The USPTO is required by 35 U.S.C. 131
and 151 to examine applications and issue them as patents when
appropriate. The applicant must then pay the required issue fee to
receive the patent and avoid abandonment of the application. The
USPTO can also correct errors in patents and reissue patents as
appropriate. The USPTO may grant requests for ex parte and inter
partes reexamination proceedings, in which third parties may also
participate. The public uses this collection to request corrections
of errors in issued patents, to request reissue patents, to request
reexamination proceedings, and to ensure that the necessary fees
and documentation are submitted to the USPTO. The USPTO is adding
two items to this information collection, an electronic version of
the Issue Fee Transmittal (Form PTOL-85B) and a petition to request
an extension of time in ex parte or inter partes reexamination
proceedings. This petition is an existing requirement that was not
previously covered in this collection.
For this renewal, the USPTO
estimates that the annual responses for this collection will
increase by 1,515 and the burden hours will increase by 984 due to
program changes from the addition of the petition to request an
extension of time in reexamination proceedings and administrative
adjustments from expected increases in filings. The USPTO also
estimates that the annual (non-hour) costs for this collection will
increase, primarily due to program changes from increases in filing
fees that will be partially offset by administrative adjustments
from expected decreases in filings for some items in this
collection. The annual costs for this collection will also be
affected by a net decrease in postage costs as a program change due
to the addition of the electronic filing option for issue fee
transmittals, which will also be partially offset by the addition
of recordkeeping costs for electronic submissions as a program
change and an increase in average postage costs for mailed
submissions as an administrative adjustment.
$995,207
No
No
Uncollected
Uncollected
Uncollected
Uncollected
Robert Clarke 571 272-7735
robert.clarke@uspto.gov
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.