[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 54 (Wednesday, March 21, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13255-13256]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-5137]


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UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has submitted 
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance the 
following proposal for collection of

[[Page 13256]]

information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. Chapter 35).
    Agency: United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
    Title: Electronic Response to Office Action and Preliminary 
Amendment Forms.
    Form Number(s): PTO Forms 1930, 1957, 1966.
    Agency Approval Number: 0651-0050.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden: 25,653 hours annually.
    Number of Respondents: 150,900 responses per year.
    Avg. Hours per Response: The time needed to respond to the request 
for reconsideration form is estimated to be 10 minutes (0.17 hours). 
This includes time to gather the necessary information, create the 
documents, and submit the completed request.
    Needs and Uses: This collection is being submitted as a proposed 
addition in support of a notice of proposed rulemaking, ``Changes in 
the Requirements for Filing Requests for Reconsideration of Final 
Office Action in Trademark Cases'' (RIN 0651-AC05). The USPTO proposes 
to amend 37 CFR 2.64 to require a request for reconsideration of an 
examining attorney's final refusal or requirement to be filed through 
the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) within three months 
of the mailing date of the final action.
    This rulemaking would add an additional requirement to this 
collection, a Request for Reconsideration after Final Action (Form 
1930). The amendment to 37 CFR 2.64 would streamline and promote 
efficiency in the process once a final action has issued in an 
application for Trademark registration. By setting a three-month period 
in which to file a request for reconsideration of the final action, and 
by requiring that the request be filed through TEAS, the proposed 
amendment would facilitate the likely disposition of an applicant's 
request for reconsideration prior to the six-month deadline for filing 
an appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) or petition to 
the Director on the same final action. This practice may eliminate the 
need for some appeals or petitions, and reduces the need for remands 
and transfers of applications on appeal.
    The proposed earlier deadline and mandatory TEAS filing facilitate 
the likely disposition of the request for reconsideration prior to the 
deadline to petition or appeal. A grant of reconsideration within this 
timeframe will obviate the need for an applicant to file an appeal or 
petition, thus also saving the applicant the filing fee for an appeal 
or petition. A denial of reconsideration within this timeframe will 
obviate the need for a case on appeal to be remanded and transferred 
between the TTAB and the examining attorney. Under either scenario, the 
timeframe in the proposed rule promotes more efficient and prompt 
handling of the case, and achieves benefits both for the applicant and 
the USPTO.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; business or other for-
profit; not-for-profit institutions.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
    OMB Desk Officer: David Rostker, (202) 395-3897.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-0050 copy 
request'' 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, Architecture, Engineering and Technical Services, 
Data Architecture and Services Division, U.S. Patent and Trademark 
Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent on or before April 20, 2007 to David Rostker, 
OMB Desk Officer, Room 10202, New Executive Office Building, 
Washington, DC 20503.

    Dated: March 15, 2007.
Susan K. Brown,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer, 
Architecture, Engineering and Technical Services, Data Architecture and 
Services Division.
 [FR Doc. E7-5137 Filed 3-20-07; 8:45 am]
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