[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 168 (Monday, August 31, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52455-52458]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21512]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

 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

[[Page 52456]]

general public and other Federal agencies to comment on the extension 
of a 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 October 30, 
2015.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted by any of the following 
methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0051 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
     Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
     Mail: Marcie Lovett, Records Management Division Director, 
Office of the Chief Information Officer, United States Patent and 
Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to Catherine Cain, Attorney Advisor, Office of the 
Commissioner for Trademarks, United States Patent and Trademark Office, 
P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-8946; 
or by email at [email protected] with ``0651-0051 comment'' 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

    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. 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, 15 U.S.C. 1141(k), a 
registered extension of protection 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 on or between the fifth- and 
sixth-year anniversaries of the date on which 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.
    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

    Electronically if applicants submit the information using the TEAS 
forms. By mail or hand delivery if applicants choose to submit the 
information in paper form.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651-0051.
    IC Instruments: The individual instruments in this collection, as 
well as their associated forms, are listed in the table below.
    Type of Review: Revision of a Previously Existing Information 
Collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other 
for-profits; and not-for-profit institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 16,557 responses per year. Of this 
total, the USPTO expects that 16,474 responses will be submitted 
electronically via the TEAS system and 83 will be submitted on paper.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the public approximately 17 minutes to one hour and 15 minutes (0.28 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: 4,918.45 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent (Hourly) Cost Burden: 
$1,913,277.05. The USPTO expects that an attorney will complete the 
instruments associated with this information collection. The 
professional hourly rate for an attorney is $389. When this hourly rate 
is applied to the 4,918.45 burden hours projected annually for this 
collection, the USPTO estimates $1,913,277.05 per year for the total 
hourly costs associated with respondents.

[[Page 52457]]

    The time per response, estimated annual responses, and estimated 
annual hour burden associated with each instrument in this information 
collection is shown in the table below.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Estimated
                                   Information    Estimated time     Estimated     annual burden
            IC No.                 collection      for response       annual        hours (a) x     Rate ($/hr)
                                   instrument      (minutes) (a)   responses (b)   (b)/ 60 = (c)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.............................  Application for               17           8,010        2,269.50             389
                                 International
                                 Registration
                                 (PTO-2131 TEAS).
1.............................  Application for               32              33           17.60             389
                                 International
                                 Registration
                                 (paper, no
                                 form).
2.............................  Application for               17           1,236          350.20             389
                                 Subsequent
                                 Designation
                                 (PTO-2132 TEAS).
2.............................  Application for               22               2            0.73             389
                                 Subsequent
                                 Designation
                                 (paper, no
                                 form).
3.............................  Response to                   18           1,390          417.00             389
                                 Notice of
                                 Irregularity
                                 (PTO-2133 TEAS).
3.............................  Response to                   33               1            0.55             389
                                 Notice of
                                 Irregularity
                                 (paper, no
                                 form).
4.............................  Replacement                   30              20           10.00             389
                                 Request (TEAS
                                 Global Form).
4.............................  Replacement                   45               1            0.75             389
                                 Request (paper,
                                 no form).
5.............................  Request to                    30               5            2.50             389
                                 Record an
                                 Assignment or
                                 Restriction of
                                 a Holder's
                                 Right to
                                 Dispose of an
                                 International
                                 Registration
                                 (paper, no
                                 form).
6.............................  Transformation                18               3            0.90             389
                                 Request (TEAS
                                 Global form).
6.............................  Transformation                33               1            0.55             389
                                 Request (paper,
                                 no form).
6.............................  Transformation                20              30           10.00             389
                                 Request (TEAS
                                 RF Global form).
7.............................  Petition to                   60             100          100.00             389
                                 Director to
                                 Review Denial
                                 of
                                 Certification
                                 of
                                 International
                                 Application
                                 (TEAS Global
                                 form).
7.............................  Petition to                   75              20           25.00             389
                                 Director to
                                 Review Denial
                                 of
                                 Certification
                                 of
                                 International
                                 Application
                                 (paper, no
                                 form).
8.............................  Declaration of                18           3,411         1023.30             389
                                 Continued Use/
                                 Excusable
                                 Nonuse of Mark
                                 in Commerce
                                 Under Section
                                 71 (PTO-1663
                                 TEAS).
8.............................  Declaration of                23              10            3.83             389
                                 Continued Use/
                                 Excusable
                                 Nonuse of Mark
                                 in Commerce
                                 Under Section
                                 71 (paper, no
                                 form).
9.............................  Combined                      18           2,274          682.20             389
                                 Declaration of
                                 Continued Use/
                                 Excusable
                                 Nonuse and
                                 Incontestabilit
                                 y Under
                                 Sections 71 and
                                 15 (PTO-1683
                                 TEAS).
                                Combined                      23              10            3.83             389
                                 Declaration of
                                 Continued Use/
                                 Excusable
                                 Nonuse and
                                 Incontestabilit
                                 y Under
                                 Sections 71 and
                                 15 (paper, no
                                 form).
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................  ................  ..............          16,557        4,918.45  ..............
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden: 
$2,175,480.36. This collection has annual (non-hour) costs in the form 
of postage costs and filing fees.

Postage Costs

    Customers may incur postage costs when submitting some of the items 
covered by this collection to the USPTO by mail. The USPTO expects that 
approximately 99 percent of the responses in this collection will be 
submitted electronically. Of the remaining 1 percent, the vast 
majority--98 percent--will be submitted by mail, for a total of 82 
mailed submissions. The average first-class USPS postage cost for a 
mailed submission will be 98 cents. Therefore, the USPTO estimates that 
the postage costs for the mailed submissions in this collection will 
total $80.36.

Filing Fees

    The USPTO charges fees for processing international applications 
and related requests under the Madrid Protocol as set forth in 37 CFR 
2.6 and 37 CFR 7.6. Most of these fees are charged per class of goods 
or services; therefore, the total fees can vary depending on the number 
of classes. Based on the minimum fee of one class per relevant 
document, the USPTO estimates that the total filing fees in the form of 
USPTO processing fees associated with this collection will be 
approximately $2,175,400 per year, as calculated in the accompanying 
table.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                Estimated annual
              IC No.                       Item           Estimated annual    Fee amount (b)    filing costs (a)
                                                           responses (a)                          x (b) = (c)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1................................  Application for                   4,110            $100.00        $411,000.00
                                    International
                                    Registration (for
                                    certifying an
                                    international
                                    application based
                                    on a single basic
                                    application or
                                    registration, per
                                    international
                                    class) (PTO-2131
                                    TEAS).
1................................  Application for                      17             100.00           1,700.00
                                    International
                                    Registration (for
                                    certifying an
                                    international
                                    application based
                                    on a single basic
                                    application or
                                    registration, per
                                    international
                                    class) (paper, no
                                    form).

[[Page 52458]]

 
1................................  Application for                   3,900             150.00         585,000.00
                                    International
                                    Registration (for
                                    certifying an
                                    international
                                    application based
                                    on more than one
                                    basic application
                                    or registration,
                                    per international
                                    class) (PTO-2131
                                    TEAS).
1................................  Application for                      16             150.00           2,400.00
                                    International
                                    Registration (for
                                    certifying an
                                    international
                                    application based
                                    on more than one
                                    basic application
                                    or registration,
                                    per international
                                    class) (paper, no
                                    form).
2................................  Application for                   1,236             100.00         123,600.00
                                    Subsequent
                                    Designation (PTO-
                                    2132 TEAS).
2................................  Application for                       2             100.00             200.00
                                    Subsequent
                                    Designation (paper,
                                    no form).
3................................  Response to Notice                1,390               0.00               0.00
                                    of Irregularity
                                    (PTO-2133 TEAS).
3................................  Response to Notice                    1               0.00               0.00
                                    of Irregularity
                                    (paper, no form).
4................................  Replacement Request                  20             100.00           2,000.00
                                    (per international
                                    class) (TEAS Global
                                    form).
4................................  Replacement Request                   1             100.00             100.00
                                    (per international
                                    class) (paper, no
                                    form).
5................................  Request to Record an                  5             100.00             500.00
                                    Assignment or
                                    Restriction of a
                                    Holder's Right to
                                    Dispose of an
                                    International
                                    Registration
                                    (paper, no form).
6................................  Transformation                        3             325.00             975.00
                                    Request (per
                                    international
                                    class) (TEAS Global
                                    form).
6................................  Transformation                        1             375.00             375.00
                                    Request (per
                                    international
                                    class) (paper, no
                                    form).
6................................  Transformation                       30             275.00           8,250.00
                                    Request (per
                                    international
                                    class) (TEAS RF
                                    Global form).
7................................  Petition to Director                100             100.00          10,000.00
                                    to Review Denial of
                                    Certification of
                                    International
                                    Application (TEAS
                                    Global form).
7................................  Petition to Director                 20             100.00           2,000.00
                                    to Review Denial of
                                    Certification of
                                    International
                                    Application (paper,
                                    no form).
8................................  Declaration of                    3,411             100.00         341,100.00
                                    Continued Use/
                                    Excusable Nonuse of
                                    Mark in Commerce
                                    Under Section 71
                                    (per international
                                    class) (PTO-1553
                                    TEAS).
8................................  Declaration of                       10             100.00           1,000.00
                                    Continued Use/
                                    Excusable Nonuse of
                                    Mark in Commerce
                                    Under Section 71
                                    (per international
                                    class) (paper, no
                                    form).
9................................  Combined Declaration              2,274             300.00         682,200.00
                                    of Continued Use/
                                    Excusable Nonuse
                                    and
                                    Incontestability
                                    Under Sections 71
                                    and 15 (per
                                    international
                                    class) (PTO-1583
                                    TEAS).
9................................  Combined Declaration                 10            $300.00          $3,000.00
                                    of Continued Use/
                                    Excusable Nonuse
                                    and
                                    Incontestability
                                    Under Sections 71
                                    and 15 (per
                                    international
                                    class) (paper, no
                                    form).
                                                        --------------------------------------------------------
    Total........................  ....................             16,557  .................      $2,175,400.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Therefore, the USPTO estimates that the annual (non-hour) cost 
burden for this collection, in the form of postage costs ($80.36) and 
filing fees ($2,175,400), will total $2,175,480.36.

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, including 
the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
    (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, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses.
    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.

    Dated: August 24, 2015.
Marcie Lovett,
Records Management Division Director, USPTO, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-21512 Filed 8-28-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P