[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 193 (Wednesday, October 6, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59809-59810]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-22365]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office

37 CFR Part 2

[Docket No. 2004-T-046]
RIN 0651-AB82


Waiver of Pixel Requirement for Drawings Filed Electronically

AGENCY: Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.

[[Page 59810]]


ACTIONS: Waiver of rule requiring certain specified pixel count for 
drawings submitted electronically.

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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (``Office'') is 
waiving the requirement that drawings filed through the Trademark 
Electronic Application System (``TEAS'') have a length and width of no 
less than 250 pixels and no more than 944 pixels.

DATES: Applicability Date: The requirement of 37 CFR 2.53(c) are hereby 
waived as of October 6, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cheryl L. Black, Office of the 
Commissioner for Trademarks, by telephone at (703) 308-8910, ext. 153, 
or by e-mail to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    A final rule amending the Trademark Rules of Practice was published 
on September 26, 2003, at 68 FR 55748. The purpose of the final rule 
was to clarify and improve the procedures for processing trademark 
applications, and to implement the Madrid Protocol Implementation Act 
of 2002, Public Law 107-273, 116 Stat. 1758, 1913-1921 (``MPIA''), 
which provide a system for obtaining an international registration. The 
MPIA amended the Trademark Act of 1946 to implement the provisions of 
the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the 
International Registration of Marks (``Madrid Protocol''). The final 
rule added a new Sec.  2.53, setting forth the requirements for a 
drawing filed through TEAS. Section 2.53(c) provides as follows:
    (c) Requirements for digitized image: The image must be in .jpg 
format and scanned at no less than 300 dots per inch and no more than 
350 dots per inch with a length and width of no less than 250 pixels 
and no more than 944 pixels. All lines must be clean, sharp and solid, 
not fine or crowded, and produce a high quality image when copied.
    These requirements were deemed necessary to ensure that the 
Office's database contains a clear and accurate reproduction of the 
mark and meets the 8 cm by 8 cm size limit that is required for an 
international application under the Madrid Protocol.
    The Office has determined that it is not always necessary to have 
the pixel count required by the rule in order to produce a clear and 
accurate reproduction of a mark.

Partial Waiver of Sec.  2.53(c)

    Accordingly, until further notice, the Office hereby waives the 
requirement of Sec.  2.53(c) that drawings filed through TEAS must have 
a length and width of no less than 250 pixels and no more than 944 
pixels. Although the requirement is hereby waived, the Office 
encourages applicants to continue to submit drawings with a length and 
width of no less than 250 pixels and no more than 944 pixels.
    The other requirements of Sec.  2.53(c) remain in effect. That is, 
a drawing filed through TEAS must be in .jpg format and scanned at no 
less than 300 dots per inch and no more than 350 dots per inch. All 
lines must be clean, sharp and solid, not fine or crowded, and produce 
a high quality image when copied.

Other Considerations

    The change addressed in this rule is limited to waiving a 
requirement that drawings filed through TEAS have a length and width of 
no less than 250 pixels and no more than 944 pixels. This change 
involves rules of agency practice and procedure under 5 U.S.C. 
553(b)(A). Therefore, prior notice and opportunity for public comment, 
and thirty-day advance publication, are not required pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 553 (or any other law). As a result, a regulatory flexibility 
analysis under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is 
not required. See 5 U.S.C. 603.

    Dated: September 24, 2004.
Jon W. Dudas,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 04-22365 Filed 10-5-04; 8:45 am]
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