[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 218 (Friday, November 13, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58599-58600]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-27331]


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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 take this 
opportunity to comment on the revision of a 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 January 12, 
2010.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
    * E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-0050 Electronic 
Response to Office Action and Preliminary Amendment Forms 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, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. 
Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
    * Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.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 to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), pursuant to 
the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. 1051 et seq. and Chapter 37 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations, issues Office Actions in which it requests that 
applicants for trademark registration furnish information that is 
required for the issuance of a registration but that was not provided 
with the initial submission of the application for registration. The 
Response to Office Action form may be used to reply to an Office Action 
that was issued in connection with an application for registration or 
after the submission of a Statement of Use.
    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 Request for Reconsideration after Final Action is filed after 
issuance of a final Office Action but before the deadline for filing an 
appeal. Filing the Request for Reconsideration early in the six-month 
response period can eliminate the need for some appeals or petitions 
and reduce the need for remands and transfers of applications on 
appeal.
    Applicants may also 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 response form to file a reply.

II. Method of Collection

    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. Applicants may also submit the 
information in paper form by mail, fax or hand delivery.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0050.
    Form Number(s): PTO Forms 1771, 1822, 1957, 1960 and 1966.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Primarily business or other for-profit 
organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 208,360 per year.
    Estimated Time Per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
approximately 10 minutes (0.17 hours) to 23 minutes (0.38 hours) 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: 57,416 hours per 
year.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $17,798,960. The 
USPTO believes that attorneys will complete the information in this 
collection. The professional hourly rate for 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 $17,798,960 per year.

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                                                                                     Estimated       Estimated
                     Item                          Estimated time for response        annual       annual burden
                                                                                     responses         hours
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Response to Office Action (TEAS)..............  17 minutes......................         165,000          46,200
Preliminary Amendment (TEAS)..................  17 minutes......................          11,000           3,080
Request for Reconsideration after Final Action  17 minutes......................          16,500           4,620
 (TEAS).
Post Publication Amendment (TEAS).............  20 minutes......................           3,600           1,188
Post Publication Amendment (paper)............  23 minutes......................             720             274
Response to Suspension Inquiry or Letter of     10 minutes......................           9,700           1,649
 Suspension (TEAS).
Response to Suspension Inquiry or Letter of     13 minutes......................           1,840             405
 Suspension (paper).
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    TOTAL.....................................  ................................         208,360          57,416
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    Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden: $1,126. 
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

[[Page 58600]]

made via first class mail at a cost of 44 cents per submission. 
Therefore, the total estimated postage cost for this collection is 
$1,126 (2560 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.

    Dated: November 5, 2009.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. E9-27331 Filed 11-12-09; 8:45 am]
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