Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Actions

JUSTIFICATION FOR NONMATERIAL/NONSUBSTANTIVE CHANGE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Actions
(formerly Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) Actions)
OMB Control Number 0651-0063
(September 9, 2013)
Background
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is submitting this request to adjust the
current inventory fee estimates for information collection 0651-0063, Patent Trial and Appeal
Board (PTAB) Actions.
This request is only to delete the fee non-hour cost burden for the appeal briefs; no other
information would be adjusted. The appeal brief itself and the other burden information
associated with it would remain as-is in 0651-0063.
The table below details the fees to be deleted from 0651-0063:
Fees – Non-hour Cost Burden
Fee
Code

Item

Responses
(a)

Filing fee
($)
(b)

Total Non-Hour
Cost Burden
(a) x (b)
(c)

1402

Appeal Brief – Other Entity

1,498

$620.00

$928,760.00

2402

Appeal Brief – Small Entity

374

$310.00

$115,940.00

1402

Appeal Brief (EFS-Web) – Other Entity

19,895

$620.00

$12,334,900.00

2402

Appeal Brief (EFS-Web) – Small Entity

4,974

$310.00

$1,541,940.00

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

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

$14,921,540.00

TOTAL

Summary of Changes
Deletion of $14,921,540 in filing fees that were eliminated as a result of the Final Rule, “Setting
and Adjusting Patent Fees.”
Changes in Burden
As follows:
Burden Type
Responses

Currently Approved

Proposed Change

New Estimates

35,044

0

35,044

Hours

896,426

0

896,426

Postage

$44,891

0

$44,891

Filing Fees

$14,921,540

($14,921,540)

$0

Annual (non-hour) Costs

$14,966,431

($14,921,540)

$44,891

The USPTO estimates that deleting these filing fees will reduce the annual (non-hour) cost
estimates originally reported for the renewal.
Consequently, this collection takes a net burden reduction of $14,921,540 in annual (nonhour) costs as a program change.
The 0651-0063 revised total burden is as follows:




35,044 responses (no change)
896,426 burden hours (no change)
$44,891 in annual (non-hour) costs (change)

Note: Fees for these appeal briefs were accounted for in collection 0651-0072, America Invents
Act Section 10 Patent Fee Adjustments (approved by OMB in January 2013). The fees were
eliminated by the Final Rule, “Setting and Adjusting Patent Fees” 78 Fed. Reg. 4212 (Jan 18,
2013) (RIN 0651-AC54), authorized by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, Pub. L. 112-29,
125 Stat. 284 (2011).

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