[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 138 (Tuesday, July 20, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43395-43398]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-16415]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office


Trademark Processing

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.

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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part 
of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, 
invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on the 
submission of a revision of a currently approved collection, as 
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before September 20, 
2004.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-0009 
comment'' in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: 703-308-7407, marked to the attention of Susan Brown.
     Mail: Susan K. Brown, Records Officer, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer, Office of Data Architecture and Services, Data 
Administration Division, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 
1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to the attention of Ari Leifman, Staff Attorney, 
Office of the Commissioner for Trademarks, United States Patent and 
Trademark Office (USPTO), Washington, DC 20231, by telephone at 703-
308-8900 (ext. 155), or by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) administers 
the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. 1051 et seq., which provides for the 
Federal registration of trademarks, service marks, collective 
trademarks and service marks, collective membership marks, and 
certification marks. Individuals and businesses who use their marks, or 
intend to use their marks, in commerce regulable by Congress, may file 
an application with the USPTO to register their marks. These 
individuals and businesses may also submit various communications to 
the USPTO, including requests to amend their applications to delete an 
originally-identified statutory filing basis, such as the ``intent to 
use'' basis. Registered marks remain on the register for ten years. 
However, the registrations are canceled unless the owner files an 
affidavit with the USPTO attesting to the continued use (or excusable 
non-use) of the mark in commerce. The applicant may withdraw his or her 
application. If an application becomes abandoned, the owner may 
petition the USPTO to revive the abandoned application. The 
registration may be renewed for periods of ten years.
    The rules implementing the Act are set forth in 37 CFR Part 2. 
These rules mandate that each register entry include the mark, the 
goods and/or services in connection with which the mark is used, 
ownership information, dates of use, and certain other information. The 
USPTO also provides similar information concerning pending 
applications. The register and pending application information may be 
accessed by an individual or by businesses, to determine availability 
of a mark. By accessing the USPTO's information, parties may reduce the 
possibility of initiating use of a mark previously adopted by another. 
The Federal trademark registration process may lessen the filing of 
papers in court and between parties.

[[Page 43396]]

    The trademark rules set forth in 37 CFR Part 2 provide for the 
appointment of attorneys of record to represent applicants in the 
application process. Likewise, these rules also provide for the 
revocation of an attorney's appointment, and the rules allow an 
attorney to request permission to withdraw from representation. 
Additionally, the rules allow applicants to change their addresses.
    The trademark rules allow applicants who do not wish to pursue 
their applications to request that their applications be abandoned. 
Additionally, the rules allow applicants whose applications became 
abandoned by operation of law to petition to revive these applications. 
Finally, the rules also allow applicants to request that their 
applications be amended to delete a particular statutory filing basis, 
namely the ``intent to use'' basis.
    Applicants can submit the majority of the trademark applications, 
petitions, requests, and other associated papers electronically through 
the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS). The USPTO is taking 
this opportunity to obtain approval from OMB to add seven new 
electronic forms into the currently approved collection of 677,151 
responses, 144,587 burden hours, and $147,134,656 in annualized (non-
hour) costs. The approval for the current information collection 
expires in June of 2005.
    The seven new TEAS forms under development are as follows:
     Petition to Revive Abandoned Application--Failure to 
Respond Timely to Office Action (Form 2194): currently approved 
collection of information; new electronic form.
     Petition to Revive Abandoned Application--Failure to File 
Timely Statement of Use or Extension Request (Form 2195): currently 
approved collection of information; new electronic form.
     Revocation of Power of Attorney and/or Appointment of 
Attorney (Form 2196): appointment of attorney is currently approved and 
the USPTO is expanding this approval to include the revocation of power 
of attorney; new electronic form.
     Request to Delete Section 1(b) Basis, Intent to Use (Form 
2200): addition of existing collection of information; new electronic 
form.
     Change of Owner's Address Form (Form 2197): addition of 
existing collection of information; new electronic form.
     Request for Permission to Withdraw as Attorney of Record 
(Form 2201): addition of existing collection of information; new 
electronic form.
     Request for Express Abandonment (Withdrawal) of 
Application (Form 2202): addition of existing collection of 
information; new electronic form.

II. Method of Collection

    Electronically if applicants submit the information using the forms 
available through TEAS. By mail or hand delivery if applicants chose to 
submit the information in paper form.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0009.
    Form Number(s): PTO Forms 2194, 2195, 2196, 2197, 2200, 2201, and 
2202.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Primarily business or other for-profit 
organizations, but also individuals or households; not-for-profit 
institutions; farms, Federal Government; and state, local or tribal 
Government.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 762,701 responses. Of this total, 
216,680 responses are related to new electronic forms added to this 
collection. The USPTO estimates that 4,400 each of the petitions to 
revive; 550 of requests to delete section 1(b) from an intent to use 
application; 89,901 of the revocations/appointment of attorney; 70,000 
of the change of owner's address forms; 1,500 of requests to withdraw 
as the attorney of record; and 3,600 express abandonments of an 
application will be submitted electronically through TEAS per year. The 
USPTO estimates that the remaining 1,900 of the petitions to revive and 
38,529 of the revocations and appointments of attorney will be mailed 
to the USPTO per year. The 216,680 responses being added to this 
collection adjusts the number of responses for the mailed petitions to 
revive and powers of attorney that are already covered in the currently 
approved collection. Currently, the USPTO estimates that 3,200 
petitions to revive abandoned applications and 127,930 appointments of 
attorney are mailed to the USPTO. The USPTO estimates an increase in 
the total number of submissions for the petitions to revive abandoned 
applications from 3,200 to 12,600 responses per year and an increase in 
the total number of submissions for powers of attorney (now expanded to 
include a previously overlooked collection) from 127,930 to 128,430 
responses per year. The addition of new electronic forms to this 
collection backs out the 131,130 responses for the petitions to revive 
and powers of attorney from the currently approved total of 677,151 
responses for this collection, and adds 216,680 responses, for a new 
total of 762,701 responses for this collection.
    Estimated Time Per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
approximately 3 minutes (0.05 hours) to 12 minutes (0.20 hours) to 
complete these petitions, requests, and forms. The USPTO believes that 
it takes approximately 3 minutes (0.05 hours) to complete the requests 
for deletion of the section 1(b) basis, change of owner's address form, 
and the express abandonment of the application electronically through 
TEAS. The USPTO estimates that it takes approximately 5 minutes (0.08 
hours) to complete the petitions to revive and the revocation and 
appointment of attorneys and 12 minutes (0.20 hours) to complete the 
withdrawals as the attorney of record and submit them electronically 
through TEAS. The USPTO estimates that it takes 6 minutes (0.10 hours) 
to complete the revocation and appointment of attorney and 12 minutes 
(0.20 hours) to complete the petitions to revive and mail them to the 
USPTO. This includes the time to gather the information, prepare the 
petitions, requests, and other associated forms, and submit them to the 
USPTO.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 154,483 burden 
hours. Of this total, 16,517 burden hours are related to the addition 
of the new electronic forms into this collection. The 16,517 burden 
hours being added to this collection adjusts the hours for the mailed 
petitions to revive and power of attorney that are already covered in 
the currently approved collection. Currently, the USPTO estimates 
burdens of 224 and 6,397 hours for the petitions to revive and powers 
of attorney, respectively. Burden hours for the petitions to revive 
will increase from 224 to 1,464 hours per year. Burden hours for the 
revocation/appointment of attorney will increase from 6,397 to 11,045 
hours per year. The addition of the new electronic forms and inclusion 
of previously overlooked collections of information adds an additional 
16,517 hours. Backing out the 6,621 hours for the mailed petitions to 
revive and the powers of attorney from the currently approved total of 
144,587 hours amounts to a new total of 154,483 hours for this 
collection.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $39,491,294 total 
respondent cost burden. Of this total, $4,723,862 is associated with 
the new electronic forms that the USPTO is adding into the collection. 
The USPTO is using the American Intellectual Property Law Association 
hourly rate of $286 for associate attorneys to calculate the respondent 
cost. The hourly rates for completing petitions to revive an abandoned 
application and the powers

[[Page 43397]]

of attorney forms (which are covered in the currently approved 
collection), have been adjusted to the current professional hourly rate 
of $286 for associate attorneys. The respondent costs of $4,723,862 
being added to this collection adjusts the respondent cost burden for 
the petitions to revive an abandoned application and the power of 
attorney from $56,448.00 to $418,704 and from $1,612,044 to $3,158,870, 
respectively. The addition of the new electronic forms adds $4,723,862 
in respondent costs to this collection. The USPTO will revise the 
currently approved respondent costs by subtracting $1,668,492 in 
respondent costs from the currently approved total of $36,435,924 in 
order to reflect the new estimate. This results in a new total of 
$39,491,294 in respondent cost burden estimates for this collection.

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                                                                Estimated time     Estimated        Estimated
                             Item                                for response        annual       annual burden
                                                                  (minutes)        responses          hours
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Petition to Revive Abandoned Application--Failure to Respond                12            1,900              380
 Timely to Office Action--No Form Associated.................
Petition to Revive Abandoned Application--Failure to File                   12            1,900              380
 Timely Statement of Use or Extension Request--No Form
 Associated..................................................
Electronic Form Petition To Revive Abandoned Application--                   5            4,400              352
 Failure to Respond Timely to Office Action..................
Electronic Form Petition to Revive Abandoned Application--                   5            4,400              352
 Failure to File Timely Statement of Use or Extension Request
Electronic Form Request to Delete Section 1(b) Basis, Intent                 3              550               28
 to Use......................................................
Revocation of Power of Attorney and/or Appointment of                        6           38,529            3,853
 Attorney (Power of Attorney)--No Form Associated............
Electronic Form Revocation of Power of Attorney and/or                       5           89,901            7,192
 Appointment of Attorney (Power of Attorney).................
Electronic Form Change of Owner's Address Form...............                3           70,000            3,500
Electronic Form Request for Permission to Withdraw as                       12            1,500              300
 Attorney of Record..........................................
Electronic Form Request for Express Abandonment (Withdrawal)                 3            3,600              180
 of Application..............................................
                                                              ------------------
    Totals...................................................  ...............          216,680           16,517
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    Estimated Total Annual Non-Hour Respondent Cost Burden: 
$148,101,566. Of this total, $1,286,910 is related to postage costs for 
the mailed petitions and appointments of attorney ($26,910) and filing 
fees related to the addition of electronic forms for the petitions to 
revive ($1,260,000). This collection has no operation or maintenance 
costs.
    Customers incur postage costs when submitting non-electronic 
information to the USPTO by mail through the United States Postal 
Service. The USPTO does not maintain statistics on the percentage of 
submissions per manner of submission. However, the USPTO estimates that 
a large majority of submissions for these forms are made via first 
class mail. For purposes of this request, the USPTO is estimating that 
approximately 98% are mailed to the USPTO by first class mail and the 
other 2% are mailed by Express Mail. First class postage is 37 cents 
and the Express Mail service typically costs $13.65. For the petitions 
to revive abandoned applications, the USPTO estimates that 
approximately 3,724 are mailed to the USPTO by first class mail and 2% 
or approximately 76 are mailed by Express Mail. For the revocation of 
power of attorney and/or appointment of attorney, the USPTO estimates 
that approximately 37,758 are mailed to the USPTO by first class mail 
and 2% or approximately 771 are mailed by Express Mail. Therefore, a 
total estimated mailing cost of $26,910 is incurred.

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                                                                Responses (yr)   Postage costs   Total cost (yr)
                             Item                                    (a)              (b)            (a x b)
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Petition to Revive Abandoned Application--Failure to Respond             1,862             $.37          $689.00
 Timely to Office Action--First Class Mail...................
Petition to Revive Abandoned Application--Failure to Respond                38            13.65           519.00
 Timely to Office Action--Express Mail or Courier Service....
Petition to Revive Abandoned Application--Failure to File                1,862              .37           689.00
 Timely Statement of Use or Extension Request--First Class
 Mail........................................................
Petition to Revive Abandoned Application--Failure to File                   38            13.65           519.00
 Timely Statement of Use or Extension Request--Express Mail
 or Courier Service..........................................
Revocation of Power of Attorney and/or Appointment of                   37,758              .37        13,970.00
 Attorney (Power of Attorney)--First Class Mail..............
Revocation of Power of Attorney and/or Appointment of                      771            13.65        10,524.00
 Attorney (Power of Attorney)--Express Mail or Courier
 Service.....................................................
                                                              ------------------
    Totals...................................................           42,329  ...............        26,910.00
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    Filing fees of $1,260,000 are associated with petitions to revive 
abandoned applications; there are no fees associated with the other 
forms under development. The approval of this inclusion of the new TEAS 
forms will adjust the filing fee costs associated with the petitions 
from the currently approved $320,000 to $1,260,000. The USPTO would 
delete $320,000 in filing fees for the petitions to revive from the 
currently approved fees of $145,980,100 for this information collection 
and add adjusted fees of $1,260,000 for the petitions to revive, for a 
new adjusted total of $146,920,100 in filing fees for this collection.

[[Page 43398]]



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                                                                Responses (yr)                   Total cost (yr)
                             Item                                    (a)        Filing fees (b)      (a x b)
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Petition to Revive Abandoned Application--Failure to Respond             1,900          $100.00      $190,000.00
 Timely to Office Action.....................................
Petition to Revive Abandoned Application--Failure to File                1,900           100.00       190,000.00
 Timely Statement of Use or Extension Request................
Electronic Petition to Revive Abandoned Application--Failure             4,400           100.00       440,000.00
 to Respond Timely to Office Action..........................
Electronic Petition to Revive Abandoned Application--Failure             4,400           100.00       440,000.00
 to File Timely Statement of Use or Extension Request........
Request to Delete Section 1(b) Basis, Intent to Use..........              550             0.00             0.00
Revocation of Power of Attorney and/or Appointment of                      150             0.00             0.00
 Attorney (Power of Attorney)................................
Electronic Revocation of Power of Attorney and/or Appointment              350             0.00             0.00
 of Attorney (Power of Attorney).............................
Change of Owner's Address Form...............................           70,000             0.00             0.00
Request for Permission to Withdraw as Attorney of Record.....            1,500             0.00             0.00
Request for Express Abandonment (Withdrawal) of Application..            3,600             0.00             0.00
                                                              ------------------
    Totals...................................................           88,750  ...............     1,260,000.00
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IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, e.g., the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized or 
included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they will also become a matter of public record.

    Dated: July 14, 2004.
Susan K. Brown,
Records Officer, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer, Office of Data Architecture and Services, Data 
Administration Division.
[FR Doc. 04-16415 Filed 7-19-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P