The USPTO is required by 35 U.S.C. 131 and 151 to examine applications and issue them as patents when appropriate. The applicant must then pay the required issue fee to receive the patent and avoid abandonment of the application. The USPTO can also correct errors in patents and reissue patents as appropriate. The USPTO may grant requests for ex parte and inter partes reexamination proceedings, in which third parties may also participate. The public uses this collection to request corrections of errors in issued patents, to request reissue patents, to request reexamination proceedings, and to ensure that the necessary fees and documentation are submitted to the USPTO. The USPTO is adding two items to this information collection, an electronic version of the Issue Fee Transmittal (Form PTOL-85B) and a petition to request an extension of time in ex parte or inter partes reexamination proceedings. This petition is an existing requirement that was not previously covered in this collection.
For this renewal, the USPTO estimates that the annual responses for this collection will increase by 1,515 and the burden hours will increase by 984 due to program changes from the addition of the petition to request an extension of time in reexamination proceedings and administrative adjustments from expected increases in filings. The USPTO also estimates that the annual (non-hour) costs for this collection will increase, primarily due to program changes from increases in filing fees that will be partially offset by administrative adjustments from expected decreases in filings for some items in this collection. The annual costs for this collection will also be affected by a net decrease in postage costs as a program change due to the addition of the electronic filing option for issue fee transmittals, which will also be partially offset by the addition of recordkeeping costs for electronic submissions as a program change and an increase in average postage costs for mailed submissions as an administrative adjustment.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Certificate of Correction