[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 182 (Thursday, September 20, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53753-53754]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-18567]


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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 information 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 November 19, 
2007.

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 
Fawcett.
     Mail: Susan K. Fawcett, Records Officer, Office of the 
Chief Information Officer, Customer Information Services Group, Public 
Information Services Division, United States Patent and Trademark 
Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to Sharon Marsh, Deputy Commissioner for Trademark 
Examination Policy, Office of the Commissioner for Trademarks, United 
States Patent and Trademark Office, 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

    This collection of information is required by the Trademark Act, 15 
U.S.C. Section 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 that use or intend to use such marks in 
commerce may file an application to register their marks with the 
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In some cases, the 
USPTO may issue an Office Action to an applicant in order to request 
additional information that is required before a mark can be 
registered. The USPTO may also issue an Office Action to advise an 
applicant that a mark cannot be registered due to one or more 
provisions of the Trademark Act. Applicants may reply to these Office 
Actions by providing the required information or by putting forth legal 
arguments as to why the refusal of registration should be withdrawn.
    Applicants may also supplement their applications by providing 
additional information voluntarily. When such information is provided 
before the USPTO has reviewed the application, the applicant may submit 
the additional information in the form of a Preliminary Amendment.
    The forms in this collection are available in electronic format 
through the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), which may 
be accessed on the USPTO Web site. The USPTO is proposing to add two 
forms to this information collection, Post Publication Amendment (PTO-
1711) and Response to Suspension Inquiry or Letter of Suspension (PTO-
1822). Applicants may file a Post Publication Amendment in order to 
submit a proposed amendment to an application that has already been 
approved for publication by the examining attorney. If an applicant 
receives a Suspension Inquiry or Letter of Suspension from the USPTO, 
the applicant may use the proposed response form to file a reply. 
Applicants may submit the two proposed new forms to the USPTO 
electronically through TEAS or submit the required information for the 
amendment or response to the USPTO on paper. The USPTO does not provide 
official forms for these paper submissions.

II. Method of Collection

    By mail, facsimile, hand delivery, or electronic transmission.

[[Page 53754]]

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0050.
    Form Number(s): PTO-1771, PTO-1882, PTO-1930, PTO-1957 and PTO-
1966.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other 
for-profits; and not-for-profit institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 158,300 responses per year, 
including 1,800 responses per year for Post Publication Amendments and 
5,600 responses per year for the Response to Suspension Inquiry or 
Letter of Suspension.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the public 
will require approximately 10 to 18 minutes (0.17 to 0.30 hours) to 
supply the information requested in this collection. Completion times 
may vary, depending upon the nature and amount of information requested 
in a particular Office Action.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 27,240 hours, 
including 495 hours for Post Publication Amendments and 1,092 hours for 
the Response to Suspension Inquiry or Letter of Suspension.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $8,280,960. The 
USPTO expects that the information in this collection will primarily be 
prepared by attorneys, though some submissions may be prepared by pro 
se applicants. Using the professional hourly rate of $304 for associate 
attorneys in private firms, the USPTO estimates that the respondent 
cost burden for submitting the information in this collection will be 
approximately $8,280,960 per year, including $482,448 for the proposed 
forms.

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                                                             Estimated time
                           Item                               for response    Estimated annual  Estimated annual
                                                                (minutes)         responses       burden hours
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Post Publication Amendment (TEAS).........................                15               900               225
Post Publication Amendment (paper)........................                18               900               270
Response to Suspension Inquiry or Letter of Suspension                    10             2,800               476
 (TEAS)...................................................
Response to Suspension Inquiry or Letter of Suspension                    13             2,800               616
 (paper)..................................................
                                                           -----------------------------------------------------
        Total.............................................  ................             7,400             1,587
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    Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden: $1,517. 
There are no capital start-up costs, maintenance costs, or filing fees 
associated with this information collection. However, customers may 
incur postage costs when submitting a Post Publication Amendment or 
Response to Suspension Inquiry or Letter of Suspension to the USPTO by 
mail. The USPTO estimates that it may receive up to 3,700 mailed 
submissions per year for these items with an estimated postage cost of 
41 cents per response. Therefore, this collection has an annual (non-
hour) cost of approximately $1,517 per year in the form of postage 
costs.

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: September 12, 2007.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer, 
Customer Information Services Group, Public Information Services 
Division.
 [FR Doc. E7-18567 Filed 9-19-07; 8:45 am]
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