Submission Request for eFiling Outreach Sessions

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 0690-0030)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Outreach Sessions: eFiling of America Invents Act Trials and Proposed Future Needs

PURPOSE:

To obtain qualitative feedback from the public to support electronic filing in trial proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

This information will be used to aid the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) efforts in modernizing the electronic filing options, particularly the new trials created in the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), Pub. L. 112-29 (2011).

Information collected from customers will assist the USPTO in designing a system that comprehensively considers all customer concerns and will support efforts to enhance customer delivery and performance cycle time.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Any stakeholder who has an interest in the filing of AIA trials with PTAB.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

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

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

[X] Focus Group [ ] Other: ______________________

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.

Name:_ Ketki Dhanesha______________________________

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? [x ] Yes [ ] 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	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
External USPTO Stakeholders	40	2 hrs	80 hrs
Totals	40	2 hrs	80 hrs

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government $5,597.

The USPTO is estimating that it will conduct five outreach sessions of eight persons. The USPTO estimates that a GS-12 step 1 employee will conduct the outreach sessions and process the information and that it will take an estimated 120 hours to accomplish these activities.

The hourly rate for a GS-12 step 1 is currently $35.88 according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management wage chart including locality pay for the Washington, D.C. area. When 30% is added to account for a fully loaded hourly rate (benefits and overhead), the rate per hour for a GS-12, step 1 is $46.64. ($35.88 + $10.76 = $46.64)

(120 hours x $46.64 = $5,596.80)

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? [x] Yes [ ] 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?

Outreach session respondents will consist of volunteers who enroll as an outreach session participant. The agency will post a request for participants to the agency web site. The Volunteer form will be posted on the same agency web site. A cross-sampling of volunteers will be selected so as to most closely represent all stakeholders (i.e., large filers, small filers, independent inventors, a wide range of age groups, education levels and those with paper or electronic format preferences)

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? [ x] Yes [ ] No

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

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