electronically, responses may be submitted by
mail through the United States Postal Service (USPS). The USPTO
estimates that 1% of the 22,149 items will be submitted in the mail
resulting in 221 mailed items. The USPTO estimates that the average
postage cost for a mailed submission, using a Priority Mail 2-day flat
rate legal envelope, will be $9.95. Therefore, the USPTO estimates the
total mailing costs for this information collection at $2,199.
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 appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic
submission of responses.
All comments submitted in response to this notice are a matter of
public record. 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 aware that the entire
comment--including PII--may be made publicly available at any time.
While you may ask in your comment to withhold PII from public view,
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.
[FR Doc. 2023-14014 Filed 6-30-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P
