E9-28810. 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: Requirements for Patent Applications Containing Nucleotide Sequence and/or Amino Acid Sequence Disclosures.

Form Number(s): PTO/SB/93.

Agency Approval Number: 0651-0024.

Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Burden: 103,750 hours annually.

Number of Respondents: 19,750 responses per year.

Average Hours Per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take the public approximately six minutes (0.10 hours) to six hours to gather the necessary information, prepare the form or sequence listing, and submit it to the USPTO.

Needs and Uses: Patent applications that contain nucleotide and/or amino acid sequence disclosures must include a copy of the sequence listing in accordance with the requirements in 37 CFR 1.821-1.825. Applicants may submit sequence listings for both U.S. and international patent applications. The USPTO uses the sequence listings during the examination process to determine the patentability of the associated patent application. Sequence listings are also disclosed as part of the published patent application or issued patent. Applicants use sequence data when preparing biotechnology patent applications and may also search sequence listings after publication.

Under 37 CFR 1.821(e)-(f), applicants must also submit a copy of the sequence listing in “computer readable form” (CRF). If the CRF sequence listing in a new application is identical to the CRF sequence listing of another application that the applicant already has on file at the USPTO, the applicant may submit a statement identifying the application and CRF sequence listing that is already on file rather than having to submit a duplicate copy of the CRF listing for the new application. The USPTO is proposing to add a new form to this collection, Request for Transfer of a Computer Readable Form Under 37 CFR 1.821(e) (PTO/SB/93), in order to assist customers in submitting this statement.

Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits; not-for-profit institutions.

Frequency: On occasion.

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 http://www.reginfo.gov.

Paper copies can be obtained by:

• E-mail: [e-mail]. Include “0651-0024 Sequence Disclosures 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, 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 January 4, 2010 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: November 25, 2009.

Susan K. Fawcett,

Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer.