PTO-Next Generation Electronic Survey Regarding Fee Processing Systsem Access

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance

for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback”

OMB Control Number: 0690-0030

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Fee Process Next Generation Electronic Survey Regarding Fee Processing System Access

PURPOSE:

To obtain qualitative feedback and preferences from the public about accessing and using the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) fee processing system. The first rollout of the new fee processing system is scheduled for April 2015. This survey will help inform USPTO in how to communicate with customers about the rollout, determine what functionality is most important to customers, and what training/support they will need to transition their current payment methods.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Respondents will be fee paying USPTO customers who have previously volunteered to provide feedback and preferences about accessing and using the USPTO’s fee processing system

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 [ ] 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: Carol Stout________________________________________________

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

Personally Identifiable Information:

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

2. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [X] 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	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden Hours
Private Sector	300	20 minutes	100 hrs
Totals	300		100 hours

FEDERAL COST: The estimated one-time cost to the Federal government is $9838.32.

1. 1 support consultant 30 hours to create and update survey and 40 hours to translate the results into recommendations for functional and technical requirements (70 x $133.00 = $9,310.00)

2. 1 GS-14 project manager 8 hours to direct and assist with the results analysis and to respond to any specific customer inquiries about the purpose of the outreach, if necessary (8 x $66.04 = $528.32).

$66.04 per hour: The hourly rate for a GS-14 step 1 is currently $50.92 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-14, step 1 is $15.12 ($50.92 + $15.12 = $66.04)

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?

We have a list of approximately 450 volunteers from previous outreach efforts that have stated that they have experience paying fees to USPTO and have expressed interest in providing input into our efforts. This volunteer group includes Law Firm Attorney Practitioners, Legal Assistant or Administrators, In-House Counsel, Individual Pro Se Inventors or Applicants and Accounting or Finance Representatives. Since this survey does not require a statistical sample, we plan to email all of the volunteers and expect that approximately 300 will respond.

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

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

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

Survey will be conducted online using anonline surveying software such as Survey Monkey or Survey Gizmo.

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

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