[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 189 (Tuesday, September 29, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60973-60974]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-21555]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Trademark Submissions Regarding Correspondence and Regarding 
Attorney Representation

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of an information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments 
on the extension and revision of an existing information collection: 
0651-0056 (Trademark Submissions Regarding Correspondence and Regarding 
Attorney Representation). The purpose of this notice is to allow 60 
days for public comment preceding submission of the information 
collection to OMB.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this information 
collection must be received on or before November 30, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by 
any of the following methods. Do not submit Confidential Business 
Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information.
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0056 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
     Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
     Mail: Kimberly Hardy, Office of the Chief Administrative 
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, United States 
Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; 
by telephone at 571-272-8946; or by email to [email protected] 
with ``0651-0056 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

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) administers 
the Trademark Act, 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 their 
marks with the USPTO.
    Such individuals and business may also submit various 
communications to the USPTO regarding their pending applications or 
registered trademarks, including providing additional information 
needed to process a pending application, filing amendments to the 
applications, or filing the papers necessary to keep a trademark in 
force. In the majority of circumstances, individuals and business 
retain attorneys to handle these matters. As such, these parties may 
also submit communications to the USPTO regarding the appointment of 
attorneys to represent applicants or registrants in the application and 
post-registration processes or, in the case of applicants or 
registrants who are not domiciled in the United States, the appointment 
of domestic representatives on whom may be served notices of process in 
proceedings affecting the mark, the revocation of an attorney's or 
domestic representative's appointment, and requests for permission to 
withdraw from representation.
    The regulations implementing the Act are set forth in 37 CFR part 
2. Regulations regarding representation of others before the USPTO are 
also set forth in 37 CFR part 11. In addition to governing the 
registration of trademarks, the Act and regulations govern the 
appointment and revocation of attorneys and domestic representatives 
and provide the specifics for filing requests for permission to 
withdraw as the attorney of record. The information in this information 
collection is available to the public.

II. Method of Collection

    Items in this information collection must be submitted via online 
electronic submissions. In limited circumstances, applicants may be 
permitted to submit the information in paper form by mail, fax, or hand 
delivery.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0651-0056.
    Forms:
 PTO Form 2300: (TEAS Change Address or Representation Form)
 PTO Form 2201: (TEAS Request for Withdrawal as Attorney of 
Record/Update of USPTO's Database After Power of Attorney Ends)
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits, not-for-profit 
institutions; individuals or households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 204,323 respondents per year.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 204,323 responses per year.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
the public between 12 minutes (0.2 hours)

[[Page 60974]]

and 1 hour to complete a response, depending upon the complexity of the 
situation. This includes the time to gather the necessary information, 
prepare the appropriate documents, and submit the completed request to 
the USPTO.
    Estimated Time Annual Burden Hours: 50,437 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent (Hourly) Cost Burden: 
$20,174,800.

                                          Table 1--Total Estimated Hourly Burden for Private Sector Respondents
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                                                                                             Estimated
                                                             Estimated       Estimated       time for        Estimated     Rate \1\ ($/      Estimated
           Item No.                       Item                annual          annual         response      annual burden       hour)        annual cost
                                                            respondents      responses        (hours)          hours                          burden
                               (a)......................             (b)     (a) x (b) =             (d)     (c) x (d) =
                                                                                     (c)                             (e)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1............................  Revocation, Appointment,          162,368         162,368            0.25          40,592            $400     $16,236,800
                                and/or Change of Address
                                of Attorney/Domestic
                                Representative.
2............................  Request for Withdrawal as          12,389          12,389            0.20           2,478             400         991,200
                                Attorney of Record/
                                Update of USPTO's
                                Database After Power of
                                Attorney Ends.
3............................  Replacement of Attorney                88              88               1              88             400          35,200
                                of Record with Another
                                Already-Appointed
                                Attorney.
4............................  Request to Withdraw as                873             873            0.25             218             400          87,200
                                Domestic Representative.
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total....................  .........................         175,718         175,718  ..............          43,376  ..............      17,350,400
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\1\ 2019 Report of the Economic Survey from the Law Practice Management Committee of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA). https://www.aipla.org/detail/journal-issue/2019-report-of-the-economic-survey The hourly rate of $400.


                                     Table 2--Total Estimated Hourly Burden for Individual and Household Respondents
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                             Estimated
                                                             Estimated       Estimated       time for        Estimated     Rate \2\ ($/      Estimated
           Item No.                       Item                annual          annual         response     annual  burden       hour)        annual cost
                                                            respondents      responses        (hours)          hours                          burden
                               (a)......................             (b)     (a) x (b) =             (d)     (c) x (d) =
                                                                                     (c)                             (e)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1............................  Revocation, Appointment,           26,432          26,432            0.25           6,608            $400      $2,643,200
                                and/or Change of Address
                                of Attorney/Domestic
                                Representative.
2............................  Request for Withdrawal as           2,017           2,017            0.20             403             400         161,200
                                Attorney of Record/
                                Update of USPTO's
                                Database After Power of
                                Attorney Ends.
3............................  Replacement of Attorney                14              14               1              14             400           5,600
                                of Record with Another
                                Already-Appointed
                                Attorney.
4............................  Request to Withdraw as                142             142            0.25              36             400          14,400
                                Domestic Representative.
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total....................  .........................          28,605          28,605  ..............           7,061  ..............       2,824,400
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\2\ 2019 Report of the Economic Survey from the Law Practice Management Committee of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA). https://www.aipla.org/detail/journal-issue/2019-report-of-the-economic-survey The hourly rate of $400.

    Estimated Total Annual Non-Hour Respondent Cost Burden: $1,369.
    There are no filing fees or capital start-up, maintenance, 
operation, or recordkeeping costs associated with this information 
collection. However, this information collection does have postage 
costs associated with applicants submitting permitted items by mail. 
The USPTO estimates that the average first-class postage cost for a 
mailed submission will be $8.05. The USPTO estimates that 170 permitted 
paper submissions will be mailed for a total non-hour respondent cost 
burden of $1,369.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.

IV. Request for Comments

    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.
    All comments submitted in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. USPTO will include or summarize each comment in the 
request to OMB to approve this information collection. Before including 
an address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying 
information in a comment, be aware that the entire comment--including 
personal identifying information--may be made publicly available at any 
time. While you may ask in your comment to withhold personal 
identifying information from public view, USPTO cannot guarantee that 
it will be able to do so.

Kimberly Hardy,
Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative 
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2020-21555 Filed 9-28-20; 8:45 am]
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