Justification for Nonsubstantive Change

JUSTIFICATION FOR NONMATERIAL/NONSUBSTANTIVE CHANGE
Rules for Patent Maintenance Fees
OMB Control Number 0651-0016
(September 2013)
Background
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is submitting this request to update
the current inventory estimates for information collection 0651-0016 Rules for Patent
Maintenance Fees. The fees in 0651-0016 were moved into collection 0651-0072 America
Invents Act Section 10 Patent Fee Adjustments (approved by OMB in January 2013). This
request is to remove these fees from collection 0651-0016 to avoid double-counting.
This request is only to remove the affected fees from the annual (non-hour) cost burden; no
other information would be adjusted. The items and other burden information would remain in
0651-0016. The table below details the fees that have been moved to 0651-0072 and are to be
removed from 0651-0016:
Fees for Respondents – Annual (Non-hour) Cost Burden
Fee
Code

Item

Responses
(a)

Fee or
Surcharge
(b)

1551

Patent maintenance fee at 3-1/2 years

2551

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

122,083

$1,130.00

$137,953,790.00

Patent maintenance fee at 3-1/2 years (small entity)

30,959

$565.00

$17,491,835.00

1552

Patent maintenance fee at 7-1/2 years

98,216

$2,850.00

$279,915,600.00

2552

Patent maintenance fee at 7-1/2 years (small entity)

22,220

$1,425.00

$31,663,500.00

1553

Patent maintenance fee at 11-1/2 years

60,820

$4,730.00

$287,678,600.00

2553

Patent maintenance fee at 11-1/2 years (small entity)

12,237

$2,365.00

$28,940,505.00

1554
1555
1556

Surcharge for paying maintenance fee during the six-month
grace period

8,189

$150.00

$1,228,350.00

2554
2555
2556

Surcharge for paying maintenance fee during the six-month
grace period (small entity)

10,233

$75.00

$767,475.00

1557

Petition to Accept Unavoidably Delayed Payment of
Maintenance Fee in an Expired Patent (37 CFR 1.378(b))

172

$700.00

$120,400.00

1558

Petition to Accept Unintentionally Delayed Payment of
Maintenance Fee in an Expired Patent (37 CFR 1.378(c))

3,151

$1,640.00

$5,167,640.00

1463

Petition to Review Refusal to Accept Payment of Maintenance
Fee Prior to Expiration of Patent (37 CFR 1.377)

54

$200.00

$10,800.00

1462

Petition for Reconsideration of Decision on Petition Refusing to
Accept Delayed Payment of Maintenance Fee in an Expired
Patent (37 CFR 1.378(e))

175

$400.00

$70,000.00

“Fee Address” Indication Form

204,652

$0.00

$0.00

Totals

573,161

......

$791,008,495.00

N/A

Summary of Changes
Removal of $791,008,495 in fees from 0651-0016 that are currently accounted for in 0651-0072.

Changes in Burden
Burden Type

Currently Approved

Responses

Proposed Change

New Estimates

573,161

0

573,161

43,605

0

43,605

$152,269

0

$152,269

Fees

$791,008,495

($791,008,495)

$0

Total Annual (Non-hour) Costs

$791,160,764

($791,008,495)

$152,269

Hours
Postage

The USPTO estimates that removing these fees from 0651-0016 (currently accounted for in
0651-0072) will reduce the annual (non-hour) cost estimates originally reported for the renewal.
Consequently, this collection takes a net burden reduction of $791,008,495 in annual
(non-hour) costs as a program change.
The 0651-0016 revised total burden is as follows:




573,161 responses (no change)
43,605 burden hours (no change)
$152,269 in annual (non-hour) costs

2