The USPTO is required by 35 U.S.C. §§
131 and 151 to examine applications and, when appropriate, issue
applications as patents. These statutes also provide for
consideration of trial reviews of patents if requested. This
collection of information covers the patent review process and
related proceedings conducted by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act ("AIA"), which was enacted into
law on September 16, 2011, provided for many changes to the
procedures of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board ("PTAB" or "Board,"
formerly the Board of Patent Appeals and Interference). See Pub. L.
112-29, 125 Stat. 284 (2011). These changes included the
introduction of inter partes review, post-grant review, derivation
proceedings, and the transitional program for covered business
method patents. Inter partes review is a trial proceeding conducted
at the Board to review the patentability of one or more claims in a
patent only on a ground that could be raised under §§ 102 or 103,
and only on the basis of prior art consisting of patents or printed
publications. Post grant review is a trial proceeding conducted at
the Board to review the patentability of one or more claims in a
patent on any ground that could be raised under § 282(b)(2) or (3).
A derivation proceeding is a trial proceeding conducted at the
Board to determine whether (i) an inventor named in an earlier
application derived the claimed invention from an inventor named in
the petitioner's application, and (ii) the earlier application
claiming such invention was filed without authorization. The
transitional program for covered business method patents (TPCBM) is
a trial proceeding conducted at the Board to review the
patentability of one or more claims in a covered business method
patent. In 2012, six rulemaking actions were taken to propose and
implement new rules of practice for the multiple reviews and
proceedings impacted by the items contained within this information
collection. This renewal seeks to enable the continuation of the
review and proceeding processes outlined in the information
collection.
Due to an adjustment in the way
that the Patent Trial Appeal Board tracks and collects settlements
from parties involved in matters before or connected to the board,
the "Settlement (Parties not in Litigation)" item has been removed
from this collection while the "Settlement" IC item remains. As a
result, the responses and annual time burden (hr) decreased
accordingly.
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.