[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 185 (Thursday, September 24, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51056-51057]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-25615]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Patent and Trademark Office In-Process Telephone Survey
ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (DoC), as part of its continuing
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general
public and other Federal agencies 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 November 23,
1998.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Linda Engelmeier,
Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room
5327, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to the attention of Cathy Kern, Director, Center for
Quality Services, Crystal Park 1--Suite 812, 2011 Crystal Drive,
Arlington, VA 22202, by telephone at (703) 305-4203, by facsimile
transmission to (703) 308-8002, or by e-mail to cathy.kern@uspto.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has established customer-
focused goals and objectives in each business area. The Patent business
area has established the following goal: Exceed Our Customer's Quality
Expectations Through the Competencies and Empowerment of Our Employees.
In addition, based on customer feedback, the following four objectives
have been identified as key drivers of overall customer satisfaction:
(1) direct the customer promptly to the proper office or person; (2)
return telephone calls within one business day, or provide
[[Page 51057]]
another contact; (3) set forth clearly in written communications the
technical, procedural, and legal position of the examiner; and (4)
conduct a thorough search of all relevant information.
An internal review program, called an In-Process Review, has been
established to focus on performance against the last two standards. To
ensure that the internal reviews accurately reflect customer
perceptions of quality, the PTO staff will conduct telephone interviews
with customers following the same In-Process Review. The results from
this review will enable the Patent business area to identify any
discrepancies between the internal and customer perceptions of quality.
In addition, this information will be used to develop training to
address specific weaknesses.
The telephone surveys will be based on the patent applications
reviewed by the PTO's Quality Assurance Specialists and Supervisory
Patent Examiners. The PTO is drawing the survey sample from a
respondent pool of 2,280 applications reviewed each year by the Quality
Assurance Specialists and Supervisory Patent Examiners. This breaks
down to 380 applications from each of the six Technology Centers that
review patent applications. The PTO estimates that from this total of
380 applications, they will be able to successfully review 80 from each
of the six technology centers. The PTO estimates that it will have a
random sample of 480 applications.
II. Method of Collection
The survey will be conducted by telephone. A random sample is used
to collect the data. Statistical methods will be followed.
III. Data
OMB Number: None.
Form Number: There are no forms associated.
Type of Review: New collection.
Affected Public: Individuals or households, businesses or other
for-profit, not-for-profit institutions, farms, state, local or tribal
governments, and the Federal Government.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 480 responses per year.
Estimated Time Per Response: It is estimated to take approximately
30 minutes to complete the telephone survey.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 240 hours per year.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $42,000 per year.
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Estimated Estimated
time for annual Estimated
Title of form response burden annual
(minutes) hours responses
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Patent and Trademark Office In-
Process Telephone Survey........ 30 240 480
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Totals..................... ........... 240 480
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Note: The PTO is pulling a random sample of 480 applications as
part of the survey effort. Out of this sample, the PTO estimates
that they will receive 408 completed surveys, or that they will
receive 85% of the sample. This rate is based on previous telephone
interviews that resulted in response rates ranging from 80-95%.
Depending on the number of surveys completed, the burden to the
public will range from 204 to 240 hours.
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, e.g., 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: September 20, 1998.
Linda Engelmeier,
Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information
Officer.
[FR Doc. 98-25615 Filed 9-23-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P
