G409: PAT - TM Boot Camp Surveys Submission Request

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 0690-0035 )

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: G409: One-Day Patent and Trademark Boot Camp Intensive Surveys

PURPOSE: The purpose of the “One-Day Patent & Trademark Boot Camp Intensive” Course is to provide a one-day in-person information session (one day each for Patents and Trademarks) to under-resourced and underrepresented communities that are located in “internet deserts” so that they can more quickly and efficiently learn about patents and trademarks. Internet Deserts are defined as parts of the country that have no or very limited internet service providers (ISPs) that offer broadband internet or affordable, high-speed internet. Attendees will learn how to successfully submit a patent application and/or a trademark application to the USPTO.

The Program Manager will identify the communities in rural, urban, and tribal communities that are identified as “internet deserts”. Once these communities have been identified, the Program Manager will identify community organizations to partner with the USPTO to host the Boot Camp Intensive Courses. The community organizations will assist the USPTO in potential attendees who will benefit from the in-person Boot Camp Intensive Courses. Attendees of the course will complete the surveys in person. The surveys and registrations will be provided in both English and Spanish versions.

The USPTO will provide a registration survey to obtain background information from training course participants. The USPTO representative will collect the survey forms from the attendees. The Program Manager and team will review, tabulate, access the information received from the surveys and submit a report of the results.

Information collected from the participants will assist the trainers in preparing for the training presentations. The information collected will also assist the USPTO agency-wide, as well as improve educational resources and training offerings for participants to successfully submit a nonprovisional patent application and/or a trademark application.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Respondents are individuals (small business owners, entrepreneurs, and community members) who register and/or attend the course.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [ X ] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software) [ ] Small Discussion Group

[ ] Focus Group [ X] Other: Registration Form____

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Business Unit Certification: Robert Hodge and Jason Lott_

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [X ] Yes [ ] No

2. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [X] Yes [ ] No

3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [ ] Yes [X] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ] Yes [ X ] No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent: Individuals and Households	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden (hours)
Patent Survey – English & Spanish	35	5 minutes (0.08 hrs)	3
Trademark Survey – English & Spanish	35	5 minutes (0.08 hrs)	3
Registration Survey – English & Spanish	70	3 minutes (0.05 hrs)	4
Total	140	- - -	10 hours

Estimated percentage of respondents responding electronically: 10%

FEDERAL COST:

One Day Patent and Trademark Boot Camp Intensive Registration Form

The USPTO estimates that it takes a GS-13 step 6, five hours to consolidate all registration forms, determine course eligibility, and select course participants for the five courses per year.

The hourly rate for a GS-13, step 6, is currently $65.94 according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM’s) 2024 wage chart, including locality pay for the Washington, DC area.  When 30% ($19.78 is added to account for a fully loaded hourly rate (benefits and overhead), the rate per hour for a GS-13, step 6, is $85.72. 

The estimated annual cost to the federal government is the combined average hourly rate of $85.72 per hour * 5 hours = $429.

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [ ] Yes [ X ] No

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

The Program Manager will identify the communities in rural, urban, and tribal communities that are identified as “internet deserts”. Once these communities have been identified, the Program Manager will identify community organizations to partner with the USPTO to host the Boot Camp Intensive Courses. The community organizations will assist the USPTO in identifying small business owners, inventors, entrepreneurs and community members who will benefit from the in-person Boot Camp Intensive Courses. The community organization will assist the participants in completing, collecting, and forwarding the registration surveys to the Program Manager. Future forms and surveys will reside with the community partners and on the USPTO website 90 days prior to a confirmed course date. It is estimated that 70 participants per year will fill out and complete the registration survey. Registration will close two weeks prior to the course start date.

From the registration list, applicants can be accepted if they meet they “Live in under-resourced and underrepresented communities that are located in ‘internet deserts’”, as defined.

The number of applicants accepted to attend the course will vary based on the location of the course. As such, we estimate that seven applicants will attend per course. Ten courses will be offered per year (five Patents and five Trademarks), thus we estimate around 70 total attendees per year. Every participant will receive a course survey at the end of the in-person session to be completed on-site. Also due to the nature of the course, we estimate around an 80% response rate. This should result in around 56 survey responses per year.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[ X ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[ X ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ ] Yes [X] No

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

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