01-26326. Disclosure Document Program

ACTION:

Proposed collection; comment request.

SUMMARY:

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the continuing and proposed information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES:

Written comments must be submitted on or before December 18, 2001.

ADDRESSES:

Direct all written comments to Susan K. Brown, Records Officer, Office of Data Management, Data Administration Division, USPTO, Suite 310, 2231 Crystal Drive, Washington, DC 20231; by telephone [phone]; by e-mail at [e-mail]; or by facsimile at 703-308-7400.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information should be directed to the attention of Robert J. Spar, Office of Patent Legal Administration, United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Washington, DC 20231; by telephone at 703-305-9285.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

A service provided by the USPTO is the acceptance and preservation for two years of a “disclosure document” as evidence of the date of conception of an invention. A disclosure document is a paper disclosing an invention, signed by the inventor or inventors, and submitted to the USPTO. The document should contain a clear and complete explanation of the manner and process of making and using the invention in sufficient detail to enable a person having ordinary knowledge in the field of the invention to make and use the invention. The disclosure document request must be accompanied by a separate signed cover letter stating that it is submitted by, or on behalf of, the inventor, and requesting that the material be received into the Disclosure Document Program.

The disclosure document will be preserved by the USPTO for two years after its receipt, and then destroyed unless it is referred to in a separate letter in a related patent application filed within the two year period. The disclosure document is not a patent application, and the date of its receipt in the USPTO will not become the effective filing date of any patent application subsequently filed.

The information supplied to the USPTO by an applicant seeking to prove the date of conception for an invention is used by the USPTO to establish evidence of the date of conception of an invention.

II. Method of Collection

By mail, facsimile, or hand carried to the USPTO when the inventor desires to participate in the Disclosure Document Program.

III. Data

OMB Number: 0651-0030.

Form Number(s): PTO/SB/95.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Affected Public: Individuals or households; business or other for-profit; not-for-profit institutions; farms; the Federal Government; and state, local or tribal governments.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 20,250 responses per year.

Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take the public approximately 12 minutes, depending upon the complexity of the situation, to gather, prepare, and submit a disclosure document deposit request. There is one form associated with this information collection, Form PTO/SB/95.

Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 4,050 hours per year.

Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: Using the professional hourly rate of $252 per hour for associate attorneys in private firms, the USPTO estimates $1,020,600 per year for salary costs associated with respondents.

Item	Estimated time for response	Estimated annual responses	Estimated annual burden hours
Disclosure Document Deposit Request	12 minutes	20,250	4,050
Total		202,250	4,050

Estimated Total Annual Nonhour Respondent Cost Burden: $202,500.00. (There are no capital start-up or maintenance costs associated with this information collection.)

There is annual nonhour cost burden in the way of a filing fee associated with this collection. The filing fee related to this collection is considered part of the nonhour cost burden of the collection. Following is a chart listing this filing fee/nonhour cost burden. The total annual filing fee/nonhour cost burden is $202,500.00.

Item	Responses (a)	Filing fee ($)(b)	Total non-hour cost burden (a) × (b)
Disclosure Document Deposit Request	20,250	$10.00	$202,500.00
Total	20,250	10.00	202,500.00

IV. Request for Comments

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden (including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized or included in the request for OMB approval of this information collection; they will also become a matter of public record.

Dated: October 12, 2001.

Thao Nguyen,

Acting Records Officer, USPTO, Office of Data Management, Data Administration Division.