From: Sergey Vernyuk Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2016 2:16 PM To: Fraser, Nicholas A. EOP/OMB Subject: 0651-0031 Comments Follow Up Flag: Follow up Flag Status: Flagged Dear Mr. Fraser, On July 26, 2016, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a 30-day notice that it will submit for clearance to the OMB the proposal for collection of information entitled Patent Processing (OMB Control No. 0651-0031). See 81 Fed. Reg. 48762. The last day to submit comments to the 30-day notice is tomorrow, August 25, 2016. The USPTO previously published the 60-day notice for this proposed collection on May 23, 2016. 81 Fed. Reg. 32298. I submitted some comments in response to the 60-day notice on May 31, and others submitted comments as well. When the USPTO submitted this proposed collection to the OIRA/OMB on July 28, 2016, it included a Supporting Statement dated July 31, 2016 (but uploaded July 27, 2016, according to reginfo.gov). In §8 of the Statement, the USPTO acknowledged the receipt of 5 public comments and stated that “[d]ue to the complicated nature of the comments, USPTO is preparing a separate submission of materials after the supporting statement is submitted to OMB. USPTO will address all of the public comments in that document.” As far as I can tell, the USPTO has not submitted to the OMB this “separate submission of materials” addressing the public comments as of today, and I therefore do not know how the USPTO has addressed my comments and recommendations. Therefore, I reincorporate and again submit the May 31 comments I submitted to the 60-day notice, which comments are included in the OIRA Agency Submission for this proposed collection. While I am affiliated with a firm, the comments represent my personal views. Thank you for your consideration. Please contact me if I can be of further assistance. Sergey Vernyuk Emerson Thomson Bennett, LLC telephone: 330-434-9999 email: sv@etblaw.com