Notice2026-22193
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; DOCX Submission Requirements
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
October 30, 2026
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentPatent and Trademark Office
Abstract
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (hereafter "USPTO" or "Agency") will submit the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. The USPTO invites comments on the information collection renewal of 0651-0089, which helps the USPTO assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the reporting burden to the public. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on April 27, 2026, during a 60-day comment period (91 FR 22526). This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 209 (Friday, October 30, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 209 (Friday, October 30, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68495-68496]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-22193]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; DOCX Submission Requirements
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (hereafter
``USPTO'' or ``Agency'') will submit the following information
collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. The USPTO
invites comments on the information collection renewal of 0651-0089,
which helps the USPTO assess the impact of its information collection
requirements and minimize the reporting burden to the public. Public
comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on April
27, 2026, during a 60-day comment period (91 FR 22526). This notice
allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
DATES: To ensure consideration, you must submit comments regarding this
information collection on or before November 30, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for this information
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of
this notice on the following website, <a href="https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Find this particular information collection by selecting
``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using
the search function and entering either the title of the information
collection or the OMB Control Number, 0651-0089. Do not submit
Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected
information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
<bullet> This information collection request may be viewed at
<a href="https://www.reginfo.gov">https://www.reginfo.gov</a>. Follow the instructions to view the Department
of Commerce, USPTO information collections currently under review by
OMB.
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7f361119100d121e0b1610113c1013131a1c0b1610113f0a0c0f0b1051181009"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="feb79098918c939f8a979190bd9192929b9d8a979190be8b8d8e8a91d0999188">[email protected]</span></a>. Include ``0651-
0089 information request'' in the subject line of the message.
<bullet> Mail: Justin Isaac, Office of the Chief Administrative
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450,
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
<bullet> Telephone: Raul Tamayo, Senior Legal Advisor, 571-272-
7728.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: DOCX Submission Requirements.
OMB Control Number: 0651-0089.
Abstract: The fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.16(u) became effective
January 17, 2024, and is due for any application filed under 35 U.S.C.
111 for an original patent--except design, plant, or provisional
applications--where the specification, claims, and/or abstract do not
conform to the USPTO requirements for submission in the DOCX format.
Therefore, the fee is due for nonprovisional utility applications filed
under 35 U.S.C. 111, including continuing applications, that are not
filed in the DOCX format. See Setting and Adjusting Patent Fees During
Fiscal Year 2020, 85 FR 46932 (August 3, 2020).\1\
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\1\ <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-08-03/pdf/2020-16559.pdf">https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-08-03/pdf/2020-16559.pdf</a>.
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The USPTO continues to provide several resources to help applicants
submit their applications in the DOCX format. The Patent Center and
DOCX web pages contain many resources for applicants, such as FAQs and
a training mode through which applicants may file test submissions to
practice filing in DOCX.\2\ The USPTO also provides a Patent Center
User Guide \3\ and a DOCX Intake in Patent Center Quick Start Guide \4\
to assist applicants in navigating the Patent Center system. The USPTO
also provides free training sessions and videos demonstrating how to
file DOCX documents in Patent Center.\5\ For one-on-one assistance, the
USPTO's Patent Center Help Desk provides step-by-step guidance for
submitting applications to the USPTO.
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\2\ <a href="https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center">https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center</a>.
\3\ <a href="https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Patent_Center_User_Guide_November_2023.pdf">https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Patent_Center_User_Guide_November_2023.pdf</a>.
\4\ <a href="https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/DOCX_QSG_Final.pdf">https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/DOCX_QSG_Final.pdf</a>.
\5\ <a href="https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/events/patents-docx-filing">https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/events/patents-docx-filing</a>.
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The items in this information collection relate solely to the
impacts of the Sec. 1.16(u) non-DOCX filing surcharge fee on the
filing of nonprovisional utility applications under 35 U.S.C. 111,
including continuing applications. In particular, this information
collection accounts for the Sec. 1.16(u) non-DOCX filing surcharge fee
itself, as well as an additional 30 minutes of time to
[[Page 68496]]
accommodate (i) extra review that some respondents might undertake when
filing in the DOCX format and (ii) submissions of the back-up
applicant-generated PDF that some respondents will opt to submit.
The estimated volumes for the items in this information collection
are based on the estimates for the corresponding nonprovisional utility
applications filed under 35 U.S.C. 111, including continuing
applications, that are covered under another OMB clearance 0651-0032
(Initial Patent Applications). Respondents for the items in this
information collection will either take an extra 0.50 hours (30
minutes) to file their applications in DOCX format or they will pay the
non-DOCX surcharge but will not do both.
Forms: None.
Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved
information collection.
Affected Public: Private sector.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
Frequency: On occasion.
Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 364,999 respondents
(including 27,156 respondents from filing fees).
Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 364,999 responses (including
27,156 responses from filing fees).
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses
in this information collection will take the public approximately 30
minutes (0.50 hours) to complete. This includes the time to gather the
necessary information, create the document, and submit the completed
item to the USPTO.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 168,922 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden:
$8,472,290.
Justin Isaac,
Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2026-22193 Filed 10-29-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P
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