[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 22, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10482-10483]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4085]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office


Trademark Petitions

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 April 23, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0061 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 the attention of Catherine Cain, Attorney 
Advisor, Office of the Commissioner for Trademarks, United States 
Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1451, Alexandria, VA 22313-1451, 
by telephone at 571-272-8946, or by email to [email protected], 
with ``Paperwork'' in the subject line. Additional information about 
this collection is also available at http://www.reginfo.gov under 
``Information Collection Review.''

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, 
requests to make special, responses to petition inquiry letters, 
petitions to make special, requests to restore a filing date, and 
requests for reinstatement.
    A letter of protest is an informal procedure whereby third parties 
who object to the registration of a mark in a pending application may 
bring to the attention of the USPTO evidence bearing on the 
registrability of a mark. A letter of protest must identify the 
application being protested and the proposed grounds for refusing 
registration and include 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.
    A response to a petition inquiry letter is submitted by a 
petitioner who is responding to a notice of deficiency that the USPTO 
issued after receiving an incomplete Petition to the Director. A 
petition may be considered incomplete if, for example, it does not 
include the fee required by 37 CFR 2.6 or if it includes an unverified 
assertion that is not supported by evidence.
    The USPTO generally examines applications in the order in which 
they are received. A petition to make special is a request by the 
applicant to advance the initial examination of an application out of 
its regular order.
    A request to restore a filing date is submitted by an applicant who 
previously filed an application that was denied a filing date. The 
request must include evidence showing that the applicant is entitled to 
the earlier filing date.
    If an applicant has proof that an application was inadvertently 
abandoned due to a USPTO error, an applicant may file a request to 
reinstate the application instead of a formal petition to revive. To 
support such a request, the applicant must include clear evidence of 
the USPTO error.
    The information in this collection can be submitted in paper format 
or electronically through the Trademark Electronic Application System 
(TEAS). The USPTO has developed a TEAS Global Form format that permits 
the agency to collect information electronically for which a TEAS form 
with dedicated data fields is not yet available. With the introduction 
of the TEAS Global Forms, the information in this collection can be 
collected in paper format or electronically using the TEAS Global 
Forms.
    As part of this renewal the USPTO proposes to add four TEAS Global 
Forms--for responses to petition inquiry letter, petitions to make 
special, requests to restore filing date, and requests for 
reinstatement--into the collection. The paper equivalents for the 
response to petition inquiry letter, petition to make special, request 
to restore filing date, and request for reinstatement will be added as 
well.
    Although this collection does have electronic forms, there are no 
official

[[Page 10483]]

paper forms for these filings. Individuals and businesses can submit 
their own paper forms following the USPTO's rules and guidelines to 
ensure that all of the necessary information is provided.

II. Method of Collection

    Electronically, if applicants submit the information using the new 
TEAS Global Forms. By mail, facsimile, or hand delivery if applicants 
choose to submit the information in paper form.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0061.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Primarily businesses or other for-profit 
organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 2,135 responses per year.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the public approximately 30 minutes (0.50 hours) to one hour to gather 
the necessary information, create the document, and submit the 
completed request, depending upon whether the information is submitted 
electronically or on paper.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 1,689 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $574,260. The USPTO 
expects that the information in this collection will be prepared by 
attorneys at an estimated rate of $340 per hour. Therefore, the USPTO 
estimates that the respondent cost burden for this collection will be 
approximately $574,260 per year.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Estimated       Estimated
                     Item                         Estimated time for  response        annual       annual burden
                                                                                     responses         hours
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Letter of Protest (TEAS Global)..............  50 minutes.......................             187             155
Letter of Protest (Paper)....................  1 hour...........................           1,063           1,063
Request to Make Special (TEAS Global)........  30 minutes.......................              90              45
Request to Make Special (Paper)..............  40 minutes.......................              10               7
Response to Petition to Director Inquiry       30 minutes.......................              19              10
 Letter (TEAS Global).
Response to Petition to Director Inquiry       40 minutes.......................               5               3
 Letter (Paper).
Petition to Make Special (TEAS Global).......  30 minutes.......................             135              68
Petition to Make Special (Paper).............  40 minutes.......................              15              10
Request to Restore Filing Date (TEAS Global).  30 minutes.......................               1               1
Request to Restore Filing Date (Paper).......  40 minutes.......................              10               7
Request for Reinstatement (TEAS Global)......  30 minutes.......................             480             240
Request for Reinstatement (Paper)............  40 minutes.......................             120              80
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    Totals...................................  .................................           2,135           1,689
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    Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden: $15,550. 
This collection has annual (non-hour) costs in the form of postage 
costs and filing fees.
    The public may submit the non-electronic information in this 
collection 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 45 cents per 
submission. The total estimated postage cost for this collection is 
$550 (1,223 paper submissions x $0.45).
    The only item in this information collection with a filing fee is 
the Petition to Make Special, with a filing fee of $100. The total 
estimated filing fee cost for this collection is $15,000.

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                                                                                                  Total non-hour
                              Item                                   Responses    Filing fee ($)    cost burden
                                                                                                     (a) x (b)
                                                                             (a)             (b)             (c)
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Petition to Make Special (TEAS Global)..........................             135         $100.00      $13,500.00
Petition to Make Special (Paper)................................              15          100.00        1,500.00
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................             150  ..............       15,000.00
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    Therefore, the total estimated (non-hour) respondent cost burden in 
postage costs and filing fees for this information collection is 
$15,550.

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: February 16, 2012.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-4085 Filed 2-21-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P