[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 235 (Thursday, December 8, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72990-72991]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-7037]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office


Electronic Response to Office Action and Preliminary Amendment 
Forms

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 
continuing and proposed information collection, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Pub. L. 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before February 6, 
2006.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
    E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-0050 comment'' in the 
subject line of the message.
    Fax: 571-273-0112, 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 Sharon Marsh, Deputy 
Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy, Office of the 
Commissioner for Trademarks, United States Patent and Trademark Office 
(USPTO), P.O. Box 1451, Alexandria, VA 22313-1451, by telephone at 571-
272-8900, or by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    Pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 1051 et. seq and Chapter 37 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations, the United States Patent and Trademark Office 
(USPTO) issues Office Actions to applicants that have applied for a 
trademark application requesting additional information that is 
required before the issuance of a registration that was not provided 
with the initial submission of the application. Also, the USPTO may 
determine that the mark may not be entitled to registration, pursuant 
to one or more provisions of the Act. In such cases, the USPTO may 
issue Office Actions advising applicants of the refusal to register the 
mark. Applicants reply to these Office Actions by providing the 
required information and/or by putting forth legal arguments as to why 
the refusal of registration should be withdrawn.
    Additionally, applicants may supplement their applications by 
providing additional information voluntarily. When such information is 
provided before the USPTO has reviewed the application, the submission 
is in the nature of a Preliminary Amendment.
    The forms in this collection are available only in electronic 
format through the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS). The 
Response to Office Action form may be used to reply to an Office Action 
that was issued in connection with either an application for 
registration or after the submission of a Statement of Use.

II. Method of Collection

    By electronic transmission.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0050.
    Form Number(s): PTO Forms 1957 and 1966.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other 
non-profit; not-for-profit institutions; farms; the Federal Government; 
and state, local or tribal government.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 109,152 responses per year.
    Estimated Time Per Response: The USPTO estimates that the public 
will require approximately 10 minutes (0.17 hours) to supply the 
information requested in the Office Action, and approximately 10 
minutes (0.17 hours) to supply the information for the Preliminary 
Amendment. Completion times may vary, depending upon the nature and 
amount of information requested in a particular Office Action.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 18,555 burden hours 
per year.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $5,306,730. Using 
the professional hourly rate of $286 for associate attorneys in private 
firms, the USPTO estimates $5,306,730 per year for salary costs 
associated with respondents. However, it is noted that a respondent is 
not required to retain an attorney to assist in responding to an Office 
Action. This collection contains two electronic forms.

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                                                                                     Estimated       Estimated
                     Item                          Estimated time for response        annual      annual  burden
                                                                                     responses         hours
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Response to an Action Form....................  10 minutes......................         100,155          17,026
Preliminary Amendment.........................  10 minutes......................           8,997           1,529
                                               -----------------------------------
    Total.....................................  ................................         109,152          18,555
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    Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden: $0. There 
are no maintenance costs associated with this information collection. 
Capital start-up costs of $900 reported in the collection approved by 
OMB on April 18, 2003 are being deleted. The USPTO no longer reports 
the cost of purchasing scanners and digital cameras as part of the 
capital start-up costs of a collection, so the $900 is being deleted 
from the inventory. There are no filing fees or postage costs 
associated with either a Response to Office Action or a Preliminary 
Amendment. However, filing fees that were incurred but not paid when 
another document was submitted may be provided together

[[Page 72991]]

with Responses to Office Actions or Preliminary Amendment. The USPTO 
calculates these fees as part of another collection.

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 also will become a matter of public record.

     Dated: December 1, 2005.
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. E5-7037 Filed 12-7-05; 8:45 am]
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