View Information Collection Request (ICR) Package

OMB Control No: 0651-0067	ICR Reference No: 201208-0651-003
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 201206-0651-008
Agency/Subagency: DOC/PTO	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Post Patent Public Submissions
Type of Information Collection: New collection (Request for a new OMB Control Number)	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 08/06/2012
	Date Received in OIRA: 08/06/2012
Terms of Clearance: Pre-approval contingent upon no substantive changes to this collection after adoption of the final rule. Otherwise this collection should be re-submitted to OMB for review.

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	07/31/2015	36 Months From Approved
Responses	1,000	0	0
Time Burden (Hours)	10,000	0	0
Cost Burden (Dollars)	347	0	0

Abstract: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is required by 35 U.S.C. 131 et seq. to examine an application for patent and, when appropriate, issue a patent. Currently, the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 301 and 37 CFR 1.501 govern the ability of a person to cite to the USPTO in writing prior art consisting of patents or printed publications which that person believes to have a bearing on the patentability of any claim of a patent. The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act was enacted into law on September 16, 2011. See Pub. L. 112-29, 125 Stat. 284 (2011). Section 6(g) of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act amends 35 U.S.C. 301 to expand the information that may be submitted in the file of an issued patent to include written statements of a patent owner filed in a proceeding before a Federal court or the USPTO in which the patent owner took a position on the scope of any claim of the patent. Section 6(g) of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act is effective on September 16, 2012. The USPTO published a final rule titled "Changes to Implement Miscellaneous Post Patent Provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act" (RIN 0651-AC66) in the Federal Register. In the notice, the USPTO rewrites 37 CFR 1.501 to implement the amendment to 35 U.S.C. 301 by section 6(g)(1) of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. For example, new 35 U.S.C. 301(a)(2) provides for any person to submit in the patent file written "statements of the patent owner filed in a proceeding before a Federal court or the [USPTO] in which the patent owner took a position on the scope of any claim of a particular patent." Section 1.501, implementing 35 U.S.C. 301(a)(2), provides that a submission may include prior art and written patent owner claim scope statements. In light of the final rule, the USPTO is submitting this new information collection, Post Patent Public Submissions. The item associated with this collection, "Information Disclosure Citation in a Patent" (PTO/SB/42), is currently in the 0651-0031 Patent Processing (Updating) approved inventory and will be deleted from that collection when this one is approved. The information in this collection can be submitted electronically through EFS-Web, the USPTO's web-based electronic filing system, as well as on paper. The USPTO is therefore accounting for both electronic and paper submissions in this collection.

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 35 USC 301
PL: Pub.L. 112 - 29 6(g) Name of Law: Leahy-Smith America Invents Act

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: PL: Pub.L. 112 - 29 6(g) Name of Law: Leahy-Smith America Invents Act

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
0651-AC66	Final or interim final rulemaking	77 FR 46615	08/06/2012

Federal Register Notices & Comments
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 2

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Electronic Information Disclosure Citation in a Patent
Information Disclosure Citation in a Patent	PTO/SB/42

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate
Annual Number of Responses	1,000	400	1,830	-1,230
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	10,000	4,000	3,660	2,340
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	347	0	1,061	-714

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Increase Due to: Miscellaneous Actions

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

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: The Information Disclosure Citation in a Patent (PTO/SB/42) is currently in the 0651-0031 approved inventory and is being moved into this new collection. This item is currently approved with 1,830 estimated responses and 3,660 burden hours, with an estimated time per response of 2 hours and associated annual (non-hour) cost burden of $1,061 from postage costs. This current burden is being moved into this collection as a program change due to agency discretion. Based on the most recent available data, the USPTO estimates that it receives approximately 600 Information Disclosure Citations per year with a revised estimated time per response of 10 hours, for a total of 6,000 burden hours. These administrative adjustments are due to non-rule factors. For this final rule submission, the USPTO estimates that it will receive 1,000 responses per year, which is an increase of 400 responses and 4,000 burden hours per year as a program change due to statute as implemented by this final rule. For this final rule submission, the USPTO estimates that the total postage cost for this collection will be $347. Although the estimated responses are increasing by 400 from the rule impact, the USPTO expects a large decrease in the number of submissions by mail due to increased electronic filing, resulting in a net decrease of $714 in annual (non-hour) cost burden from postage costs for this collection as an administrative adjustment due to non-rule factors.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $13,145

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: Raul Tamayo 5712727728 Raul.Tamayo@uspto.gov

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