[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 233 (Monday, December 5, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 87550-87551]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-29095]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Native American Tribal Insignia Database
ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.
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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, (44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(2)(A), is proposing an extension of an existing information
collection; the Native American Tribal Insignia Database.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before February 3,
2017.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0048 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
Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy, 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].
Additional information about this collection is also available at
http://www.reginfo.gov under ``Information Collection Review.''
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The Trademark Law Treaty Implementation Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-
330, 302, 112 Stat. 3071) required the United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) to study issues surrounding the protection of
the official insignia of federally and state-recognized Native American
tribes under trademark law. The USPTO conducted the study and presented
a report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees on November 30,
1999. One of the recommendations made in the report was that the USPTO
create and maintain an accurate and comprehensive database containing
the official insignia of all federally and state-recognized Native
American tribes. In accordance with this recommendation, the Senate
Committee on Appropriations directed the USPTO to create this database.
The USPTO database of official tribal insignias provides evidence
of what a federally or state-recognized Native American tribe considers
to be its official insignia. The database thereby assists trademark
examining attorneys in their examination of applications for trademark
registration by serving as a reference for determining the
registrability of a mark that may falsely suggest a connection to the
official insignia of a Native American tribe. The database is also
available to the public on the USPTO Web site at http://www.uspto.gov.
Tribes are not required to request that their official insignia be
included in the database. The entry of an official insignia into the
database does not confer any rights to the tribe that submitted the
insignia, and entry is not the legal equivalent of registering the
insignia as a trademark under 15 U.S.C. 1051 et seq. The inclusion of
an official tribal insignia in the database does not create any legal
presumption of validity or priority, does not carry any of the benefits
of federal trademark registration, and is not a determination as to
whether a particular insignia would be refused registration as a
trademark pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 1051 et seq.
Requests from federally recognized tribes to enter an official
insignia into the database must be submitted in writing and include:
(1) A depiction of the insignia, including the name of the tribe and
the address for correspondence; (2) a copy of the tribal resolution
adopting the insignia in question as the official insignia of the
tribe; and (3) a statement, signed by an official with authority to
bind the tribe, confirming that the insignia included with the request
is identical to the official insignia adopted by the tribal resolution.
Requests from state-recognized tribes must also be in writing and
include each of the three items described above that are submitted by
federally recognized tribes. Additionally, requests from state-
recognized tribes must include either: (a) A document issued by a state
official that evidences the state's determination that the entity is a
Native American tribe; or (b) a citation to a state statute designating
the entity as a Native American tribe.
The USPTO enters insignia that have been properly submitted by
federally or state-recognized Native American tribes into the database
and does not investigate whether the insignia is actually the official
insignia of the tribe making the request.
This collection includes the information needed by the USPTO to
enter an official insignia for a federally or state-recognized Native
American tribe into a database of such insignia. No forms are
associated with this collection.
II. Method of Collection
By mail, facsimile, or hand delivery to the USPTO.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-0048.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Tribal governments.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 4 responses per year.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that a federally
or state-recognized Native American tribe will require an average of 45
minutes (0.75 hours) to complete a request to record an official
insignia, including time to prepare the appropriate documents and
submit the completed request to the USPTO.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 3 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $256.50. The USPTO
expects that the information in this collection will be prepared by
both paraprofessionals and administrative staff. The estimated rate of
$85.50 per hour used in this submission is an average of the
paraprofessional rate of $141 per hour and the administrative rate of
$30 per hour. Therefore, the USPTO estimates that the respondent cost
burden for this collection will be approximately $256.50 per year.
[[Page 87551]]
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Estimated time Estimated
IC # Item for response annual Estimated annual Rate ($/hr)
(minutes) responses burden hours
(a) (b) (a) x (b)/60 = ..............
(c)
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1............................................. Request to Record an Official 45 3 2.25 $85.50
Insignia of a Federally Recognized
Tribe.
2............................................. Request to Record an Official 45 1 0.75 85.50
Insignia of a State-Recognized Tribe.
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Totals............................... .............. 4 3 ..............
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Estimated Total Annual Non-Hour Respondent Cost Burden: $4.80.
There are no capital start-up, maintenance, or recordkeeping costs
associated with this information collection. There are also no filing
fees for submitting a tribal insignia for recording. However, this
collection does have annual (non-hour) cost burden in the form of
postage costs.
Customers may incur postage costs when submitting the information
in this collection to the USPTO by mail. The USPTO estimates that the
average first-class postage cost for a submission mailed through the
U.S. Postal Service will be $1.20 (based on a large 9'' by 12''
envelope weighing 2 ounces) and that 4 submissions will be mailed to
the USPTO per year. Therefore, the total annual (non-hour) respondent
cost burden for this collection is estimated to be approximately $4.80
per year.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will
become a matter of public record.
The USPTO is soliciting public comments to:
(a) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
(b) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
(c) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(d) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic
submission of responses.
Dated: November 30, 2016.
Marcie Lovett,
Records Management Division Director, OCIO, United States Patent and
Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2016-29095 Filed 12-2-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P