[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 206 (Thursday, October 23, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63134-63135]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-25280]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Certificate Action Form
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 take this
opportunity 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 December 22,
2008.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-0045
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 Katherine Queen, Information Technology Security
Program Office, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box
1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-8993; or by e-
mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) uses Public
Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology to support electronic commerce
between the USPTO and its customers. PKI is a set of hardware,
software, policies, and procedures that provide important security
services for the electronic business activities of the USPTO, including
protecting the confidentiality of unpublished patent applications in
accordance with 35 U.S.C. 122 and 37 CFR 1.14, as well as protecting
international patent applications in accordance with Article 30 of the
Patent Cooperation Treaty.
In order to provide the necessary security for its electronic
commerce systems, the USPTO uses PKI technology to protect the
integrity and confidentiality of information submitted to the USPTO.
PKI employs public and private encryption keys to authenticate the
customer's identity and support secure electronic communication between
the customer and the USPTO. Customers may submit a request to the USPTO
for a digital certificate, which enables the customer to create the
encryption keys necessary for electronic identity verification and
secure transactions with the USPTO. This digital certificate is
required in order to access secure online systems that are provided by
the USPTO for transactions such as electronic filing of patent
applications and viewing confidential
[[Page 63135]]
information about unpublished patent applications.
This information collection includes the Certificate Action Form
(PTO-2042), which is used by the public to request a new digital
certificate, the revocation of a current certificate, or the recovery
of a lost or corrupted certificate. Customers may also change the name
listed on the certificate or associate the certificate with one or more
previously assigned Customer Numbers. A certificate request must
include a notarized signature in order to verify the identity of the
applicant. The Certificate Action Form also has an accompanying
subscriber agreement to ensure that customers understand their
obligations regarding the use of the digital certificates and
cryptographic software. When generating a new certificate, customers
may provide additional information for a set of security questions and
answers that will enable customers to recover a lost certificate online
without having to contact USPTO support staff.
II. Method of Collection
The Certificate Action Form must be notarized and may be mailed or
hand delivered to the USPTO. The Certificate Self-Recovery Form is
submitted online through the USPTO Web site.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-0045.
Form Number(s): PTO-2042.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other
for-profits; and not-for-profit institutions.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 4,126 responses per year.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take
the public approximately 30 minutes (0.5 hours) to read the
instructions and subscriber agreement, gather the necessary
information, prepare the Certificate Action Form, and submit the
completed request. The USPTO estimates that it will take the public
approximately 10 minutes (0.17 hours) to complete and electronically
submit the information required for Certificate Self-Recovery.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 1,383 hours per
year.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $167,343 per year.
The USPTO expects that 70% of the submissions for this collection will
be prepared by paraprofessionals, 15% by attorneys, and 15% by
independent inventors. Using those proportions and the estimated rates
of $100 per hour for paraprofessionals, $310 per hour for associate
attorneys in private firms, and $30 per hour for independent inventors,
the USPTO estimates that the average rate for those respondents will be
approximately $121 per hour. Therefore, the estimated total respondent
cost burden for this collection will be $167,343 per year.
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Estimated time Estimated Estimated
Item for response annual annual burden
(minutes) responses hours
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Certificate Action Form (including Subscriber Agreement) (PTO- 30 2,063 1,032
2042)..........................................................
Certificate Self-Recovery Form.................................. 10 2,063 351
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Totals...................................................... .............. 4,126 1,383
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Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden: $4,992.
There are no capital start-up costs, maintenance costs, or filing fees
associated with this information collection. However, this collection
does have annual (non-hour) cost burden in the form of recordkeeping
costs and postage costs associated with the Certificate Action Form.
This collection has recordkeeping costs due to the notarization
requirement for authenticating the signatures on the Certificate Action
Form. The USPTO estimates that the average fee for having a signature
notarized is $2 and that 2,063 responses for these forms will be
submitted annually, for a total recordkeeping cost of $4,126 per year.
This collection also has postage costs for submitting the
Certificate Action Form to the USPTO by mail. The form cannot be faxed
or submitted electronically because it requires an original notarized
signature for identity verification. The USPTO estimates that the
first-class postage cost for these forms will be 42 cents and that it
will receive 2,063 mailed responses annually, for a total postage cost
of approximately $866 per year.
The total (non-hour) respondent cost burden for this collection in
the form of recordkeeping costs and postage costs is estimated to be
$4,992 per year.
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: October 16, 2008.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer,
Customer Information Services Group, Public Information Services
Division.
[FR Doc. E8-25280 Filed 10-22-08; 8:45 am]
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