2023-01748. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Post Allowance and Reissue

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will submit the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. The USPTO invites comment on this information collection renewal, which helps the USPTO assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on November 22, 2022 during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.

Agency: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce.

Title: Post Allowance and Reissue.

OMB Control Number: 0651-0033.

Needs and Uses: This collection of information covers the submission of issue fee payments, requests for certificates of correction, and reissue applications to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The 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 within three months to avoid abandonment of the application. If the appropriate fees are paid within the proper time period, the USPTO can then issue the patent. The rules outlining the procedures for payment of the issue fee and issuance of a patent are found at 37 CFR 1.18, 1.311, and 1.314.

This collection of information also covers several transactions that may be taken after issuance of a patent.

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C 254 and 255, a certificate of correction may be requested to correct an error or errors in an issued patent. If the USPTO determines that the request should be approved, the USPTO will issue a certificate of correction.

For an original patent that is believed to be wholly or partly inoperative or invalid, the original patentee, or the current patent owner if there has been a subsequent assignment, may apply for reissue of the patent. The reissue application process requires, among other items, 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 rules outlining reissue application procedures are found at 37 CFR 1.171-1.173 and 1.175-1.178.

The title of this item has been changed from “Post Allowance and Refiling” to “Post Allowance and Reissue” to better reflect the nature of the items in this information collection.

Form Number(s): (AIA = America Invents Act; SB = Specimen Book; PTOL = Patent & Trademark Office Legal Form).

• PTO/AIA/05, PTO/AIA/06, PTO/SB/51, PTO/SB/52 (Reissue Application Declaration by the Inventor or the Assignee)
• PTO/AIA/07 (Substitute Statement in Lieu of an Oath or Declaration for Reissue Patent Application (35 U.S.C. 115(d) and 37 CFR 1.64))
• PTO/AIA/50 (Reissue Patent Application Transmittal)
• PTO/AIA/53, PTO/SB/53 (Reissue Application: Consent of Assignee; Statement of Non-Assignment)
• PTO/SB/44 (Certificate of Correction)
• PTO/SB/51S, (Supplemental Declaration for Reissue Patent Application to Correct “Errors” Statement (pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.175(c)))
• PTO/SB/56 (Reissue Application Fee Transmittal Form)
• PTOL-85B (Issue Fee Transmittal)

Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved information collection.

Affected Public: Private sector; individuals or households.

Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.

Frequency: On occasion.

Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 426,301 respondents.

Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 426,301 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses in this information collection will take the public approximately between 30 minutes (0.5 hours) and 5.3 hours to complete. This includes the time to gather the necessary information, create the document, and submit the completed request to the USPTO.

Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 373,568 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-Hourly Cost Burden: $434,518,228.

This information collection request may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce, USPTO information collections currently under review by OMB.

Written comments and recommendations for this information collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function and entering either the title of the information collection or the OMB Control Number 0651-0033.

Further information can be obtained by:

• Email:[e-mail]. Include “0651-0033 information request” in the subject line of the message.

• Mail: Justin Isaac, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.

Justin Isaac,

Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.