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OMB Control No: 0651-0062	ICR Reference No: 202408-0651-005
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 202303-0651-009
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: 10/16/2024
	Date Received in OIRA: 09/13/2024
Terms of Clearance:

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	10/31/2027	36 Months From Approved	11/30/2024
Responses	1,033	0	880
Time Burden (Hours)	10,330	0	8,800
Cost Burden (Dollars)	153,686	0	78,633

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:
	89 FR 55924	07/08/2024
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	89 FR 74927	09/13/2024
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	1,033	880	153
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	10,330	8,800	1,530
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	153,686	78,633	75,053

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: Changes in Responses and Hourly Burden due to Adjustment in Agency Estimate The total number of responses has increased by 153 due to estimated fluctuations in the number of respondents/submissions in this information collection. This increase in the number of respondents and responses results in an increase of 1,530 hours in the annual time burden estimates. Changes in Annual Non-hour Costs due to Adjustment in Agency Estimate For this renewal, the USPTO estimates that the total annual non-hour costs will increase by $75,053 from the previous approval. This increase is due to estimated fluctuations in submissions for items that require a fee.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $18,013

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

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