Third-Party Submissions and Protests

Forms and Documents

Document Name	Status
Form PTO/SB/429 Third-Party Submissions in Nonissued Applications (Individuals or Households) Form and Instruction	Removed
Form PTO/SB/429 Third-Party Submissions in Nonissued Applications Form	Modified
0651-0062 Supporting Statement 2024 final.docx Supporting Statement A	2024-09-13
Leahy-Smith America Invents Act.pdf Supplementary Document	2024-08-23
USPTO Information Quality Guidelines.pdf Supplementary Document	2024-08-23

IC Document Collections

IC ID	Document Title	Status
248604	Protests by the Public Against Pending Applications Under 37 CFR 1.291 (Individuals or Households)	Removed
200678	Third-Party Submissions in Nonissued Applications (Individuals or Households) Form and Instruction	Removed
192905	Third-Party Submissions in Nonissued Applications Form	Modified
192904	Protests by the Public Against Pending Applications Under 37 CFR 1.291	Modified

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 0651-0062	ICR Reference No: 202408-0651-005
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No: 202303-0651-009
Agency/Subagency: DOC/PTO	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Third-Party Submissions and Protests
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular	Date Submitted to OIRA: 09/13/2024

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved	11/30/2024
Responses	1,033	880
Time Burden (Hours)	10,330	8,800
Cost Burden (Dollars)	153,686	78,633

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Abstract: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is authorized by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act P.L. 112-29 and 35 U.S.C. § 131 et seq., to examine an application for patent and, when appropriate, issue a patent. The provisions of 35 U.S.C. §§ 122(c), 122(e), 131, and 151, as well as 37 CFR 1.290 and 1.291, limit the ability of a third-party to have information entered and considered in a patent application or to protest a patent application pending before the Office. 37 CFR 1.290 provides a mechanism for third-parties to submit to the USPTO, for consideration and inclusion in the record of a patent application, any patents, published patent applications, or other patent publications of potential relevance to the examination of the application. A preissuance submission under 37 CFR 1.290 may be made in any nonprovisional utility, design, and plant application, as well as in any continuing application. A preissuance submission under 37 CFR 1.290 must include a concise description of the asserted relevance of each document submitted and must be submitted within a certain statutory specific time period. 37 CFR 1.291 permits a member of the public to file a protest against a pending application. Protests pursuant to 37 CFR 1.921 are supported by a separate statutory provision from third-party submissions under 37 CFR 1.290 (35 U.S.C. 122(c) v. 35 U.S.C. 122(e)). The information collected via third-party submissions under 37 CFR 1.290 and via protests under 37 CFR 1.291 is necessary so that the public may contribute to the quality of issued patents. The USPTO will use this information, as appropriate, during the patent examination process to assist in evaluating the patent application.

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Authorizing Statute(s): PL: Pub.L. 112 - 29 Section 8 Name of Law: Leahy-Smith America Invents Act
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

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Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	89 FR 55924	07/08/2024
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	89 FR 74927	09/13/2024
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

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Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 2

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Protests by the Public Against Pending Applications Under 37 CFR 1.291
Protests by the Public Against Pending Applications Under 37 CFR 1.291 (Individuals or Households)
Third-Party Submissions in Nonissued Applications	PTO/SB/429	Third-Party Submission Under 37 CFR 1.290
Third-Party Submissions in Nonissued Applications (Individuals or Households)	PTO/SB/429	Third-Party Submission under 37 CFR 1.290

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ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Request	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	1,033	880	0	0	153	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	10,330	8,800	0	0	1,530	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	153,686	78,633	0	0	75,053	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: Changes in Responses and Hourly Burden due to Adjustment in Agency Estimate The total number of responses has increased by 153 due to estimated fluctuations in the number of respondents/submissions in this information collection. This increase in the number of respondents and responses results in an increase of 1,530 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 $75,053 from the previous approval. This increase is due to estimated fluctuations in submissions for items that require a fee.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $18,013

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     Yes

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     Yes

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

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Common Form ICR:  No

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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:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(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;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

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.

Certification Date: 09/13/2024

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