E9-1617. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

Agency: United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Title: Rules for Patent Maintenance Fees.

Form Number(s): PTO/SB/45/47/65/66.

Agency Approval Number: 0651-0016.

Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Burden: 33,426 hours annually.

Number of Respondents: 470,397 responses per year.

Avg. Hours per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take the public approximately 20 seconds (0.006 hours) to eight hours to complete this information, depending on the form or petition. This includes time to gather the necessary information, prepare the form or petition, and submit the completed request.

Needs and Uses: Under 35 U.S.C. 41 and 37 CFR 1.20(e)-(i) and 1.362-1.378, the USPTO charges fees for maintaining in force all utility patents based on applications filed on or after December 12, 1980. Payment of these maintenance fees is due at 31/2, 71/2, and 111/2 years after the date the patent was granted. If the USPTO does not receive payment of the appropriate maintenance fee and any applicable surcharge within a grace period of six months following each of the above intervals, the patent will expire and no longer be enforceable. The public uses this collection to submit patent maintenance fee payments, to file petitions regarding delayed or refused payments, and to designate an address to be used for fee-related correspondence.

Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other for-profits; and not-for-profit institutions.

Frequency: On occasion and three times at four-year intervals following the grant of the patent.

Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.

OMB Desk Officer: Nicholas A. Fraser, e-mail: [e-mail].

Once submitted, the request will be publicly available in electronic format through the Information Collection Review page at www.reginfo.gov.

Paper copies can be obtained by:

• E-mail: [e-mail]. Include “0651-0016 Rules for Patent Maintenance Fees copy request” in the subject line of the message.
• Fax: [phone], marked to the attention of Susan K. Fawcett.
• Mail: Susan K. Fawcett, Records Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Customer Information Services Group, Public Information Services Division, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent on or before February 25, 2009 to Nicholas A. Fraser, OMB Desk Officer, via e-mail at [e-mail], or by fax to 202-395-5167, marked to the attention of Nicholas A. Fraser.

Dated: January 15, 2009.

Susan K. Fawcett,

Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Customer Information Services Group, Public Information Services Division.