[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 202 (Tuesday, October 20, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63542-63543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-26572]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No. PTO-T-2015-0066]
Trademark Public Advisory Committee Public Hearing on the
Proposed Trademark Fee Schedule
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of Public Hearing.
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SUMMARY: Under Section 10 of the America Invents Act (AIA), the United
States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) may set or adjust by rule
any patent or trademark fee established, authorized, or charged under
Title 35 of the United States Code or the Trademark Act of 1946,
respectively. The USPTO currently is planning to set or adjust
trademark fees pursuant to its Section 10 fee setting authority. As
part of the rulemaking process to set or adjust trademark fees, the
Trademark Public Advisory Committee (TPAC) is required under Section 10
of the AIA to hold a public hearing about any proposed trademark fees,
and the USPTO is required to assist TPAC in carrying out that hearing.
To that end, the USPTO will make its proposed trademark fees available
as set forth in the Supplementary Information section of this Notice
before any TPAC hearing and will help the TPAC to notify the public
about the hearing. Accordingly, this document announces the dates and
logistics for the TPAC public hearing regarding USPTO proposed
trademark fees. Interested members of the public are invited to testify
at the hearing and/or submit written comments about the proposed
trademark fees and the questions posed on the USPTO TPAC Web site page
about the proposed fees.
DATES: Public hearing: November 3, 2015.
Comments: For those wishing to submit written comments on the fee
proposal that will be published by October 27, 2015, but not requesting
an opportunity to testify at the public hearing, the deadline for
receipt of those written comments is November 10, 2015.
Oral testimony: Those wishing to present oral testimony at the
hearing must request an opportunity to do so in writing no later than
October 27, 2015.
Pre-scheduled speakers: Pre-scheduled speakers providing testimony
at the hearing should submit a written copy of their testimony for
inclusion in the record of the proceedings no later than November 10,
2015.
ADDRESSES: Public hearing: The TPAC will hold a public hearing on
November 3, 2015 beginning at 1:30 p.m., Eastern Standard Time (EST),
and ending at 3:00 p.m., EST, at the USPTO, Madison Auditorium South,
Concourse Level, Madison Building, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria,
Virginia 22314.
Email: Written comments should be sent by email addressed to
[email protected].
Postal mail: Comments may also be submitted by postal mail
addressed to: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Mail Stop CFO,
P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450, ATTN: Brendan Hourigan.
Although comments may be submitted by postal mail, the USPTO prefers to
receive comments via email. Written comments should be identified in
the subject line of the email or postal mailing as ``Fee Setting.''
Because comments will be made available for public inspection,
information that is not desired to be made public, such as an address
or telephone number should not be included in the comments.
Web cast: The public hearing will be available via Web cast.
Information about the Web cast will be posted on the USPTO's Internet
Web site (address: www.uspto.gov/about-us/performance-and-planning/fee-setting-and-adjusting) before the public hearing.
Transcripts: Transcript of the hearing will be available on the
USPTO Internet
[[Page 63543]]
Web site (address: www.uspto.gov/about-us/performance-and-planning/fee-setting-and-adjusting) shortly after the hearing.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brendan Hourigan, Office of the Chief
Financial Officer, by phone (571) 272-8966, or by email at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Requests to testify should indicate the
following: (1) The name of the person wishing to testify; (2) the
person's contact information (telephone number and email address); (3)
the organization(s) the person represents, if any; and (4) an
indication of the amount of time needed for the testimony. Requests to
testify must be submitted by email to Pamela Lloyd at
[email protected]. Based upon the requests received, an agenda for
witness testimony will be sent to testifying requesters and posted on
the USPTO Internet Web site (address: www.uspto.gov/about-us/performance-and-planning/fee-setting-and-adjusting). If time permits,
the TPAC may permit unscheduled testimony as well.
Effective September 16, 2011, with the passage of the AIA, the
USPTO is authorized under Section 10 of the AIA to set or adjust by
rule all patent and trademark fees established, authorized, or charged
under Title 35 of the United States Code and the Trademark Act of 1946,
respectively. Patent and trademark fees set or adjusted by rule under
Section 10 of the AIA may only recover the aggregate estimated costs to
the Office for processing, activities, services, and materials relating
to patents and trademarks, respectively, including administrative costs
of the Office with respect to each as the case may be.
Congress set forth the process for the USPTO to follow in setting
or adjusting patent and trademark fees by rule under Section 10 of the
AIA. Congress requires the relevant advisory committee to hold a public
hearing about the USPTO fee proposals after receiving them from the
agency. Congress likewise requires the relevant advisory committee to
prepare a written report on the proposed fees and the USPTO to consider
the relevant advisory committee's report before finally setting or
adjusting the fees. Further, Congress requires the USPTO to publish its
proposed fees and supporting rationale in the Federal Register and give
the public not less than 45 days in which to submit comments on the
proposed change in fees. Finally, Congress requires the USPTO to
publish its final rule setting or adjusting fees also in the Federal
Register.
Presently, the USPTO is planning to exercise its fee setting
authority to set or adjust trademark fees. The USPTO will publish a
proposed trademark fee schedule and related supplementary information
for public viewing no later than October 27, 2015, on the USPTO
Internet Web site (address: www.uspto.gov/about-us/performance-and-planning/fee-setting-and-adjusting). In turn, the TPAC will hold a
public hearing about the proposed trademark fee schedule on the date
indicated herein. The USPTO will assist the TPAC in holding the hearing
by providing resources to organize the hearing and by notifying the
public about the hearing, such as through this notice. To gather
information from the public about the USPTO's proposed trademark fees,
the TPAC will post specific questions for the public's consideration on
the TPAC's Internet Web site (address: www.uspto.gov/about/advisory/tpac) after the USPTO publishes its proposed trademark fee schedule.
The public may wish to address those questions in its hearing testimony
and/or in written comments submitted to TPAC as described herein.
Following the TPAC public hearing, the USPTO will publish a Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register, setting forth its
proposed trademark fees. The publication of that Notice will open a
comment window through which the public may provide written comments
directly to the USPTO. Additional information about public comment to
the USPTO will be provided in the USPTO's Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking.
Dated: October 14, 2015.
Michelle K. Lee,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2015-26572 Filed 10-19-15; 8:45 am]
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