[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 12, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63839-63841]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-26847]
[[Page 63839]]
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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
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on a
proposed extension of an existing information collection: 0651-0051
(Madrid Protocol).
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before February 11,
2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 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: Catherine Cain, Attorney Advisory, Office of the
Commissioner for Trademarks, 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 issues an international registration
number, publishes the registration in the WIPO Gazette of International
Marks, and sends the certificate to the holder.
When the international registration is issued, 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 exists, the holder may
also file subsequent designations to request an extension of protection
to additional countries or request extension of goods/services not
already extended to previously designated 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- or
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 website.
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
website. 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. Methods 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: PTO-1663, PTO-1683, PTO-2131, PTO-2132, PTO-2133,
TEAS Global Forms.
Type of Review: Extension of an existing information collection.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other
for-profits; and not-for-profit institutions.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 14,691 responses per year. Of this
total, the USPTO expects that 14,682 response will be submitted
electronically via the TEAS system and 9 will be submitted on paper.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take
the public approximately between 20 minutes (0.33 hours) to seventy-
five minutes (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: 4,878.97 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent (Hourly) Cost Burden:
$2,136,988.86. The USPTO expects that an attorney will complete the
instruments
[[Page 63840]]
associated with this information collection. The professional hourly
rate for an intellectual property attorney in private firms in $438.
Using this hourly rate, the USPTO estimates that the total respondent
cost burden for this collection is $2,136,988.86 per year.
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Estimated
Estimated Estimated annual
# Item Estimated time for responses annual annual burden Rate respondent
responses hours cost
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)
(a) x (b) (c) x (d)
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1...................... Application for 0.33 (20 minutes)................... 8,540 2,818.20 $438.00 $1,234,371.60
International
Registration (TEAS).
1...................... Application for 0.58 (35 minutes)................... 1 0.58 438.00 254.04
International
Registration (paper).
2...................... Application for 0.33 (20 minutes)................... 930 306.90 438.00 134,422.20
Subsequent Designation
(TEAS).
2...................... Application for 0.58 (35 minutes)................... 1 0.58 438.00 254.04
Subsequent Designation
(paper).
3...................... Response to Notice of 0.33 (20 minutes)................... 315 103.95 438.00 45,530.10
Irregularity (TEAS).
3...................... Response to Notice of 0.55 (33 minutes)................... 1 0.55 438.00 240.90
Irregularity (paper).
4...................... Replacement Request (TEAS 0.50 (30 minutes)................... 1 0.50 438.00 219.00
Global).
4...................... Replacement Request 0.75 (45 minutes)................... 1 0.75 438.00 328.50
(paper).
5...................... Request to Record an 0.33 (20 minutes)................... 3 0.99 438.00 433.62
Assignment or
Restriction of a
Holder's Right to
Dispose of an
International
Registration (TEAS
Global).
5...................... Request to Record an 0.50 (30 minutes)................... 1 0.50 438.00 219.00
Assignment or
Restriction of a
Holder's Right to
Dispose of an
International
Registration (paper).
6...................... Transformation Request 0.33 (20 minutes)................... 1 0.33 438.00 144.54
(TEAS RF Global).
6...................... Transformation Request 0.55 (33 minutes)................... 1 0.55 438.00 240.90
(paper).
7...................... Petition to Director to 1 (60 minutes)...................... 42 42.00 438.00 18,396.00
Review Denial of
Certification of
International
Application (TEAS
Global).
7...................... Petition to Director to 1.25 (75 minutes)................... 1 1.25 438.00 547.50
Review Denial of
Certification of
International
Application (paper).
8...................... Declaration of Continued 0.33 (20 minutes)................... 3,250 1,072.50 438.00 469,755.00
Use/Excused Nonuse of
Mark in Commerce Under
Section 71 (TEAS).
8...................... Declaration of Continued 0.42 (25 minutes)................... 1 0.42 438.00 183.96
Use/Excused Nonuse of
Mark in Commerce Under
Section 71 (paper).
9...................... Combined Declaration of 0.33 (20 minutes)................... 1,600 528.00 438.00 231,264.00
Continued Use/Excusable
Nonuse and
Incontestability Under
Sections 71 and 15
(TEAS).
9...................... Combined Declaration of 0.42 (25 minutes)................... 1 0.42 438.00 183.96
Continued Use/Excusable
Nonuse and
Incontestability Under
Sections 71 and 15
(paper).
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Totals............. ......................... .................................... 14,691 4,878.97 .............. 2,136,988.86
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Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden:
$12,182,254.50. The collection has annual (non-hour) costs in the forms
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 98% of the responses in this collection will be submitted
electronically. Of the remaining 1 percent, the vast majority will be
submitted by mail, for a total of 9 mailed submissions. The average
first-class USPS postage cost for a mailed submission will be $0.50.
Therefore, the USPTO estimates that the postage costs for the mailed
submissions in this collection will total $4.50.
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 associated
with this collection will be approximately $12,182,250 per year, as
calculated in the table below.
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Estimated Estimated
# Item annual Fee amount annual filing
responses costs
(a) (b) (c)
(a) x (b)
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1............................. Application for International 7,313 $100.00 $731,300.00
Registration (for certifying an
international application based
on a single basic application
or registration, per
international class) (TEAS).
1............................. Application for International 1 200.00 200.00
Registration (for certifying an
international application based
on a single basic application
or registration, per
international class) (paper).
1............................. Application for International 1,227 150.00 184,050.00
Registration (for certifying an
international application based
on more than one basic
application or registration,
per international class) (TEAS).
1............................. Application for International 1 250.00 250.00
Registration (for certifying an
international application based
on more than one basic
application or registration,
per international class)
(paper).
1............................. Request for Extension of 25,600 400.00 10,240,000.00
Protection of International
Registration to the United
States--Filed at WIPO.
2............................. Transmitting a Subsequent 930 100.00 93,000.00
Designation under Section 7.21
(TEAS).
2............................. Transmitting a Subsequent 1 200.00 200.00
Designation under Section 7.21
(paper).
4............................. Notice of Replacement under 1 100.00 100.00
Section 7.28 (per international
class) (TEAS).
4............................. Notice of Replacement under 1 200.00 200.00
Section 7.28 (per international
class) (paper).
5............................. Request to Record an Assignment 3 100.00 300.00
or Restriction, or Release of a
Restriction, under Sections
7.23 and 7.24 (TEAS) (paper).
5............................. Request to Record an Assignment 1 200.00 200.00
or Restriction, or Release of a
Restriction, under Sections
7.23 and 7.24 (paper).
6............................. Transformation Request (per 1 275.00 275.00
international class ( TEAS RF
Global).
6............................. Transformation Request (per 1 600.00 600.00
international class) (paper).
7............................. Petition to Director to Review 42 100.00 4,200.00
Denial of Certification of
International Application
(TEAS).
7............................. Petition to Director to Review 1 200.00 200.00
Denial of Certification of
International Application
(paper).
8............................. Declaration of Continued Use/ 3,250 125.00 406,250.00
Excusable Nonuse of Mark in
Commerce Under Section 71 (per
international class) (TEAS).
8............................. Declaration of Continued Use/ 1 225.00 100.00
Excusable Nonuse of Mark in
Commerce Under Section 71 (per
international class) (paper).
8............................. Surcharge for Filing Affidavit 1 100.00 100.00
Under Section 71 of the Act
During the Grace Period, per
international class (TEAS).
8............................. Surcharge for Filing Affidavit 1 200.00 200.00
Under Section 71 of the Act
During the Grace Period, per
international class (paper).
9............................. Combined Declaration of 1,600 325.00 520,000.00
Continued Use/Excusable Nonuse
and Incontestability Under
Sections 71 and 15 (per
international class) (TEAS).
9............................. Combined Declaration of 1 525.00 525.00
Continued Use/Excusable Nonuse
and Incontestability Under
Sections 71 and 15 (per
international class) (paper).
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Totals.................... ................................ 39,978 .............. 12,182,250.00
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Therefore, the USPTO estimates that the total annual (non-hour)
cost burden for this collection, in the form of postage costs ($4.50)
and filing fees ($12,182,250), is $12,182,254.50 per year.
IV. Request for Comments
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.
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.
Marcie Lovett,
Records and Information Governance Division Director, OCTO, United
States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2018-26847 Filed 12-11-18; 8:45 am]
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