[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 124 (Tuesday, June 29, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37380-37382]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-15772]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) Actions
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 currently approved
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 August 30, 2010.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0040 Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) Actions 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, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box
1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to the attention of LaToya Brown, Technical Quality
Review Analyst, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO), P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by
telephone 571-272-4283; or by e-mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
This collection of information is required by the Trademark Act
Sections 13, 14, and 20, 15 U.S.C. 1063, 1064, and 1070, respectively.
Under the Trademark Act, any individual or entity that adopts a
trademark or service mark to identify its goods or services may apply
to federally register its mark. Section 14 of the Trademark Act allows
individuals and entities to file a petition to cancel a registration of
a mark, while Section 13 allows individuals and entities who believe
that they would be damaged by the registration of a mark to file an
opposition, or an extension of time to file an opposition, to the
registration of a mark. Section 20 of the Trademark Act allows
individuals and entities to file an appeal from any final decision of
the Trademark Examining Attorney assigned to review an application for
registration of a mark.
The USPTO administers the Trademark Act pursuant to 37 CFR part 2,
which contains the various rules that govern the filing of petitions to
cancel the registrations of marks, notices of opposition to the
registration of a mark, extensions of time to file an opposition,
appeals, and other papers filed in connection with inter partes and ex
partes proceedings. These petitions, notices, extensions, and
additional papers are filed with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
(TTAB), an administrative tribunal empowered to determine the right to
register and subsequently determine the validity of a trademark.
The information in this collection can be submitted in paper format
or electronically through the Electronic System for Trademark Trials
and Appeals (ESTTA). There are no paper forms associated with this
collection. However, the TTAB has suggested formats for the Petition to
Cancel and the Notice of Opposition that individuals and entities can
use when submitting these petitions and notices to the TTAB. These are
not forms and, as such, do not have form numbers. If applicants or
entities wish to submit the petitions, notices, extensions, and
additional papers in inter partes and ex parte cases electronically,
they must use the forms provided through ESTTA. Oppositions to
extension of protection under the Madrid Protocol, as well as requests
for extensions to oppose, must be filed electronically through ESTTA.
This collection contains two suggested formats and six electronic
forms.
The additional papers filed in inter partes and ex parte
proceedings can be filed in paper or electronically. Although the
number of paper filings is decreasing in favor of electronic filings,
there still are a small percentage of paper submissions.
The information in this collection is a matter of public record,
and is used by the public for a variety of private business purposes
related to establishing and enforcing trademark rights. This
information is important to the public, as both common law trademark
owners and federal trademark registrants must actively protect their
own rights.
II. Method of Collection
By mail, hand delivery, or electronically through ESTTA when a
party files a petition to cancel a trademark registration, an
opposition to the registration of a trademark, a request to extend the
time to file an opposition, a notice of appeals, or additional papers
for inter partes and ex parte proceedings with the USPTO. However,
notices of opposition and extensions of time to file notices of
opposition against the extensions of protection under the Madrid
Protocol must be filed electronically through ESTTA. Only notices of
appeal for ex parte appeals can be submitted by facsimile, in
accordance with 37 CFR 2.195(d)(3).
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-0040.
Form Number(s): PTO 2120, 2151, 2153, 2188, 2189, and 2190.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Business or other for profit; not-for-profit
institutions.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 80,025 responses per year.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it takes the
public approximately 10 to 45 minutes (0.17 to 0.75 hours) to complete
this information, depending on the request. This includes the time to
gather the necessary information, prepare the petitions, notices,
extensions, or additional papers, and submit the completed request to
the USPTO. The USPTO believes that it will take the same amount of time
(and possibly less time) to gather the necessary information, prepare
the submission, and submit it electronically to the TTAB as it does to
submit it in paper form.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 17,815 hours per
year.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $3,794,595. The
USPTO
[[Page 37381]]
estimates that it will take a 50/50 level of effort by attorneys and
paraprofessional/paralegals to complete the requirements in this
collection. The professional hourly rate for attorneys in private firms
is $325, while the hourly rate for paraprofessional/paralegals in
private firms is $100. After calculating the average of these rates,
the USPTO believes that the hourly rate for completing the petitions,
notices, requests, and other papers will be $213. Using this hourly
rate, the USPTO estimates that the total respondent cost burden for
this collection is $3,794,595 per year.
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Estimated Estimated
Item Estimated time for response annual annual burden
responses hours
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Petition to Cancel............................ 45 minutes...................... 125 94
Electronic Petition to Cancel................. 45 minutes...................... 1,300 975
Notice of Opposition.......................... 45 minutes...................... 350 263
Electronic Notice of Opposition............... 45 minutes...................... 5,000 3,750
Extension of Time to File an Opposition....... 10 minutes...................... 150 26
Electronic Request for Extension of Time to 10 minutes...................... 17,000 2,890
File an Opposition.
Papers in Inter Partes Cases.................. 10 minutes...................... 6,000 1,020
Answers
Amendments to Pleadings
Amendment of Application or
Registration During Proceeding
Motions (such as consent motions,
motions to extend, motions to suspend,
etc.)
Evidence
Briefs
Surrender of Registration
Abandonment of Application
Documents Related to Concurrent
Use Applications
Notice of Intent to Appeal a TTAB
decision
Electronic Papers in Inter Partes Cases....... 10 minutes...................... 39,500 6,715
Answers
Amendments to Pleadings
Amendment of Application or
Registration During Proceeding
Motions (such as consent motions,
motions to extend, motions to suspend,
etc.)
Evidence
Briefs
Surrender of Registration
Abandonment of Application
Documents Related to Concurrent
Use Applications
Notice of Intent to Appeal a TTAB
decision
Notice of Appeal.............................. 15 minutes...................... 500 125
Electronic Notice of Appeal................... 15 minutes...................... 3,000 750
Miscellaneous Ex Parte Papers................. 10 minutes...................... 4,700 799
Electronic Miscellaneous Ex Parte Papers...... 10 minutes...................... 2,400 408
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Totals................................ ................................ 80,025 17,815
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Estimated Total Annual Non-Hour Respondent Cost Burden: $2,417,326.
There are no capital start-up or maintenance costs associated with
this information collection. There are, however, postage and
recordkeeping costs, as well as filing fees, associated with this
information collection.
The petitions to cancel, the notices of opposition and appeal, the
extensions of time to file an opposition, and the additional papers
filed in inter partes and ex partes cases may be submitted to the USPTO
or served on other parties by Express or first-class mail through the
United States Postal Service. These papers can also be hand delivered
to the TTAB. The USPTO estimates that 6% of the petitions, notices,
extensions, and additional inter partes and ex parte papers that are
filed in paper will be submitted using Express Mail. The USPTO
estimates that the average submission will weigh 2 ounces and that the
respondent will be mailing the original to the TTAB and serving copies
on the other parties involved in the proceedings. The USPTO estimates
that it costs an average of $18.54 to send the petitions, notices,
extensions, appeals, and additional papers by Express Mail to the TTAB.
To account for the service of papers on other parties, the USPTO is
adding an additional 20% of the postage rate ($3.71) for an estimated
cost of $22.25. The USPTO estimates that up to 710 submissions per year
may be mailed to the USPTO and other parties by Express Mail, for a
postage cost of $15,798.
The USPTO believes the remaining petitions to cancel, the notices
of opposition and appeal, the extensions of time to file an opposition,
and the additional papers filed in inter partes and ex parte
proceedings that are filed in paper (roughly 94%) will be sent by
first-class mail. The USPTO estimates that the average submission will
weigh 2 ounces and that the respondent will mail the original to the
TTAB and serve copies on the other parties involved in the proceedings.
The USPTO estimates that it costs 61 cents to mail the petitions,
notices, extensions, appeals, and additional papers to the TTAB. To
account for the service of papers on other parties, the USPTO is adding
an additional 80% of the postage rate (49 cents) for an estimated cost
of $1.10. The USPTO estimates that up to 11,116 submissions per year
may be mailed to the USPTO and other parties by first-class mail, for a
postage cost of $12,228.
Therefore, the USPTO estimates that the total postage cost for this
collection is $28,026 per year.
In addition, the USPTO also strongly advises applicants who file
their
[[Page 37382]]
petitions to cancel, notices of opposition, appeals, extensions of time
to file an opposition, and additional papers for ex parte and inter
partes cases electronically to keep a copy of the acknowledgment
receipt as clear evidence that the file was received by the USPTO on
the date noted. The USPTO estimates that it takes 5 seconds (0.001
hours) to print the acknowledgment receipt and that 68,200 petitions,
notices, extensions, and other papers will be submitted electronically,
for a burden of 68 hours. Using the paraprofessional rate of $100 per
hour, the USPTO estimates that the total recordkeeping cost for this
collection will be $6,800 per year.
There is also annual nonhour cost burden in the way of filing fees
associated with this collection. The petitions to cancel and the
notices of opposition and appeal have filing fees. There are no filing
fees for the extensions of time to file an opposition. The additional
papers that are filed in ex parte and inter partes proceedings do not
have their own specific fees, so they do not add new fees to the
collection. The filing fees for the petitions to cancel, notices of
opposition, and notices of appeal are per class of goods and services
in the subject application or registration; therefore the total filing
fees can vary depending on the number of classes. The total filing fees
of $2,382,500 shown here are the minimum fees associated with this
information collection.
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Total non-hour
Item Responses Filing fee cost burden (a x
(a) ($) (b) b) (c)
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Petition to Cancel.......... 125 $300.00 $37,500.00
Electronic Petition to 1,300 300.00 390,000.00
Cancel.....................
Notice of Opposition........ 350 300.00 105,000.00
Electronic Notice of 5,000 300.00 1,500,000.00
Opposition.................
Extension of Time to File an 150 0.00 0.00
Opposition.................
Electronic Request for 17,000 0.00 0.00
Extension of Time to File
an Opposition..............
Papers in Inter Partes Cases 6,000 0.00 0.00
Answers
Amendments to
Pleadings
Amendment of
Application or
Registration During
Proceeding
Motions (such
as consent motions,
motions to extend,
motions to suspend,
etc.)
Evidence
Briefs
Surrender of
Registration
Abandonment of
Application
Documents
Related to Concurrent
Use Applications
Notice of
Intent to Appeal a TTAB
decision
Electronic Papers in Inter 39,500 0.00 0.00
Partes Cases...............
Answers
Amendments to
Pleadings
Amendment of
Application or
Registration During
Proceeding
Motions (such
as consent motions,
motions to extend,
motions to suspend,
etc.)
Evidence
Briefs
Surrender of
Registration
Abandonment of
Application
Documents
Related to Concurrent
Use Applications
Notice of
Intent to Appeal a TTAB
Decision
Notice of Appeal (Ex parte). 500 100.00 50,000.00
Electronic Notice of Appeal 3,000 100.00 300,000.00
(Ex parte).................
Miscellaneous Ex Parte 4,700 0.00 0.00
Papers.....................
Electronic Miscellaneous Ex 2,400 0.00 0.00
Parte Papers...............
Totals.................. 80,025 ........... 2,382,500.00
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The USPTO estimates that the total non-hour respondent cost burden
for this collection, in the form of postage and recordkeeping costs, in
addition to the filing fees, is $2,417,326 per year.
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 will also become a matter of public record.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2010-15772 Filed 6-28-10; 8:45 am]
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