2023-20140. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Appeals

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 July 3, 2023 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: Patent Trial and Appeal Board Appeals.

OMB Control Number: 0651–0063.

Needs and Uses: The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB or Board) is established by statute under 35 U.S.C. 6. This statute directs, in relevant part, that PTAB shall “on written appeal of an applicant, review adverse decisions of examiners upon applications for patents pursuant to section 134(a).” PTAB has the authority, under 35 U.S.C. 134 and 306 to decide appeals in applications and ex parte reexamination proceedings, and under pre-AIA sections of the Patent Act, i.e.,35 U.S.C. 134, 135, and 315, to decide appeals in inter partes reexamination proceedings and interferences. In addition, 35 U.S.C. 6 establishes the membership of PTAB as the Director, the Deputy Director, the Commissioner for Patents, the Commissioner for Trademarks, and the Administrative Patent Judges. Each appeal and interference is decided by a merits panel of at least three members of the Board.

The Board's responsibilities under the statute include the review of ex parte appeals from adverse decisions of examiners in those situations where a written appeal is taken by a dissatisfied applicant or patent owner. In inter partes reexamination appeals, PTAB reviews examiner's decisions adverse to a patent owner or a third-party requester. PTAB's opinions and decisions for publicly available files are published on the USPTO website. The Board also conducts interference proceedings.

The items associated with this information collection include appeals in applications and ex parte reexamination proceedings, and appeals in inter partes reexamination proceedings and interference proceedings that are governed by the regulations in 37 CFR 41. Failure to comply with the appropriate regulations may result in dismissal of the appeal or denial of entry of the submission.

This revision and extension of the information collection includes a line item to expressly specify certain filings made to the Board related to interference proceedings, including statements, motions, oppositions, and replies in preliminary and priority phases of an interference.

Form Numbers: (AIA= America Invents Act; SB = Specimen Book).

• PTO/AIA/31: (Notice of Appeal from the Examiner to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board).

• PTO/SB/31: (Notice of Appeal).

• PTO/AIA/32: (Request for Oral Hearing before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board).

• PTO/SB/32: (Request for Oral Hearing before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board).

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

Affected Public: Private sector.

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

Frequency: On occasion.

Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 12,529 respondents.

Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 22,149 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses in this information collection will take respondents approximately 0.5 to 120 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: 238,999 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-Hourly Cost Burden: $17,185,623.

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 0651–0063.

Further information can be obtained by:

• Email: [e-mail]. Include “0651–0063 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.