[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 8 (Thursday, January 12, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1917-1919]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-409]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

United States Patent and Trademark Office


Madrid Protocol

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 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 March 12, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0051 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
     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 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 email to 
[email protected]. Additional information about this collection is 
also available at http://www.reginfo.gov under ``Information Collection 
Review.''

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    This collection of information is required by the Trademark Act of 
1946, 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 the marks with the United 
States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
    The Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the 
International Registration of Marks (``Madrid Protocol'') is an 
international treaty that allows a trademark owner to seek registration 
in any of the participating countries by filing a single international 
application. The International Bureau (IB) of the World Intellectual 
Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland, administers the 
international registration system. The Madrid Protocol Implementation 
Act of 2002 amended the Trademark Act to provide that: (1) The owner of 
a U.S. application or registration may seek protection of its mark in 
any of the participating countries by submitting a single international 
application to the IB through the USPTO, and (2) the holder of an 
international registration may request an extension of protection of 
the international registration to the United States. The Madrid 
Protocol became effective in the United States on November 2, 2003, and 
is implemented under 15 U.S.C. Sec.  1141 et seq. and 37 CFR part 2 and 
part 7.
    An international application submitted through the USPTO must be 
based on an active U.S. application or registration and must be filed 
by the owner of the application or registration. The USPTO reviews the 
international application to certify that it corresponds to the data 
contained in the existing U.S. application or registration before 
forwarding the international application to the IB. The IB then reviews 
the international application to determine whether the Madrid filing 
requirements have been met and the required fees have been paid. If the 
international application is unacceptable, the IB will send a notice of 
irregularity to the USPTO and the applicant. The applicant must respond 
to the irregularities to avoid abandonment, unless a response from the 
USPTO is required. After any irregularities are corrected and the 
application is accepted, the IB registers the mark, publishes the 
registration in the WIPO Gazette of International Marks, and sends a 
certificate to the holder.
    When the mark is registered, the IB notifies each country 
designated in the application of the request for extension of 
protection. Each designated country then examines the request under its 
own laws. Once an international registration has been issued, the 
holder may also file subsequent designations to request an extension of 
protection to additional countries.
    Under Section 71 of the Trademark Act, a registered extension of 
protection

[[Page 1918]]

to the United States will be cancelled unless the holder of the 
international registration periodically files affidavits of continued 
use in commerce or excusable nonuse. The first affidavit must be filed 
five years after the USPTO registers an extension of protection.
    This collection includes the information necessary for the USPTO to 
process applications for international registration and related 
requests under the Madrid Protocol. The USPTO provides electronic forms 
for filing the items in this information collection online (except for 
the Request to Record an Assignment or Restriction of a Holder's Right 
to Dispose of an International Registration) using the Trademark 
Electronic Application System (TEAS), which is available through the 
USPTO Web site. The USPTO is proposing to add one item, the Combined 
Declaration of Continued Use/Excusable Nonuse and Incontestability 
Under Sections 71 and 15, which is an existing information requirement 
that was not previously covered under this collection.
    Applicants may also submit the items in this collection on paper or 
by using the forms provided by the IB, which are available on the WIPO 
Web site. The IB requires Applications for International Registration 
and Applications for Subsequent Designation that are filed on paper to 
be submitted on the official IB forms.

II. Method of Collection

    By mail, hand delivery, or electronically to the USPTO.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0051.
    Form Number(s): PTO-1553, PTO-1583, PTO-2131, PTO-2132, PTO-2133.
    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: 6,620 responses per year.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the public approximately 15 minutes to one hour and 15 minutes (0.25 to 
1.25 hours) to complete the information in this collection, including 
the time to gather the necessary information, prepare the forms or 
documents, and submit the completed request to the USPTO.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 1,711 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $581,740. The USPTO 
expects that the information in this collection will be prepared by 
attorneys. Using the estimated rate of $340 per hour for attorneys in 
private firms, the USPTO estimates that the respondent cost burden for 
submitting the information in this collection will be approximately 
$581,740 per year.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Estimated       Estimated
                      Item                         Estimated time for response        annual       annual burden
                                                                                     responses         hours
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Application for International Registration (PTO- 15 minutes.....................           3,900             975
 2131 TEAS).
Application for International Registration       30 minutes.....................              20              10
 (paper, no form).
Application for Subsequent Designation (PTO-     15 minutes.....................             400             100
 2132 TEAS).
Application for Subsequent Designation (paper,   20 minutes.....................               5               2
 no form).
Response to Notice of Irregularity (PTO-2133     15 minutes.....................           1,000             250
 TEAS).
Response to Notice of Irregularity (paper, no    30 minutes.....................               5               3
 form).
Replacement Request (TEAS Global form).........  30 minutes.....................              15               8
Replacement Request (paper, no form)...........  45 minutes.....................               5               4
Request to Record an Assignment or Restriction   30 minutes.....................               5               3
 of a Holder's Right to Dispose of an
 International Registration (paper, no form).
Transformation Request (TEAS Global form)......  15 minutes.....................              20               5
Transformation Request (paper, no form)........  30 minutes.....................              10               5
Petition to Director to Review Denial of         1 hour.........................              30              30
 Certification of International Application
 (TEAS Global form).
Petition to Director to Review Denial of         1 hour and 15 minutes..........               5               6
 Certification of International Application
 (paper, no form).
Declaration of Continued Use/Excusable Nonuse    15 minutes.....................             700             175
 of Mark in Commerce Under Section 71 (PTO-1553
 TEAS).
Declaration of Continued Use/Excusable Nonuse    18 minutes.....................             100              30
 of Mark in Commerce Under Section 71 (paper,
 no form).
Combined Declaration of Continued Use/Excusable  15 minutes.....................             300              75
 Nonuse and Incontestability Under Sections 71
 and 15 (PTO-1583 TEAS).
Combined Declaration of Continued Use/Excusable  18 minutes.....................             100              30
 Nonuse and Incontestability Under Sections 71
 and 15 (paper, no form).
                                                ----------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals.....................................  ...............................           6,620           1,711
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    Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden: $745,480. 
This collection has annual (non-hour) costs in the form of filing fees 
and postage costs.
    The USPTO charges fees for processing international applications 
and related requests under the Madrid Protocol as set forth in 37 CFR 
7.6. In addition to these USPTO fees, applicants must also pay 
international filing fees to the IB as indicated in 37 CFR 7.7. The 
USPTO estimates that the total filing fees in the form of USPTO 
processing fees associated with this collection will be approximately 
$745,250 per year as calculated in the accompanying table.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Estimated                       Estimated
                              Item                                    annual        Fee amount     annual filing
                                                                     responses                         costs
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Application for International Registration (for certifying an              2,000         $100.00     $200,000.00
 international application based on a single basic application
 or registration, per international class) (PTO-2131 TEAS)......

[[Page 1919]]

 
Application for International Registration (for certifying an                 10          100.00        1,000.00
 international application based on a single basic application
 or registration, per international class) (paper, no form).....
Application for International Registration (for certifying an              1,900          150.00      285,000.00
 international application based on more than one basic
 application or registration, per international class) (PTO-2131
 TEAS)..........................................................
Application for International Registration (for certifying an                 10          150.00        1,500.00
 international application based on a single basic application
 or registration, per international class) (paper, no form).....
Application for Subsequent Designation (PTO-2132 TEAS)..........             400          100.00       40,000.00
Application for Subsequent Designation (paper, no form).........               5          100.00          500.00
Response to Notice of Irregularity (PTO-2133 TEAS)..............           1,000            0.00            0.00
Response to Notice of Irregularity (paper, no form).............               5            0.00            0.00
Replacement Request (per international class) (TEAS Global form)              15          100.00        1,500.00
Replacement Request (per international class) (paper, no form)..               5          100.00          500.00
Request to Record an Assignment or Restriction of a Holder's                   5          100.00          500.00
 Right to Dispose of an International Registration (paper, no
 form)..........................................................
Transformation Request (TEAS Global form).......................              20          375.00        7,500.00
Transformation Request (paper, no form).........................              10          375.00        3,750.00
Petition to Director to Review Denial of Certification of                     30          100.00        3,000.00
 International Application (TEAS Global form)...................
Petition to Director to Review Denial of Certification of                      5          100.00          500.00
 International Application (paper, no form).....................
Declaration of Continued Use/Excusable Nonuse of Mark in                     700          100.00       70,000.00
 Commerce Under Section 71 (per international class) (PTO-1553
 TEAS)..........................................................
Declaration of Continued Use/Excusable Nonuse of Mark in                     100          100.00       10,000.00
 Commerce Under Section 71 (per international class) (paper, no
 form)..........................................................
Combined Declaration of Continued Use/Excusable Nonuse and                   300          300.00       90,000.00
 Incontestability Under Sections 71 and 15 (per international
 class) (PTO-1583 TEAS).........................................
Combined Declaration of Continued Use/Excusable Nonuse and                   100          300.00       30,000.00
 Incontestability Under Sections 71 and 15 (per international
 class) (paper, no form)........................................
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................................           6,620  ..............      745,250.00
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
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    The public may submit the items in this collection to the USPTO by 
mail through the United States Postal Service. The USPTO estimates that 
approximately 255 of the 6,620 total responses for this collection may 
be filed on paper and submitted by mail. The average first-class 
postage cost for a mailed submission will be 90 cents, for a total 
postage cost of approximately $230 per year.
    The total non-hour respondent cost burden for this collection in 
the form of filing fees and postage costs is estimated to be $745,480 
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 also will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: January 6, 2012.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-409 Filed 1-11-12; 8:45 am]
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