[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 9, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1649-1650]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-594]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

United States Patent and Trademark Office

RIN 0651-AB30


Establishment of a Database Containing the Official Insignia of 
Federally Recognized Native American Tribes

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is 
proposing to create and maintain a database of the official insignia of 
federally and state-recognized Native American tribes. The USPTO seeks 
comments on its proposed method for creating and maintaining this 
database.

DATES: Comment Deadline Date: To ensure consideration, written comments 
must be received on or before February 8, 2001. No public hearing will 
be held.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent by electronic mail message over the 
Internet addressed to: [email protected]. Comments may also be 
submitted by mail addressed to: Box Comments--Trademarks, Commissioner 
for Trademarks, Washington, DC 20231; or by facsimile to (703) 308-
9285, marked to the attention of Ari Leifman.
    The comments will be available for public inspection at the Office 
of the Commissioner for Trademarks, 2900 Crystal Drive, Room 10B10, 
Arlington, Virginia, 22202 and will be posted at the USPTO's web site 
(address: http://www.uspto.gov). All comments will be available for 
public inspection.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ari Leifman by telephone at (703) 308-
8900, or by mail addressed to: Box Comment Trademarks, Commissioner for 
Trademarks, Washington, DC 20231, or by facsimile to (703) 872-9285, 
marked to the attention of Ari Leifman.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Trademark Law Treaty Implementation Act, 
Pub. L. 105-330, Sec. 302, 112 Stat. 3071 (1998) required the USPTO to 
study issues surrounding the protection of the official insignia of 
federally and state-recognized Native American tribes. The study was 
conducted, and a report was presented to the Chairman of the Committee 
on the Judiciary of the Senate and to the Chairman of the Committee on 
the Judiciary of the House of Representatives on November 30, 1999.
    One of the recommendations in the report was that the USPTO create 
and maintain an accurate and comprehensive database of the official 
insignia of Native American tribes.
    The USPTO proposes to create such a database and seeks comments on 
the proposed method. If the comments received include a suggestion for 
a better method for creating and maintaining the database, the USPTO 
will publish a proposal describing this method and requesting further 
comments. Otherwise, the USPTO will publish an announcement that 
finalizes the procedures described in the present notice.

Proposed Procedures

    All requests to enter an official insignia of a Native American 
tribe into the USPTO database must be in writing, addressed to the 
Commissioner for Trademarks, and must include the following:
    (1) A depiction of the insignia. If the insignia consists of a 
word, this word should be typed in upper-case letters. If the insignia 
consists of a design, or a combination of a word or words and a design, 
the depiction of the insignia should not be larger than 4 inches by 4 
inches (10.3 cm. by 10.3 cm.). The depiction of the insignia should be 
placed at or near the center of a sheet of white paper 8 to 8\1/2\ 
inches (20.3 to 21.6 cm.) wide and 11 inches (27.9 cm.) long. The paper 
should have a heading that includes the name of the tribe and the 
address for correspondence.
    (2) A copy of the tribal resolution adopting the insignia in 
question as the official insignia of the tribe;
    (3) A statement, signed by an official with authority to bind the 
tribe, confirming that the insignia included with the request is 
identical to the official insignia adopted by tribal resolution; and
    (4) For all entities not recognized as Native American tribes by 
the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), either (a) a document issued by a 
state official that evidences the state's determination that the entity 
is a Native American tribe, or (b) a citation to a state statute that 
designates the entity as a Native American tribe.
    The request should be sent by facsimile to (703) 872-9192, or 
mailed to a United States Postal Service mailbox that the Office will 
identify at a later date.
    The USPTO will record any official insignia of a Native American 
tribe submitted in the above manner, if the Commissioner determines 
that the entity that submitted the request is a Native American tribe 
recognized by the Federal Government or by one or more state 
governments.
    The Commissioner will determine whether or not the entity that 
submitted the request is a federally recognized Native American tribe 
by consulting the list of Native American tribes maintained by the BIA.
    If an entity that seeks recordal of its insignia wishes to 
demonstrate that it is a state-recognized Native American tribe rather 
than a federally recognized Native American tribe, that entity must 
provide the Commissioner with either (1) a document issued by a state 
official that evidences the state's determination that the entity is a 
Native American tribe, or (2) a citation to a state statute that 
designates the entity as a Native American tribe.

[[Page 1650]]

Legal Significance of Recordal

    The recordal of an official insignia of a Native American tribe at 
the USPTO will not be the equivalent of registering that insignia as a 
trademark pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 1051 et seq. Thus, including an 
insignia in the USPTO's database would not create any legal presumption 
of validity or priority, and none of the benefits of trademark 
registration will accrue to a Native American tribe whose insignia may 
be recorded pursuant to this notice.
    Acceptance of the insignia for recordal will not be a determination 
as to whether a particular insignia for which recordal has been 
requested would be refused registration as a trademark pursuant to 15 
U.S.C. 1051 et seq., or to some provision of Chapter 37 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations, or to any requirement of the USPTO.
    The USPTO will use the official insignia recorded by the USPTO as 
information useful in the examination of certain applications for 
registration of trademarks and as evidence of what a federally or 
state-recognized tribe considers to be its official insignia.
    The database of official insignia of Native American tribes will be 
included, for informational purposes, within the USPTO's database of 
material that is not registered but is searched to make determinations 
regarding the registrability of marks. This database is available at 
the USPTO's web site. Inclusion of official insignia in this database 
will ensure that an examining attorney, who is searching a mark that is 
confusingly similar to an official insignia will find and consider the 
official insignia before making a determination of registrability.
    For correspondence pertaining to the database of official insignia 
of Native American tribes, the Under Secretary of Commerce for 
Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and 
Trademark Office has waived the requirement of 37 CFR 1.1 that all 
correspondence intended for the United States Patent and Trademark 
Office be mailed to one of the addresses identified in 37 CFR 1.1.
    The Office has determined that the proposed establishment of the 
database has no federalism implications affecting the relationship 
between the National Government and the State as outlined in Executive 
Order 12612. The proposed database conforms with Executive Order 12612.

    Dated: December 21, 2000.
Q. Todd Dickinson,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 01-594 Filed 1-8-01; 8:45 am]
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