The public uses this information
collection to grant or revoke power of attorney, to withdraw as
attorney or agent of record, to authorize a practitioner to act in
a representative capacity, to change a correspondence address, to
request a Customer Number, and to change the data associated with a
Customer Number. The USPTO's Customer Number practice permits
applicants, assignees, practitioners of record, and third party
requesters to change the correspondence address or representatives
of record for a number of applications, patents, or reexamination
proceedings with one change request instead of filing separate
requests for each application, patent, or reexamination proceeding.
The USPTO uses the information in this collection to determine who
is authorized to take action in an application, patent, or
reexamination proceeding and where to send correspondence regarding
an application, patent, or reexamination proceeding. The USPTO is
submitting a request to update this information collection with
seven new forms related to power of attorney and change of
correspondence address: PTO/AIA/80, PTO/AIA/81, PTO/AIA/81B,
PTO/AIA/82A and B, PTO/AIA/122, and PTO/AIA/123. Section 4 of the
Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) amends 35 U.S.C. 118 to
change the practice regarding the filing of an application by a
person other than the inventor. The changes to 35 U.S.C. 118 impact
who may give a power of attorney and who may change a
correspondence address. The USPTO currently provides forms (e.g.,
PTO/SB/80, PTO/SB/81, PTO/SB/122, PTO/SB/123) for giving a power of
attorney and changing a correspondence address. For consistency
with the change in practice concerning who may be an applicant for
patent, the USPTO is providing new forms for giving power of
attorney and changing the correspondence address. The changes to 35
U.S.C. 118 in the AIA do not apply to applications filed prior to
September 16, 2012. Thus, the USPTO plans to provide new forms for
use with applications filed on or after September 16, 2012, but
still continue to make the existing power of attorney and change of
correspondence address forms (legacy forms) available until
applications filed prior to September 16, 2012, are no longer
pending before the USPTO.
The increases in annual
responses and burden hours are administrative adjustments from
revised estimates of the number of expected filings for this
collection. The reduction in annual cost burden is due in part to
administrative adjustments from decreased postage costs, which were
caused by an increase in the percentage of responses submitted
electronically and a corresponding decrease in the number of mailed
submissions. Additional reductions in annual cost burden are due to
program changes from the removal of cost burden--for items that are
considered to be standard business supplies and do not qualify as
capital start-up costs, and for suggested actions such as retaining
receipts for online transactions that do not qualify as record
keeping requirements.
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.
Form PTO/SB/80 Power of Attorney to Prosecute Applications Before the USPTO
0651-0035-justchange-Sep2012.pdf
Power of Attorney to Prosecute Applications Before the USPTO