[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 2 (Tuesday, January 4, 1994)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 236-237]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-1021]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: January 4, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office

37 CFR Part 2

[Docket No. 930508-3327]
RIN 0651-AA61

 

Revision of Trademark Fees

AGENCY: Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) is amending the rules of 
practice in trademark cases. The PTO is announcing that the fee for 
filing a trademark application is $245, in accordance with the 
applicable provisions of the Patent and Trademark Office Authorization 
Act of 1993. No other fees will be affected by this rulemaking.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 3, 1993.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Robert Kopson by telephone at (703) 305-8510 or by mail marked to his 
attention and addressed to the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, 
Washington, DC 20231.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule change adjusts the fee for filing 
a trademark application in accordance with the provisions of Public Law 
103-179. The trademark fee increase is required to address long-term 
funding needs of the trademark functions of the PTO which cannot be 
satisfied with the current fee structure.

Statutory Provisions

    Section 31 of the Trademark (Lanham) Act of 1946, as amended (15 
U.S.C. 1113), authorizes the Commissioner to establish fees for the 
filing and processing of an application for the registration of a 
trademark or other mark, and for all other services and materials 
furnished by the PTO relating to trademarks and other marks.
    Public Law 103-179 established the fee for filing a trademark 
application at $245 per class. Public Law 103-179 took effect on 
December 3, 1993.

Recovery Level Determinations

    The existing fee schedule, along with the adjustment to the 
trademark application fee, will recover $518,692,000 in fiscal year 
1994, of which $4,830,000 is attributable to the increase in the 
trademark application fee. The enacted 1994 budget is $504,021,000. An 
additional $14,671,000 of patent statutory fees will be collected in 
1994 and will be deposited to the Fee Surcharge Fund.
    Patent statutory fees are subject to the provisions of the Omnibus 
Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, as amended by Public Law 102-204. Of 
the total amount of income expected to be collected in 1994 under 35 
U.S.C. 41 (a) and (b), $103,000,000 must be deposited to the Fee 
Surcharge Fund for deficit reduction purposes in lieu of seeking 
general taxpayer funds from the U.S. Treasury. The $103,000,000 is 
deposited in a special account in the U.S. Treasury, reserved 
exclusively for use by the PTO, and is made available to the PTO 
through the appropriation process. For 1994, the Congress appropriated 
$88,329,000 from the Fee Surcharge Fund.

General Procedures

    There will be a grace period of 60 days, beginning December 3, 
1993, and ending January 31, 1994. During the grace period, any party 
who submits a trademark application, which is otherwise sufficient, 
with a fee of at least $210, but less than $245, will be notified of 
the fee deficiency and permitted to supplement it within a 30-day 
period set by the notice of the insufficient fee. If the applicant 
submits the amount by which the fee is deficient within the 30-day 
period, the application will retain its original filing date. If the 
amount by which the fee is deficient is not submitted within 30 days, 
the application papers and fee will be returned to the applicant. Any 
trademark application submitted after January 31, 1994 with a deficient 
fee payment will be returned to the applicant.

Discussion of Specific Rules

37 CFR 2.6 Trademark fees

    Section 2.6, subparagraph (a)(1), is revised to adjust the fee 
authorized by the Trademark (Lanham) Act of 1946 in accordance with the 
provisions of Public Law 103-179.

Other Considerations

    This rule change is in conformity with the requirements of 
Executive Order 12612, and the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, 44 
U.S.C. 3501, et seq. There are no information collection requirements 
relating to patent and trademark fee rules.
    This regulation was reviewed by the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget under 
Executive Order 12866.
    The PTO has determined that this rule change has no Federalism 
implications affecting the relationship between the National Government 
and the States as outlined in Executive Order 12612.
    Notice and opportunity for comment are unnecessary under 5 U.S.C. 
553(6)(b) because this rule change merely restates a Congressionally-
mandated fee change. Because notice of proposed rulemaking is not 
required for this rule, the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et 
seq.) does not apply.
    The PTO published a notice of proposed rulemaking on July 21, 1993, 
(58 FR 39102) to increase the trademark fee to $245 based on pending 
legislation that would have given PTO the authority to raise trademark 
fees in excess of the Consumer Price Index. The legislation as passed 
(Pub. L. 103-179) simply increased the trademark application filing fee 
to $245 effective the date of enactment.

List of Subjects in 37 CFR Part 2

    Administrative practice and procedure, Courts, Lawyers, Trademarks.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the PTO is amending 
title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter I, as set forth 
below.

PART 2--RULES OF PRACTICE IN TRADEMARK CASES

    1. The authority citation for part 2 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1123; 35 U.S.C. 6, unless otherwise noted.

    2. Section 2.6 is amended by revising paragraph (a)(1) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 2.6    Trademark fees.

* * * * *
    (a) Trademark process fees.
    (1) For filing an application, per class: $245.00.
* * * * *
    Dated: December 23, 1993.
Bruce A. Lehman,
Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Patents and 
Trademarks.
[FR Doc. 94-1021 Filed 1-3-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-M