[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 78 (Tuesday, April 23, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23916-23917]
[FR Doc No: 2013-09522]
[[Page 23916]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Secrecy and License To Export
ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.
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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part
of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden,
invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this
opportunity to comment on the continuing 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 June 24, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0034 comment'' 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.
Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to Raul Tamayo, Legal Advisor, Office of Patent
Legal Administration, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O.
Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-7728; or
by email to [email protected] with ``Paperwork'' in the subject
line. Additional information about this collection is also available at
http://www.reginfo.gov under ``Information Collection Review.''
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
In the interest of national security, patent laws and rules place
certain limitations on the disclosure of information contained in
patents and patent applications and on the filing of applications for
patents in foreign countries.
In particular, whenever the publication or disclosure of an
invention by the publication of an application or by the granting of a
patent is, in the opinion of the head of an interested Government
agency, determined to be detrimental to national security, the
Commissioner for Patents at the United States Patent and Trademark
Office (USPTO) must issue a secrecy order and withhold the grant of a
patent for such period as the national interest requires. A patent will
not be issued on the application as long as the secrecy order is in
force. If a secrecy order is applied to an international application,
the application will not be forwarded to the International Bureau as
long as the secrecy order is in force.
Three types of secrecy orders, each of a different scope, can be
issued. The first type, Secrecy Order and Permit for Foreign Filing in
Certain Countries, is intended to permit the widest utilization of the
technical data in the patent application while still controlling any
publication or disclosure that would result in an unlawful exportation.
The second type, the Secrecy Order and Permit for Disclosing Classified
Information, is to treat classified technical data presented in a
patent application in the same manner as any other classified material.
The third type of secrecy order is used where the other types of orders
do not apply, including orders issued by direction of agencies other
than the Department of Defense.
Under the provision of 35 U.S.C. 181, a secrecy order remains in
effect for a period of one year from its date of issuance. A secrecy
order may be renewed for additional periods of not more than one year
upon notice by a government agency that the national interest continues
to so require. The applicant is notified of such renewal.
When the USPTO places a secrecy order on a patent application, the
rules authorize the applicant to petition the USPTO for permits to
allow disclosure, modification, or rescission of the secrecy order, or
to obtain a general or group permit. In each of these circumstances,
the petition is forwarded to the appropriate defense agency for
decision. Also, the Commissioner for Patents at the USPTO may rescind
any order upon notification by the heads of the departments and the
chief officers of the agencies who caused the order to be issued that
the disclosure of the invention is no longer deemed detrimental to the
national security.
Unless expressly ordered otherwise, action on the application and
prosecution by the applicant will proceed during the time the
application is under secrecy order to a specific point as indicated
under 37 CFR 5.3. Applications under secrecy order that come to a final
rejection must be appealed or otherwise prosecuted to avoid
abandonment. Appeals in such cases must be completed by the applicant,
but unless specifically indicated by the Commissioner for Patents at
the USPTO, will not be set for hearing until the secrecy order is
removed.
In addition to the issuance of secrecy orders, the USPTO is
required to grant foreign filing licenses to applicants. The filing of
a patent application is considered a request for a foreign filing
license. However, in some instances an applicant may need a license for
filing patent application in foreign countries prior to a filing in the
USPTO or sooner than the anticipated licensing of a pending patent
application.
To file a patent application in a foreign country, the applicant
can petition the USPTO for a foreign filing license either with or
without a corresponding United States application. In addition, the
applicant can petition to change the scope of a license and, when a
patent application is filed through error in a foreign country without
the appropriate filing license, an applicant can petition the USPTO for
a retroactive license.
This collection includes the information needed by the USPTO to
review and issue or revoke the various types of petition contemplated
herein. This collection of information is required by 35 U.S.C. 181-188
and administered through 37 CFR 5.1-5.33.
There are no forms associated with this collection of information.
II. Method of Collection
By mail, facsimile or hand carried to the USPTO.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-0034.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits; not-for-profit
institutions.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 2,294 responses per year. The
USPTO estimates that approximately 25% (574) of these responses will be
from small entities.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take
the public from 30 minutes (0.5 hours) to 4 hours to gather the
necessary information, prepare the appropriate documents, and submit
the information required for this collection.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 1,431 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $570,598. The USPTO
expects that the information in this collection will be prepared by
attorneys at an estimated rate of $371 per hour. Therefore, the USPTO
estimates that the respondent cost burden for this collection will be
approximately $530,901 per year.
[[Page 23917]]
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Estimated Estimated
Item Estimated time for response annual annual burden
responses hours
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Petition for Rescission of Secrecy Order...... 3 hours......................... 8 24
Petition to Disclose or Modification of 2 hours......................... 12 24
Secrecy Order.
Petition for General and Group Permits........ 1 hour.......................... 1 1
Petition for Expedited Handling of License (no 30 minutes...................... 1,900 950
corresponding application).
Petition for Expedited Handling of License 30 minutes...................... 300 150
(corresponding U.S. application).
Petition for Changing Scope of License........ 30 minutes...................... 3 2
Petition for Retroactive License.............. 4 hours......................... 70 280
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Totals.................................... ................................ 2,294 1,431
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Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden: $376,229.
There are no capital start-up, maintenance, or record keeping costs
associated with this information collection. However, this collection
does have annual (non-hour) costs in the form of filing fees for the
foreign filing petitions and postage costs. No fees are associated with
the secrecy order petitions.
The license petitions all charge the 37 CFR 1.17(g) fee, for which
small and micro entity discounts have recently been introduced. The
USPTO estimates that 25% of responses will come from small entities and
25% of small entities qualify as micro entities.
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Total non-hour
Item Responses Filing fee cost burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (c)
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Petition for Rescission of Secrecy Order..................... 8 $0.00 $0.00
Petition to Disclose or Modification of Secrecy Order........ 12 0.00 0.00
Petition for General and Group Permits....................... 1 0.00 0.00
Petition for Expedited Handling of License (no corresponding 1,306 200.00 261,200.00
application)................................................
Petition for Expedited Handling of License (no corresponding 475 100.00 47,500.00
application) (small entity).................................
Petition for Expedited Handling of License (no corresponding 119 50.00 5,950.00
application) (micro entity).................................
Petition for Expedited Handling of License (corresponding 206 200.00 41,200.00
U.S. application)...........................................
Petition for Expedited Handling of License (corresponding 75 100.00 7,500.00
U.S. application) (small entity)............................
Petition for Expedited Handling of License (corresponding 19 50.00 950.00
U.S. application) (micro entity)............................
Petition for Changing Scope of License....................... 1 200.00 200.00
Petition for Changing Scope of License (small entity)........ 1 100.00 100.00
Petition for Changing Scope of License (micro entity)........ 1 50.00 50.00
Petition for Retroactive License............................. 47 200.00 9,400.00
Petition for Retroactive License (small entity).............. 18 100.00 1,800.00
Petition for Retroactive License (micro entity).............. 5 50.00 250.00
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Totals................................................... 2,294 .............. 376,100.00
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The USPTO estimates that 99% of the petitions in this collection
are submitted by facsimile or hand carried because of the quick
turnaround required. For the 1% of the public that chooses to submit
the petitions to the USPTO by mail through the United States Postal
Service, the USPTO estimates that the average postage cost for a paper
submission will be $5.60 (USPS Priority Mail, flat rate envelope) and
that 23 submissions will be mailed to the USPTO per year for a total
estimated postage cost of $129.
Therefore, the USPTO estimates that the total (non-hour) cost
burden for this collection in the form of filing fees and postage costs
is estimated to be approximately $376,229.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will
become a matter of public record.
The USPTO is soliciting public comments to: (a) Evaluate whether
the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the
information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy of
the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of
information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions
used; (c) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information
to be collected; and (d) Minimize the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to respond, including through the use of
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g.,
permitting electronic submission of responses.
Dated: April 18, 2013.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-09522 Filed 4-22-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P
