[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 159 (Thursday, August 16, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49426-49427]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-20127]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No. PTO-T-2012-0029]
Notice of Inquiry Regarding Adjustment of Fees for Trademark
Applications
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of inquiry.
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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (``USPTO'' or
``Office'') is considering adjusting trademark application filing fees
so as to promote efficiency for the USPTO and customers by
incentivizing complete electronic communication. The USPTO invites the
public to submit comments regarding such possible adjustments.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before October 15, 2012.
ADDRESSES: The USPTO prefers that comments be submitted via electronic
mail message to [email protected]. Written comments may also be
submitted by mail to Commissioner for Trademarks, P.O. Box 1451,
Alexandria, VA 22313-1451, attention Cynthia C. Lynch; by hand delivery
to the Trademark Assistance Center, Concourse Level, James Madison
Building-East Wing, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, Virginia, attention
Cynthia C. Lynch; or by electronic mail message via the Federal
eRulemaking Portal. See the Federal eRulemaking Portal Web site (http://www.regulations.gov) for additional instructions on providing comments
via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. All comments submitted directly to
the Office or provided on the Federal eRulemaking Portal should include
the docket number (PTO-T-2012-0029). The comments will be available for
public inspection on the USPTO's Web site at http://www.uspto.gov, and
will also be available at the Office of the Commissioner for
Trademarks, Madison East, Tenth Floor, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria,
Virginia. Because comments will be made available for public
inspection, information that is not desired to be made public, such as
an address or phone number, should not be included.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia C. Lynch, Office of the Deputy
Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy, at (571) 272-8742.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The USPTO is providing the public, including
user groups, with an opportunity to comment on possible adjustments to
trademark application fees. In particular, the USPTO is considering
adjusting filing fees to incentivize complete electronic communications
by reducing the TEAS Plus filing fee and by providing a discount on
applications filed using the regular TEAS application form, if the
applicant authorizes email communication and agrees to file all
responses and other documents electronically during the prosecution of
the application. The USPTO is also contemplating increasing the fee for
paper applications to more accurately reflect the higher cost of
processing such filings.
Please consider responding to the following questions in your
comments:
1. Fees for filing an application for registration of a trademark
are currently set at:
[[Page 49427]]
$375 per class for filing by a paper application;
$325 per class for filing electronically using TEAS;
$275 per class for filing electronically using TEAS Plus
(additional requirements apply, including authorizing email
communication from the USPTO, agreeing to file all subsequent documents
electronically, and selecting goods/services from a pre-approved entry
in the U.S. Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual).
Given the objective to increase end-to-end electronic processing of
trademark applications, the significantly higher cost of processing
paper applications, and the ability of the USPTO to offer some fee
reductions, what fee amounts would you consider reasonable for the
three existing methods of filing?
2. How much of a discount do you consider appropriate for the
proposed TEAS application fee discount if the applicant authorizes
email communication and agrees to file all responses and other
documents electronically during the prosecution of the application?
3. If you generally file trademark applications using TEAS, but not
TEAS Plus, how much of a proposed discount would motivate you to
authorize email communication and agree to file all responses and other
documents electronically during the prosecution of a trademark
application?
4. If the TEAS Plus fee were reduced and remained the lowest fee,
and the discount TEAS option were also offered, what would be the
impact on the TEAS Plus filing level--i.e. would you be more likely to
choose TEAS Plus as the lowest fee, or to select the discount TEAS
option with its less burdensome requirements?
5. The cost of processing paper filed applications is substantially
higher than electronically filed applications. If you generally file
paper trademark applications, would you continue to do so even if the
paper application fee were to increase, and why?
6. What advantages and disadvantages do you see in a fee structure
that includes the TEAS application fee discount and a significantly
higher fee for paper-filed applications?
While the USPTO welcomes and values all comments from the public in
response to this notice, these comments do not bind the USPTO to any
further actions related to the comments. Persons submitting written
comments should note that the USPTO will not provide ``comment and
response'' analysis, since notice and opportunity for public comment
are not required for this notice under 5 U.S.C. 553(b) or any other
law.
Once the USPTO receives comments, the USPTO will decide whether to
propose a change in the fees. If the USPTO decides to propose a fee
change, the Office will provide an opportunity for public comment in a
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The USPTO would intend to use the
procedures set forth in Section 10 of the Leahy-Smith America Invents
Act (``AIA'') for these possible fee changes. Leahy-Smith America
Invents Act, Public Law 112-29, Sec. 10, 125 Stat. 284, 316-17 (2011).
Those Section 10 procedures include: providing any proposed fee to the
Trademark Public Advisory Committee (``TPAC'') prior to issuing a
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; providing at least 30 days for TPAC to
deliberate, consider, and comment on such proposal; holding a public
hearing relating to such proposal; and making available a written
report from TPAC setting forth their comments, advice, and
recommendations, which the USPTO shall consider before setting or
adjusting fees. See AIA Sec. 10(d).
Dated: August 10, 2012.
David J. Kappos,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2012-20127 Filed 8-15-12; 8:45 am]
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