0651-0066 SupStmt July 6 2012

SUPPORTING STATEMENT
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Patents for Humanity Program (formerly Humanitarian Program)
OMB CONTROL NO. 0651-0066
(July 6, 2012)

A.

JUSTIFICATION

1.

Necessity of Information Collection

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is conducting a voluntary pilot
program to incentivize the distribution of patented technologies or products to address
humanitarian needs. This pilot program is open to any patent owners or patent
licensees, including inventors who have not assigned their ownership rights to others,
assignees, and exclusive or non-exclusive licensees. The USPTO plans to collect
information from applicants that describe what actions they have taken with their
patented technology to address humanitarian needs among an impoverished
population, or how they have furthered research by others on technologies for
humanitarian purposes. Applications will be considered in four categories: Medical
Technology, Food and Nutrition, Clean Technology, and Information Technology. It is
expected that inventions from any field of technology will be eligible for the program, as
long as they are applied to one of the four categories.
This pilot program is a follow-up to the responses received from the agency’s “Request
for Comments on Incentivizing Humanitarian Technologies and Licensing Through the
Intellectual Property System” published September 20, 2010. On February 8, 2012, the
USPTO published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the pilot program and
outlining the procedures for participation in it. The USPTO plans to review the results
from this pilot program to determine whether it should be extended.
In order to participate in this program, applicants must submit an application describing
how their actions satisfy the competition criteria to address humanitarian issues
electronically through the http://patentsforhumanity.challenge.gov website. Submitted
applications will be available on the public website after being screened for
inappropriate material.
The applications will be reviewed by external judges. A selection committee composed
of representatives from other federal agencies and laboratories will make
recommendations for the awards based on the judges’ reviews. Those applicants who
are selected for an award will receive a certificate redeemable to accelerate select
matters before the USPTO and public recognition for their efforts, including an awards
ceremony at the USPTO. The certificates can be redeemed to accelerate one of the
following matters: an ex parte reexamination proceeding, including one appeal to the
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) from that proceeding; a patent
application, including one appeal to the BPAI from that application; or an appeal to the

BPAI of a claim twice rejected in a patent application or reissue application or finally
rejected in an ex parte reexamination, without accelerating the underlying matter which
generated the appeal. The certificates cannot be transferred to other parties.
The USPTO obtained an emergency clearance from OMB for this collection, which was
approved on January 25, 2012. This approval expires on July 31, 2012, so the USPTO
is resubmitting this collection to OMB to extend the approval. Since the submission of
the emergency clearance, the USPTO has determined that the petition to extend the
redemption period of the humanitarian awards certificate requires approval from OMB
and has included it in the renewal submission.
Table 1 identifies the statutory and regulatory provisions that require the USPTO to
collect this information:
Table 1: Information Requirements for Patents for Humanity Program
Requirement

Statute

Rule

Humanitarian Program Application

35 U.S.C. § 3(a)(2)

37 CFR 1.102

Petition to Extend the Redemption Period of the
Humanitarian Awards Certificate

35 U.S.C. § 3(a)(2)

37 CFR 1.102

2.

Needs and Uses

The USPTO has developed two application forms that applicants can use to apply for
participation in the Patents for Humanity Pilot Program. One application covers the
humanitarian uses of technologies or products and the other application covers
humanitarian research. In addition, there is a form that allows applicants to provide
their contact information which the USPTO uses to notify applicants that they have been
selected for an award. These applications may be up to five pages long and can be
supplemented with additional supporting materials. The applications must be submitted
electronically through the http://patentsforhumanity.challenge.gov website.
The Information Quality Guidelines from Section 515 of Public Law 106-554, Treasury
and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001, apply to this
information collection, and this information collection and its supporting statement
comply with all applicable information quality guidelines, i.e., the OMB and specific
operating unit guidelines.
Table 2 outlines how these collections of information are used by the public and by the
USPTO:

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Table 2: Needs and Uses for Patents for Humanity Program
Form and Function
Humanitarian Program Application

Form #
No Form
Number

Needs and Uses


Used by the applicant to apply for participation in the Patents for
Humanity Program.
Used by the applicant to provide their contact information to the
USPTO.
Used by external judges to recommend award recipients.
Used by the selection committee to make recommendations for
award recipients.
Used by the USPTO to award a certificate to the selected
recipients.






Petition to Extend the Redemption
Period of the Humanitarian Awards
Certificate

3.

No Form
Associated



Used by the certificate holder to petition the USPTO to extend
the redemption period of the certificate after it expires.
Used by the USPTO to grant the extension of the redemption
period for the certificate.



Use of Information Technology

The applications for participation in the Patents for Humanity Pilot Program are
submitted electronically through the Challenge.gov website. After the applications are
screened for inappropriate material, they will be available on the public website.
4.

Efforts to Identify Duplication

This information is collected when patent owners or patent licensees, including
inventors who have not assigned their ownership rights to others, assignees, and
exclusive or non-exclusive licensees apply for participation in the Patents for Humanity
Pilot Program. It does not duplicate information or collection of data found elsewhere.
5.

Minimizing the Burden to Small Entities

No significant impact is placed on small entities.
6.

Consequences of Less Frequent Collection

This information is collected only when patent owners or patent licensees, including
inventors who have not assigned their ownership rights to others, assignees, and
exclusive or non-exclusive licensees apply for participation in the Patents for Humanity
Pilot Program. This information is not collected elsewhere. Therefore, this collection of
information could not be conducted less frequently. If this information were not
collected, the USPTO would not be able to present the awards and fulfill the
requirements of the pilot program.
7.

Special Circumstances in the Conduct of Information Collection

There are no special circumstances associated with this collection of information.

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8.

Consultation Outside the Agency

The 60-Day Federal Register Notice was published on March 13, 2012 (77 Fed. Reg.
14766). The public comment period ended on May 14, 2012. No public comments
were received.
The USPTO published a Federal Register Notice on September 20, 2010, entitled
“Requests for Comments on Incentivizing Humanitarian Technologies and Licensing
Through the Intellectual Property System” (75 Fed. Reg. 57261). Public comments
have been received and have been considered in the development of the program and
collection of information.
Comments are posted to the agency website at
http://www.uspto.gov/patents/law/comments/humanitarian.jsp.
In addition, the USPTO consults with the Public Advisory Committees, which were
created by statute in the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 to advise the Under
Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO on the
management of the patent and trademark operations. The Advisory Committees
consist of the United States citizens chosen to represent the interests of the diverse
users of the USPTO.
The Advisory Committees review the policies, goals,
performance, budget, and user fees of the patent and trademark operations,
respectively, and advise the Director on these matters.
The USPTO has long-standing relationships with groups from whom patent application
data is collected, such as the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA),
as well as patent bar associations, independent inventor groups, and users of our public
facilities. Views expressed by these groups are considered in developing proposals for
information collection requirements. There have been no comments or concerns
expressed by these or similar organizations concerning the time required to provide the
information required under this program.
9.

Payment or Gifts to Respondents

This information collection does involve an award to select respondents. For patent
holders whose applications are chosen as the best examples of advancing humanitarian
goals, the USPTO will award them a certificate for acceleration of certain matters before
the agency.
10.

Assurance of Confidentiality

The USPTO will comply with the Privacy Act of 1974.
11.

Justification for Sensitive Questions

None of the required information is considered to be of a sensitive nature.

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12.

Estimate of Hour and Cost Burden to Respondents

Table 3 calculates the anticipated burden hours and costs of this information collection
to the public, based on the following factors:


Respondent Calculation Factors
The USPTO estimates that it will receive 1,010 responses to this information collection
per year, with an estimated 333 (33%) submitted by small entities. All of the responses
are submitted electronically.
These estimates are based on the Agency’s long-standing institutional knowledge of and
experience with the type of information collected by these items.



Burden Hour Calculation Factors
The USPTO estimates that it will take the public approximately four hours to complete
the humanitarian program application and one hour to complete the petition to extend
the redemption period, depending on the nature of the information. These estimated
times include gathering the necessary information, preparing the application or petition
and any supplemental supporting materials, and submitting the completed request.
These estimates are based on the Agency’s long-standing institutional knowledge of and
experience with the type of information collected and the length of time necessary to
complete responses containing similar or like information.



Cost Burden Calculation Factors
The USPTO expects that both attorneys and paralegals will complete the applications for
the humanitarian program and that attorneys will complete the petitions to extend the
redemption period. The USPTO uses a professional rate of $371 per hour for the
attorney respondent cost burden calculations, which is the mean rate for attorneys in
private firms as shown in the 2011 Report of the Economic Survey published by the
Committee on Economics of Legal Practice of the American Intellectual Property Law
Association (AIPLA). The USPTO uses a paraprofessional hourly rate for $122 for the
paralegal respondent cost burden calculations, which is the mean billing rate for
paralegals with the Advanced Certified Paralegal credential as shown in the 2010
National Utilization and Compensation Survey Report published by the National
Association of Legal Assistance, October 2010.
Based on the Agency’s long-standing institutional knowledge of and experience with the
type of information collected, the Agency believes $371 is an accurate estimate of the
cost per hour to collect this information.

Table 3: Burden Hour/Burden Cost to Respondents for Patents for Humanity Program
Item

Humanitarian Program Application
 Attorney
 Paralegal

Hours
(a)

Responses
(yr)
(b)

Burden
(hrs/yr)
(c)
(a) x (b)

Rate
($/hr)
(d)

Total Cost
($/hr)
(e)
(c) x (d)

1,000
1.00
3.00

1,000
3,000

5

$371.00
$122.00

$371,000.00
$366,000.00

Item

Hours
(a)

Petition to Extend the Redemption Period of the
Humanitarian Awards Certificate

1.00

Total

- - - -

13.

Responses
(yr)
(b)

Burden
(hrs/yr)
(c)
(a) x (b)

Rate
($/hr)
(d)

Total Cost
($/hr)
(e)
(c) x (d)

10

10

$371.00

$3,710.00

1,010

4,010

- - - -

$740,710.00

Total Annualized Cost Burden

The USPTO expects that there will be no annual (non-hour) cost burden associated with
the humanitarian program applications or the petitions for extension.
14.

Annual Cost to the Federal Government

The USPTO estimates that it takes a GS-9, step 1, approximately 5 minutes (0.08
hours) to review the applications for inappropriate material. The hourly rate for a GS-9,
step 1, is currently $24.74 according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s
(OPM’s) 2011 wage chart, including locality pay for the Washington, DC area. When
30% is added to account for a fully loaded hourly rate (benefits and overhead), the rate
per hour for a GS-9, step 1 is $32.16 ($24.74 + $7.42).
The USPTO estimates that it takes a GS-11, step 1, approximately 15 minutes (0.25
hours) to review the petitions to extend the redemption period of the humanitarian
awards certificate. The hourly rate for a GS-11, step 1 is currently $29.93 according to
the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM’s) 2011 wage chart including locality
pay for the Washington, DC area. When 30% is added to account for a fully loaded
hourly rate (benefits and overhead), the rate per hour for a GS-11, step 1 is $38.91
($29.93 + $8.98).
Estimates are based upon agency long-standing institutional knowledge of and
experience with processing the type of information collected and the length of time
necessary to process similar or like information.
Table 4 calculates the processing hours and costs of this information collection to the
Federal Government:
Table 4: Burden Hour/Burden Cost to the Federal Government for Patents for Humanity Program
Item

Hours
(a)

Responses
(yr)
(b)

Burden
(hrs/yr)
(c)
(a) x (b)

Rate
($/hr)
(d)

Total Cost
($/hr)
(e)
(c) x (d)

Humanitarian Program Application

0.08

1,000

80

$32.16

$2,573.00

Petition to Extend the Redemption Period of the
Humanitarian Awards Certificate

0.25

10

3

$38.91

$117.00

1,010

83

-------------

$2,690.00

Total

- - - - -

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The USPTO’s total estimated cost for processing the information in this collection
is $2,690 per year.
15.

Reason for Change in Burden

Summary of Changes Since the Emergency Clearance
OMB approved the emergency clearance of this information collection on January 25,
2012 with 1,000 responses, 4,000 burden hours, and $0 in annual (non-hour) costs.
Since USPTO plans to conduct the Patents for Humanity Program pilot program past
the expiration of the emergency clearance, which occurs on July 31, 2012, the USPTO
is resubmitting this collection to extend the approval. For this renewal, the USPTO
estimates that the total annual responses will be 1,010 and the total annual burden
hours will be 4,010. This increase of 10 burden hours is due to a program change.
As with the emergency clearance, the USPTO estimates that annual (non-hour) cost
burden for this collection will remain at $0.
Changes Since the Publication of the 60-Day Federal Register Notice
In the 60-Day Federal Register Notice published on March 13, 2012 (77 Fed. Reg.
14766), the USPTO estimated that the total annual respondent cost burden for this
collection would be $709,400. This cost burden was calculated using the median hourly
rate of $340 for attorneys and the mean hourly rate of $122 for paralegals.
Since the publication of the 60-Day, the USPTO has determined that using the mean
hourly rate for the attorneys would provide a more accurate picture of the respondent
cost burden. The mean hourly rate for attorneys is $371. Using this rate, the USPTO
estimates that the total annual respondent cost burden for this collection will be
$740,710. This is an increase of $31,310 over the total annual respondent cost burden
estimated in the 60-Day Federal Register Notice.
Change in Respondent Cost Burden
The total respondent cost burden for this collection has increased by $34,710, from
$706,000 to $740,710, from the emergency clearance of this collection in January of
2012 due to:


Increase in estimated hourly rate. The emergency clearance used the
estimated median hourly rate of $340 for the attorneys and an estimated mean
hourly rate of $122 for the paralegals to prepare the humanitarian program
application. For the current submission, the USPTO is using the mean hourly
rate for the attorneys instead of the median hourly rate. The USPTO estimates
that the mean hourly rate for the attorneys will be $371.

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

Addition of new information requirement to the collection. Since the
submission of the emergency clearance, the USPTO has determined that the
petition to extend the redemption period of the humanitarian awards certificate
should be added to this collection. The USPTO estimates that attorneys, at the
mean hourly rate of $371, will take approximately one hour to prepare these
submissions and that 10 of them will be submitted per year.

Changes in Responses and Burden Hours
For this submission, the USPTO estimates that the total annual responses will increase
by 10 (from 1,000 to 1,010) and the total burden hours will increase by 10 (from 4,000 to
4,010) from the currently approved burden for this collection. These changes are due to
the following program change:


16.

Increase of 10 estimated annual responses due to the addition of the petition
to extend the redemption period of the humanitarian awards certificate to the
collection; a burden increase of 10 hours.
Project Schedule

There is no plan to publish this information for statistical use. No special publication of
the items discussed in this justification statement is planned. The pilot program start
date is currently estimated as early calendar year 2012. Applications are expected to
be collected twice a year for the pilot. This schedule may be adjusted in the future.
17.

Display of Expiration Date of OMB Approval

The form in this information collection will display the OMB Control Number and the
OMB expiration date.
18.

Exception to the Certificate Statement

This collection of information does not include any exceptions to the certificate
statement.
B.

COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS

This collection of information does not employ statistical methods.

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