[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 122 (Tuesday, June 24, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35661-35663]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-14193]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Program (Formerly Patent
Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Program)
ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.
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SUMMARY: 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 comment on the
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 August 25, 2008.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-0058
comment'' in the subject line of the message.
Fax: 571-273-0112, marked to the attention of Susan
Fawcett.
Mail: Susan K. Fawcett, Records Officer, Office of the
Chief Information Officer, Customer Information Services Group, Public
Information Services Division, United States Patent and Trademark
Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to Robert A. Clarke, Director, Office of Patent
Legal Administration, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O.
Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-7735; or
by e-mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program was originally
established between the United States Patent and Trademark Office
(USPTO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) on July 3, 2006. The PPH
program allows applicants whose claims are determined to be patentable
in the office of first filing to have the corresponding application
that is filed in the office of second filing be advanced out of turn
for examination. At the same time, the PPH program allows the office of
second filing to exploit the search and examination results of the
office of first filing, which increases examination efficiency and
improves patent quality. The USPTO and the JPO agreed at the November
2007 Trilateral Conference to fully implement the PPH program on a
permanent basis starting on January 4, 2008.
The USPTO entered into a PPH pilot program with the United Kingdom
Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) on September 4, 2007. Additional
PPH pilot programs have also recently been established between the
USPTO and the
[[Page 35662]]
Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), the Korean Intellectual
Property Office (KIPO), and the Intellectual Property Office of
Australia (IPAU).
In addition to the PPH program, the USPTO and the JPO also
participate in a work-sharing pilot project called the ``New Route.''
Under the New Route framework, a filing in one member office of this
arrangement would be deemed a filing in all member offices. The first
office and applicant would be given a 30-month processing time frame in
which to make available a first office action and any necessary
translations to the second office(s), and the second office(s) would
exploit the search and examination results in conducting their own
examination. The New Route proposal permits the search and examination
results of the first office to be transmitted to the second office(s)
according to an internationally coordinated time frame. By allowing the
second office to exploit the search and examination results of the
first office, the primary benefits of the New Route program would be to
reduce overall office workload, minimize duplication of search efforts,
and increase examination quality. Because the New Route, as envisioned,
would require changes in law in the USPTO and the JPO, the USPTO and
the JPO agreed to commence a pilot project to test the New Route
concept based on filing scenarios currently available under existing
law in both offices. The New Route pilot project began on January 28,
2008, and will end when the number of requests reaches 50 or at the
expiration of one year, whichever occurs first.
This information collection previously included two forms, Request
for Participation in the New Route Pilot Program Between the JPO and
the USPTO (PTO/SB/10) and Request for Participation in the Patent
Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Program Between the (1) JPO or (2)
UKIPO and the USPTO (PTO/SB/20), which may be used by applicants to
request participation in the programs and to ensure that they meet the
program requirements. Since the PPH program with the JPO has been fully
implemented, Form PTO/SB/20 has been revised as Form PTO/SB/20JP for
use with the JPO and a separate Form PTO/SB/20UK has been created for
the ongoing pilot program with the UKIPO. Similar forms have been
created for the PPH pilot programs with the CIPO, the KIPO, and the
IPAU. These additional PPH pilot program forms are being added to this
collection.
II. Method of Collection
Requests to participate in the New Route pilot program must be
submitted by fax to the Office of the Commissioner for Patents (571-
273-0125) to ensure that the request is processed in a timely manner.
Requests to participate in the PPH programs must be submitted online
using EFS-Web, the USPTO's web-based electronic filing system.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-0058.
Form Number(s): PTO/SB/10, PTO/SB/20AU, PTO/SB/20CA, PTO/SB/20JP,
PTO/SB/20KR, PTO/SB/20UK.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other
for-profits; and not-for-profit institutions.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,250 responses per year.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take
the public approximately 1.5 to 2 hours to gather the necessary
information, prepare the form, and submit a completed request to
participate in the New Route or PPH program.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 2,475 hours per
year.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $767,250 per year.
The USPTO expects that the information in this collection will be
prepared by attorneys. Using the professional rate of $310 per hour for
associate attorneys in private firms, the USPTO estimates that the
total annual respondent cost burden for this collection will be
approximately $767,250 per year.
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Estimated Estimated
Item Estimated time annual annual burden
for response responses hours
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Request for Participation in the New Route Pilot Program 1.5 50 75
Between the JPO and the USPTO (PTO/SB/10).....................
Request for Participation in the Patent Prosecution Highway 2 500 1,000
(PPH) Program Between the JPO and the USPTO (PTO/SB/20JP).....
Request for Participation in the Patent Prosecution Highway 2 250 500
(PPH) Pilot Program Between the UKIPO and the USPTO (PTO/SB/
20UK).........................................................
Request for Participation in the Patent Prosecution Highway 2 100 200
(PPH) Pilot Program Between the CIPO and the USPTO (PTO/SB/
20CA).........................................................
Request for Participation in the Patent Prosecution Highway 2 250 500
(PPH) Pilot Program Between the KIPO and the USPTO (PTO/SB/
20KR).........................................................
Request for Participation in the Patent Prosecution Highway 2 100 200
(PPH) Pilot Program Between the IPAU and the USPTO (PTO/SB/
20AU).........................................................
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Totals..................................................... ............... 1,250 2,475
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Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden: $162,590
per year. There are no capital start-up, maintenance, or postage costs
associated with this collection. However, this collection does have
annual (non-hour) costs in the form of filing fees and recordkeeping
costs.
The filing fee for requests to participate in the New Route or PPH
programs is $130 under 37 CFR 1.17(h). Using the $130 fee, the USPTO
estimates that the total filing fees for this collection would be
$162,500 per year.
There are also recordkeeping costs associated with submitting the
PPH forms in this collection online through EFS-Web. When submitting
forms through EFS-Web, the USPTO recommends that customers print and
retain a copy of the acknowledgment receipt as evidence of the
successful submission. The USPTO estimates that it will take 5 seconds
(0.001 hours) to print a copy of the acknowledgment receipt and that
approximately 1,200 submissions in this collection will be filed
online, for a total of approximately 1 hour per year. The USPTO expects
that these receipts will be printed by paraprofessionals at an
estimated rate of $90 per hour, for a total recordkeeping cost of $90
per year.
The total (non-hour) respondent cost burden for this collection in
the form of filing fees and recordkeeping costs is estimated to be
$162,590 per year.
[[Page 35663]]
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: June 17, 2008.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer,
Customer Information Services Group, Public Information Services
Division.
[FR Doc. E8-14193 Filed 6-23-08; 8:45 am]
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