View Information Collection Request (ICR) Package

OMB Control No: 0651-0062	ICR Reference No: 202107-0651-006
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 201807-0651-004
Agency/Subagency: DOC/PTO	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Third-Party Submissions and Protests
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: 11/16/2021
	Date Received in OIRA: 09/14/2021
Terms of Clearance:

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	11/30/2024	36 Months From Approved	11/30/2021
Responses	880	0	1,450
Time Burden (Hours)	8,800	0	14,500
Cost Burden (Dollars)	80,613	0	89,498

Abstract: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is authorized by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act P.L. 112-29 and 35 U.S.C. § 131 et seq., to examine an application for patent and, when appropriate, issue a patent. The provisions of 35 U.S.C. §§ 122(c), 122(e), 131, and 151, as well as 37 CFR 1.290 and 1.291, limit the ability of a third-party to have information entered and considered in a patent application or to protest a patent application pending before the Office. 37 CFR 1.290 provides a mechanism for third-parties to submit to the USPTO, for consideration and inclusion in the record of a patent application, any patents, published patent applications, or other patent publications of potential relevance to the examination of the application. A preissuance submission under 37 CFR 1.290 may be made in any nonprovisional utility, design, and plant application, as well as in any continuing application. A preissuance submission under 37 CFR 1.290 must include a concise description of the asserted relevance of each document submitted and must be submitted within a certain statutory specific time period. 37 CFR 1.291 permits a member of the public to file a protest against a pending application. Protests pursuant to 37 CFR 1.921 are supported by a separate statutory provision from third-party submissions under 37 CFR 1.290 (35 U.S.C. 122(c) v. 35 U.S.C. 122(e)). The information collected via third-party submissions under 37 CFR 1.290 and via protests under 37 CFR 1.291 is necessary so that the public may contribute to the quality of issued patents. The USPTO will use this information, as appropriate, during the patent examination process to assist in evaluating the patent application.

Authorizing Statute(s): PL: Pub.L. 112 - 29 Section 8 Name of Law: Leahy-Smith America Invents Act

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:
	86 FR 22939	04/30/2021
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	86 FR 51127	09/14/2021
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	880	1,450	-570
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	8,800	14,500	-5,700
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	80,613	89,498	-8,885

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: The requested burden, as outlined in the table above, seeks to modify the existing information collection burden. The requested information collection contains an estimated: • 880 annual responses • 8,800 annual burden hours • $80,613 annual (non-hour) costs Changes in Responses and Burden Hours For this renewal, the USPTO estimates that the annual responses will decrease by 570 (from 1,450 to 880) and the total burden hours will decrease by 5,700 (from 14,500 to 8,800) from the currently approved burden for this information collection. These adjustments are due to updated Agency estimates that forecast declines in public submissions/responses of these items which in turn decreases the annual burden hours. Changes in Annual (Non-hour) Cost For this renewal, the USPTO estimates that the total annual (non-hour) costs will decrease by $8,885 (from $89,498 to $80,613). The decrease in the annual cost burden is a result of the decrease in the annual responses. Additionally, fewer mailing to USPTO result in a reduction in postage costs. However, a slight increase in the fees associated with these submissions/responses and increasing postage rates are more than offset by the overall decline in the number of responses/submissions.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $13,793

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

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. Yes

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. Yes

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? No

Agency Contact: Parikha Mehta 571 272-3248

View ICR - OIRA Conclusion