View Information Collection Request (ICR) Package

OMB Control No: 0651-0017	ICR Reference No: 201511-0651-001
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 201304-0651-001
Agency/Subagency: DOC/PTO	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Practitioner Conduct and Discipline
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 02/03/2016
Retrieve Notice of Action (NOA)	Date Received in OIRA: 11/23/2015
Terms of Clearance:

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	02/28/2019	36 Months From Approved	02/29/2016
Responses	11,065	0	10,766
Time Burden (Hours)	12,225	0	11,926
Cost Burden (Dollars)	1,083	0	552

Abstract: The Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has the authority to establish regulations governing the conduct and discipline of agents, attorneys, or other persons representing applicants and other parties before the USPTO (35 U.S.C. §§ 2 and 32-33). The current USPTO Code of Professional Responsibility (37 CFR 10.20-10.112) describes how practitioners should conduct themselves professionally and outlines their responsibilities for recordkeeping and reporting violations or complaints of misconduct to the USPTO, while current procedural rules governing disciplinary investigations and proceedings (37 CFR 11.19-11.61) dictate how the USPTO can discipline practitioners. The Recordkeeping and Disclosure rules require that registered practitioners and attorneys who appear before the Office maintain complete records of clients, including all funds, securities and other properties of clients coming into his/her possession, and render appropriate accounts to the client regarding such records, as well as report violations of the rules to the Office. Practitioners are mandated by the rules to maintain proper documentation so that they can fully cooperate with an investigation in the event of a report of an alleged violation and that violations are prosecuted as appropriate. The Office has determined that the recordkeeping and maintenance of such records are excluded from any associated PRA burden as these activities are usual and customary for practitioners representing clients (5 CFR 1320.3(b)(2)). Additionally, in the case of most attorney practitioners, any requirements for collection of information are not presumed to impose a Federal burden as these requirements are also required by a unit of State or local government, namely State bar(s), and would be required even in the absence of any Federal requirement (5 CFR 1320.3(b)(3)). These rules also require, in certain instances, that written consents or certifications be provided. Such consents or certifications have been determined not to constitute information under 5 CFR 1320.3(h)(1). The USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct require an attorney or agent to report knowledge of certain violations of the USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct to the USPTO. If the complaint is found to have merit, the USPTO will investigate and possibly prosecute violations of the Rules and provide the practitioner with the opportunity to respond to the complaint. The Director of the Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED) may, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, suspend, exclude, or disqualify any practitioner from further practice before the USPTO based on noncompliance with the regulations. Practitioners who have been excluded or suspended from practice before the USPTO must keep and maintain records of their steps to comply with the suspension or exclusion order. These records serve as the practitioner’s proof of compliance with the order. If this information is not collected, the Director of OED would have no knowledge of alleged violations and would be unable to enforce the provisions of the Rules.

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 35 USC 32
US Code: 35 USC 2

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	80 FR 35318	06/19/2015
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	80 FR 72709	11/20/2015
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate
Annual Number of Responses	11,065	10,766	299
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	12,225	11,926	299
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	1,083	552	531

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement:

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $565,666

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Is the Supporting Statement intended to be a Privacy Impact Assessment required by the E-Government Act of 2002? No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? Uncollected

Agency Contact: William Covey 571 272-4097

View ICR - OIRA Conclusion