This information collection includes
the information necessary to submit a request to grant or revoke
power of attorney for an application, patent, or reexamination
proceeding, and for a registered practitioner to withdraw as
attorney or agent of record. This also includes the information
necessary to change the correspondence address for an application,
patent, or reexamination proceeding, to request a Customer Number
and manage the correspondence address and list of practitioners
associated with a Customer Number, and to designate or change the
correspondence address or fee address for one or more patents or
applications by using a Customer Number. Under 35 U.S.C. 2 and 37
CFR 1.31-1.32, power of attorney may be granted to one or more
joint inventors or a person who is registered to practice before
the USPTO to act in an application or a patent. In particular, for
an application filed before September 16, 2012, or for a patent
which issued from an application filed before September 16, 2012,
power of attorney may be granted by the applicant for patent (as
set forth in 37 CFR 1.41(b) (pre-AIA)) or the assignee of the
entire interest of the applicant. For an application filed on or
after September 16, 2012, or for a patent which issued from an
application filed on or after September 16, 2012, power of attorney
may be granted by the applicant for patent (as set forth in 37 CFR
1.42) or the patent owner. The USPTO provides two different
versions of the forms for establishing power of attorney based upon
whether the application filing date is before or after September
16, 2012, to thereby reduce applicants' burden in having to
determine the appropriate power of attorney requirements for a
given application. The USPTO's Customer Number practice permits
applicants, patent owners, assignees, and practitioners of record,
or the representatives of record for a number of applications or
patents, to change the correspondence address of a patent
application or patent with one change request instead of filing
separate requests for each patent or application. Start Printed
Page 50087Any changes to the address or practitioner information
associated with a Customer Number will be applied to all patents
and applications associated with said Customer Number. The Customer
Number practice is optional, in that changes of correspondence
address or power of attorney may be filed separately for each
patent or application without using a Customer Number. However, a
Customer Number associated with the correspondence address for a
patent application is required in order to access private
information about the application using the Patent Application
Information Retrieval (PAIR) system, which is available through the
USPTO website. The use of a Customer Number is also required in
order to grant power of attorney to more than ten practitioners or
to establish a separate “fee address” for maintenance fee purposes
that is different from the correspondence address for a patent or
application. 37 CFR 1.36 provides for the revocation of a power of
attorney at any stage in the proceedings of a case. 37 CFR 1.36
also provides a path by which a registered patent attorney or
patent agent who has been given a power of attorney may withdraw as
attorney or agent of record.
Change in Hourly Burden due to
Program Change Due to Agency Discretion The burden estimates have
increased by 97,463 due to changing the estimated time for six
items in the information collection. The switch from 3 minutes to
30 minutes for these items, suggested by public comments, results
in an eightfold increase for a total of 111,104 annual burden
hours. Change 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 $454 from the
previous approval. This increase is due to increase in the postage
rate estimated for mailed in submissions. This results in an
estimated annual cost burden of $26,695.
$1,397,232
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
Parikha Mehta 571
272-3248
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.
Form PTO-2248 Request to Update a PCT Application with a Customer Number (Individuals or Households)
0651-0035 Supporting Statement 2021.docx
USPTO Information Quality Guidelines.pdf
Power of Attorney to Prosecute Applications Before the USPTO (Private Sector)