The United States Patent and Trademark
Office (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 (“PTAB” or “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 PTAB. See Pub. L. 112-29, 125 Stat. 284 (2011). These changes
include 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 (1) an
inventor named in an earlier application derived the claimed
invention from an inventor named in petitioner’s application, and
(2) 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 for review the patentability of one or more claims in a
covered business method patent.
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.