[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 94 (Monday, May 18, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23168-23169]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-11534]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office


Trademark Petitions

ACTION: New 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 take this 
opportunity to comment on this new information collection, as required 
by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1955, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before July 17, 2009.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-00XX 
Trademark Petitions collection comment'' in the subject line of the 
message.
     Fax: 571-273-0112, marked to the attention of Susan K. 
Fawcett.
     Mail: Susan K. Fawcett, Records Officer, Office of the 
Chief Information Officer, Administrative Management Group, United 
States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 
22313-1450.
     Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://ww.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to the attention of Janis Long, Attorney Advisor, 
Office of the Commissioner for Trademarks, United States Patent and 
Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450, by 
telephone at 571-272-9573, 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 that use or intend to 
use such marks in commerce may file an application to register their 
marks with the USPTO. Individuals and businesses may also submit 
various communications to the USPTO, including letters of protest and 
requests to make special.
    A letter of protest is an informal procedure whereby third parties 
who object to the registration of a mark in a pending application may 
submit evidence relevant to the registrability of the mark to the 
attention of the USPTO. A letter of protest should include an 
explanation of which application is being protested and relevant 
evidence to support the protest. A request to make special may be 
submitted where an applicant's prior registration was cancelled due to 
the inadvertent failure to file a post registration maintenance 
document and should include an explanation of why special action is 
appropriate. The USPTO is proposing to include these two items in the 
inventory at this time because of a new method of submission that would 
standardize some formatting involving the electronic collection of this 
information. Both of these items are covered under 15 U.S.C. 1051.

II. Method of Collection

    In order to provide filers with many of the benefits of electronic 
filing for a submission where a true electronic form does not currently 
exist within the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), the 
USPTO is creating a new form of submission in a ``global'' format. This 
new method of submission will allow the user to identify the type of 
document being filed by selecting from a drop-down list and then

[[Page 23169]]

uploading a document in either the JPG or PDF format. Applicants may 
also submit the information in paper form by mail, fax or hand 
delivery.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-00xx.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: New information collection.
    Affected Public: Primarily business or other for-profit 
organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 953 per year.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
approximately 30 minutes (0.50 hours) to 1 hour to gather the necessary 
information, create the document, and submit the completed request, 
depending on whether the information is submitted electronically or on 
paper.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 862 hours per year.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $267,220. The USPTO 
believes that associate attorneys will complete the information in this 
collection. The professional hourly rate for associate attorneys in 
private firms is $310. This is a fully-loaded hourly rate. Therefore, 
the USPTO estimates that the respondent cost burden for this collection 
will be approximately $267,220 per year.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Estimated       Estimated
                     Item                          Estimated time for response        annual       annual burden
                                                                                     responses         hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TEAS Letter of Protest........................  50 minutes......................             463             384
Letter of Protest.............................  1 hour..........................             462             462
TEAS Request to Make Special..................  30 minutes......................              14               7
Request to Make Special.......................  40 minutes......................              14               9
ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½
    Total.....................................  ................................             953             862
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    Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden: $209. 
There are no capital start-up, operation, maintenance or record keeping 
costs, nor are there filing fees associated with this information 
collection.
    Customers incur postage costs when submitting non-electronic 
information to the USPTO by mail through the United States Postal 
Service. The USPTO estimates that the majority of submissions for these 
paper forms are made via first class mail at a cost of 44 cents per 
submission. Therefore, the total estimated postage cost for this 
collection is $209 (476 responses x $0.44).

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, including through 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.

Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer, 
Administrative Management Group.
[FR Doc. E9-11534 Filed 5-15-09; 8:45 am]
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