Justification for Nonmaterial/Nonsubstantive Change to 0651-0058

JUSTIFICATION FOR NONMATERIAL/NONSUBSTANTIVE CHANGE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Program
OMB CONTROL NUMBER 0651-0058
(May 2011)

Background
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is submitting this request to
update information collection 0651-0058 Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Program.
The USPTO is proposing to add six forms to this collection for new participants in the
PPH and PCT-PPH pilot programs. The USPTO plans to launch the PPH pilot
programs with China, Brazil, and Taiwan on or around September 1, 2011.
The
USPTO plans to launch the PCT-PPH pilot program with Sweden on June 1, 2011, with
the Nordic Patent Institute (NPI) on July 1, 2011, and with China on or around
September 1, 2011.
The PPH program allows applicants whose claims are determined to be patentable in
the office of first filing to have the corresponding application that is filed in the office of
second filing be advanced out of turn for examination. At the same time, the PPH
program allows the office of second filing to exploit the search and examination results
of the office of first filing, which increases examination efficiency and improves patent
quality. The PCT-PPH pilot program is an expansion to the PPH program based on the
framework of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). Information collected for the PCT is
approved under OMB control number 0651-0021.
PPH agreements streamline the patent system by allowing patent examiners to avail
themselves of the work product from other participating patent offices. Originally, the
PPH program was limited to the utilization of search and examination results of national
applications between cross filings under the Paris Convention. The newer PCT-PPH
agreements have greatly expanded the potential of the PPH program by permitting
participating patent offices to draw upon the positive results of the PCT work product
from another participating office. The PCT-PPH pilot program uses international search
reports, written opinions, and international preliminary examination reports developed
within the framework of the PCT, thereby making the PPH program available to a larger
number of applicants.
The forms in this collection allow participants to file a request in a corresponding U.S.
application and petition to make the U.S. application special under the PPH or PCTPPH program. The PPH forms collect similar data; however, there is a unique form for
each participant. This collection currently includes forms for the following PPH
programs with the USPTO:
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Japan Patent Office (JPO), Form PTO/SB/20JP
United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO), Form PTO/SB/20UK

JUSTIFICATION FOR NONMATERIAL/NONSUBSTANTIVE CHANGE TO 0651-0058
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Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), Form PTO/SB/20CA
Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO), Form PTO/SB/20DK
European Patent Office (EPO), Form PTO/SB/20EP
Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), Form PTO/SB/20KR
Intellectual Property Office of Australia (IPAU), Form PTO/SB/20AU
Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), Form PTO/SB/20SG
German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA), Form PTO/SB/20DE
National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland (NBPR), Form PTO/SB/20FI
Russian Patent Office (ROSPATENT), Form PTO/SB/20RU
Hungarian Patent Office (HPO), Form PTO/SB/20HU
Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO), Form PTO/SB/20ES
Austrian Patent Office (APO), Form PTO/SB/20AT
Israeli Patent Office and the USPTO, Form PTO/SB/20IL
Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) and the USPTO, Form PTO/SB/20MX

The USPTO has also implemented the following PCT-PPH pilot programs:
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European Patent Office (EPO), Form PTO/SB/20PCT-EP
Japan Patent Office (JPO), Form PTO/SB/20PCT-JP
Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), Form PTO/SB/20PCT-KR
Austrian Patent Office (APO), Form PTO/SB/20PCT-AT
Russian Patent Office (ROSPATENT), Form PTO/SB/20PCT-RU
Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO), Form PTO/SB/20PCT-ES
Intellectual Property Office of Australia (IPAU), Form PTO/SB/20PCT-AU
National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland (NBPR), Form
PTO/SB/20PCT-FI
U.S. Applications Where the USPTO was the ISA or IPEA, Form PTO/SB/20PCTUS

Summary of Changes
The USPTO is proposing to add six forms to this collection for new participants in the
PPH and PCT-PPH pilot programs:
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Request for Participation in the PPH Pilot Program Between the State Intellectual
Property Office of the P.R.C. (SIPO) and the USPTO, Form PTO/SB/20CN
Request for Participation in the PPH Pilot Program Between the Instituto Nacional
da Propriedade Industrial (INPI) and the USPTO, Form PTO/SB/20BR
Request for Participation in the PPH Pilot Program Between the Taiwan Intellectual
Property Office (TIPO) and the USPTO, Form PTO/SB/20TW
Request for Participation in the PCT-PPH Pilot Program Between the Swedish
Patent and Registration Office (PRV) and the USPTO, Form PTO/SB/20PCT-SE
Request for Participation in the PCT-PPH Pilot Program Between the Nordic Patent
Institute (NPI) and the USPTO, Form PTO/SB/20PCT-XN
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JUSTIFICATION FOR NONMATERIAL/NONSUBSTANTIVE CHANGE TO 0651-0058
(continued)

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Request for Participation in the PCT-PPH Pilot Program Between the State
Intellectual Property Office of the P.R.C. (SIPO) and the USPTO, Form
PTO/SB/20PCT-CN

The forms will be available on the PPH area of the USPTO Web site,
http://www.uspto.gov/patents/init_events/pph/index.jsp, when the respective programs
launch.
Changes in Burden
The addition of the six PPH and PCT-PPH pilot forms will result in the following burden
changes for this information collection:
Burden Type
Responses
Hours
Annual (non-hour) costs

Currently approved Proposed change New estimates
3,100
600
3,700
6,200
1,200
7,400
$0
$0
$0

The USPTO estimates that it will receive 100 responses per year for each of the six pilot
programs, and that it will take the public approximately 2 hours to prepare and submit
the information for each request, for a total of 600 responses and 1,200 burden hours
per year. Therefore, this collection takes an increase of 600 responses and 1,200
burden hours as a program change.
This collection does not include any annual (non-hour) costs, and there are no annual
(non-hour) costs associated with the proposed changes to this collection.
The USPTO estimates that the proposed changes for this collection will result in the
following total burden changes:
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Increase of 600 responses as a program change
Increase of 1,200 burden hours as a program change
No change in annual (non-hour) costs

Therefore, this collection would have the following revised total burden:
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3,700 responses
7,400 hours
$0 in annual (non-hour) costs

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