[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.
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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
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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]
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