Please note that the OMB number and expiration date may not have been determined when this Information Collection Request and associated Information Collection forms were submitted to OMB. The approved OMB number and expiration date may be found by clicking on the Notice of Action link below.

View ICR - OIRA Conclusion

OMB Control No: 0651-0032	ICR Reference No: 202304-0651-001
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 202303-0651-010
Agency/Subagency: DOC/PTO	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Initial Patent Applications
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved with change	Conclusion Date: 11/20/2024
Retrieve Notice of Action (NOA)	Date Received in OIRA: 03/28/2024
Terms of Clearance: Supporting statement updated to respond to comments and provide better clarity on a number of aspects with regards to USPTO practices relevant to the collection.

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	11/30/2027	36 Months From Approved	11/30/2024
Responses	588,255	0	633,209
Time Burden (Hours)	12,543,215	0	15,598,813
Cost Burden (Dollars)	1,156,505,487	0	1,186,545,798

Abstract: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is required by Title 35 of the United States Code, including 35 U.S.C. 131, to examine applications for patents. The USPTO administers the patent statutes relating to examination through various rules in Chapter 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), such as, for example, 37 CFR 1.16 through 1.84. Each patent applicant must provide sufficient information to allow the USPTO to properly examine the application to determine whether it meets the criteria set forth in the patent statutes and regulations for issuance as a patent. The patent statutes and regulations require that an application for patent include the following information: (1) A specification containing a description of the invention and at least one claim defining the property right sought by the applicant; (2) A drawing(s) or photograph(s), where necessary for an understanding of the invention; (3) An oath or declaration signed by the applicant (under 35 U.S.C. 115(f), the time for filing the oath or declaration is no later than the date on which the issue fee for the patent is paid); and (4) A filing fee. Various types of patent applications are covered under this information collection: • Noncontinuing, nonprovisional utility, plant and design applications, • Provisional applications, • Continuation/divisional applications of international applications, • Continued prosecution applications (design), and • Continuation/divisional and continuation-in-part applications of utility, plant, and design applications. In addition, this information collection covers certain other papers filed by applicants, such as, for example, petitions to accept an unintentionally delayed priority or benefit claim, petitions to accept a filing by other than all of the inventors or a person not the inventor, and petitions requesting that applications filed under 37 CFR 1.495(b) be accorded a receipt date. Furthermore, this information collection incorporates the lone item in 0651-0073 (Patent Law Treaty): petitions to restore the right of priority to a foreign application under 37 CFR 1.55(c) or the benefit of a prior-filed provisional application under 37 CFR 1.78(b). The petitions are used to extend the 12-month periods set forth in 35 U.S.C. 119(a) and (e) by an additional 2 months where there is an unintentional delay in filing an application claiming priority to a foreign application or the benefit of a provisional application. Once this information collection is renewed, and the petitions are added, 0651-0073 will be discontinued.

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate
Annual Number of Responses	588,255	633,209	-44,954
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	12,543,215	15,598,813	-3,055,598
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	1,156,505,487	1,186,545,798	-30,040,311

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: Change in Annual Responses and Hourly Burden due to Adjustment in Agency Estimate The decrease in the number of responses (-44,954) and hourly time burden (-3,055,598) is due to the estimated normal fluctuation in the number of responses for the items in this information collection. Change in Annual (Non-hour) Costs due to Adjustment in Agency Estimate The USPTO estimates a decrease (-$30,040,311) for the total annual (non-hour) costs, due to decreases in the number of respondents paying filing fees, drawing fees, and postage costs.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $16,331,987

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: Raul Tamayo 571 272-7728 raul.tamayo@uspto.gov