Under 35 U.S.C. § 41 and 37 CFR 1.20(e)-(h), 1.362, 1.366, 1.377, and 1.378, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) charges fees for maintaining in force all utility patents based on applications filed on or after December 12, 1980. Payment of these maintenance fees is due at 3-1/2, 7-1/2, and 11-1/2 years after the date the patent was granted. If the USPTO does not receive payment of the appropriate maintenance fee and any applicable surcharge within a grace period of 6 months following each of the above due dates (at 4, 8, or 12 years after the date of grant), the patent will expire at that time. After a patent expires, it is no longer enforceable. Maintenance fees are not required for design or plant patents or for reissue patents if the patent being reissued did not require maintenance fees. The USPTO must maintain accurate payment records in order to provide the public with information as to which patents have expired and which patents remain in force.
Changes due to Agency Discretion
The maintenance fees and transmittal forms that were previously a part of this information collection, and mentioned in the 60-Day Federal Register Notice, have now been removed. These items are considered exempt from the PRA under 5 CFR 1320.3(h)(10).
This action results in the following changes to the information collection:
⢠436,600 responses removed
⢠2,426 burden hours removed
⢠$1,332,344,500 cost burden removed
Change in Respondents and Hourly Burden due to Adjustment in Agency Estimate
The total number of respondents has decreased by 52,868 due to estimated fluctuations in the number of responses/submissions in this information collection. This decrease in the number of respondents and responses results in a decrease of 3,734 hours in the annual time burden estimates.
Changes in Annual (Non-hour) Costs due to Adjustment in Agency Estimate
For this renewal, the USPTO estimates that the total annual (non-hour) costs will increase by $735,107 from the previous approval. This increase is due to estimated fluctuations in submissions for items that require a fee. Even though the overall number of respondents is declining, those filing the Petition to Accept Unintentionally Delayed Payment of Maintenance Fee in an Expired Patent (37 CFR 1.378(b)) is expected to increase; resulting in this increased cost burden estimate.
$142,444
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
Parikha Mehta 571 272-3248
Reginfo record details
No
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.
Fee Address Indication Form (Individuals or Households)