2018-08737. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Recording Assignments

The Department of Commerce 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, Commerce.

Title: Recording Assignments.

OMB Control Number: 0651-0027.

Form Number(s):

• PTO-1594
• PTO-1595

Type of Request: Regular.

Number of Respondents: 596,527 responses per year.

Average Hours per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take the public approximately 30 minutes (0.5 hours) to prepare the appropriate form or document and submit it to the USPTO.

Burden Hours: 298,263.50 hours annually.

Cost Burden: $3,292,293.88.

Needs and Uses:

This collection of information is required by 35 U.S.C. 261 and 262 for patents and 15 U.S.C. 1057 and 1060 for trademarks. These statutes authorize the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to record patent and trademark assignment documents, including transfers of properties (i.e. patents and trademarks), liens, licenses, assignments of interest, security interests, mergers, and explanations of transactions or other documents that record the transfer of ownership of a particular patent or trademark property from one party to another. Assignments are recorded for applications, patents, and trademark registrations.

The USPTO administers these statutes through 37 CFR 2.146, 2.171, and 37 CFR part 3. These rules permit the public, corporations, other federal agencies, and Government-owned or Government-controlled corporations to submit patent and trademark assignment documents and other documents related to title transfers to the USPTO to be recorded. In accordance with 37 CFR 3.54, the recording of an assignment document by the USPTO is an administrative action and not a determination of the validity of the document or of the effect that the document has on the title to an application, patent, or trademark.

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, email: [e-mail].

Once submitted, the request will be publicly available in electronic format through reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.

Paper copies can be obtained by:

• Email: [e-mail]. Include “0651-0027 Recording Assignments” in the subject line of the message.
• Mail: Marcie Lovett, Director, Records and Information Governance Division, Office of the Chief Technology 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 before May 29, 2018 to Nicholas A. Fraser, OMB Desk Officer, via email to [e-mail], or by fax to 202 395-5167, marked to the attention of Nicholas A. Fraser.

Marcie Lovett,

Director, Records and Information Governance Division, OCTO, United States Patent and Trademark Office.