2013-20537. 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: Post Allowance and Refiling.

Form Number(s): PTO/SB/44/50/51/51S/52/53/56/141, PTO/AIA/05/06/07/50/53, and PTOL-85B.

Agency Approval Number: 0651-0033.

Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Burden: 191,690 hours annually.

Number of Respondents: 352,150 responses per year.

Avg. Hours Per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take the public from 12 minutes (0.20 hours) to 5 hours to gather the necessary information, prepare the appropriate form or document, and submit the information to the USPTO.

Needs and Uses: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is required by 35 U.S.C. 131 and 151 to examine applications and, when appropriate, allow applications and issue them as patents. When an application for a patent is allowed by the USPTO, the USPTO issues a notice of allowance and the applicant must pay the specified issue fee (including the publication fee, if applicable) within three months to avoid abandonment of the application.

This collection of information also encompasses several actions that may be taken after issuance of a patent, pursuant to Chapter 25 of Title 35 U.S.C. A certificate of correction may be requested to correct an error or errors in the patent. For an original patent that is believed to be wholly or partly inoperative or invalid, the assignee(s) or inventor(s) may apply for reissue of the patent, which entails several formal requirements, including provision of an oath or declaration specifically identifying at least one error being relied upon as the basis for reissue and stating the reason for the belief that the original patent is wholly or partly inoperative or invalid (e.g., a defective specification or drawing, or claiming more or less than the patentee had the right to claim in the patent).

The public uses this information collection to request corrections of errors in issued patents, to submit applications for reissue patents, and to submit issue fee payments.

Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other for-profits; and 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 the Information Collection Review page at www.reginfo.gov.

Paper copies can be obtained by:

• Email: [e-mail]. Include “0651-0033 copy request” in the subject line of the message.
• 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 before September 23, 2013 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.

Dated: August 19, 2013.

Susan K. Fawcett,

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