0045 CWS October 2018

JUSTIFICATION FOR NONMATERIAL/NONSUBSTANTIVE CHANGE

United States Patent and Trademark Office

Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Certificate Action Form

OMB CONTROL NUMBER 0651-0045

October 2018

Background

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) uses Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology to support electronic commerce between the USPTO and its customers. PKI is a set of hardware, software, policies, and procedures that provide important security services for the electronic business activities of the USPTO, including protecting the confidentiality of unpublished patent applications in accordance with 35 U.S.C § 122 and 37 CFR 1.14, as well as protecting international patent applications in accordance with Article 30 of the Patent Cooperation Treaty. 

In order to provide the necessary security for its electronic commerce system, the USPTO uses PKI technology to protect the integrity and confidentiality of information submitted to the USPTO. Customers may submit a request to the USPTO for a digital certificate, which enables the customer to create the encryption keys necessary for electronic identity verification and secure transactions with the USPTO. This digital certificate is required in order to access secure online systems that are provided by the USPTO for transactions such as electronic filing of patent applications and viewing confidential information about unpublished patent applications. 

This information collection includes the Certificate Action Form (PTO-2042), which is used by the public to request a new digital certificate, the revocation of a current certificate, or the recovery of a lost or corrupted certificate. Customers may also change the name listed on the certificate or associated the certificate with one or more Customer Numbers. A certificate request must include a notarized signature in order to verify the identity of the applicant. The Certificate Action Form has an accompanying subscriber agreement to ensure that customers understand their obligations regarding the use of the digital certificate and cryptographic software.

Summary of Changes

The USPTO is proposing to change the title and add new fields to the Certificate Action Form. Several fields will be included that relate to the management of the digital account in the Patent Electronic System. The new title of the form will be “Patent Electronic System Verification Form”.

The form will be available on the Patent Electronic Business Center area of the USPTO Website, https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/support-centers/patent-electronic-business-center?MURL=ebc

Changes in Burden

The additions to the form will not result in any significant burden changes for this information collection.

This collection does not include any annual (non-hour) costs, and there are no annual (non-hour) costs associated with the proposed changes to this collection.