[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 27 (Wednesday, February 9, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7430-7433]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-02641]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Madrid Protocol
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.
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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
the extension and revision of an existing information collection: 0651-
0051 (Madrid Protocol). 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 April 11, 2022.
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-
0051 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, 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 information
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.
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 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
came into effect 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.
Individuals and businesses that use or intend to use such marks in
commerce may file an application to register the marks with the USPTO.
Both the register and the information provided in pending applications
for registration can be accessed by the public in order to determine
the availability of a mark and lessen the likelihood of initiating the
use of a mark previously adopted by another.
II. Method of Collection
Items in this information collection must be submitted via online
electronic submissions through the Trademark Electronic Application
System (TEAS). In limited circumstances, applicants may also be
permitted to submit the information in paper form by mail or hand
delivery.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0651-0051.
Forms:
PTO/1663 (Declaration of Continued Use/Excusable Nonuse of
Mark in Commerce Under Section 71)
PTO/1683 (Combined Declaration of Continued Use/Excusable
Nonuse and Incontestability Under Sections 71 and 15)
PTO/2131 (Application for International Registration)
PTO/2132 (Application for Subsequent Designation)
PTO/2133 (Response to Notice of Irregularity)
PTO/2314 (Replacement Request)
PTO/2315 (Transformation Request)
PTO/2316 (Petition to Director to Review Denial of
Certification of International Application)
PTO/2317 (Petition to Director for an International
Application/Registration)
Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved
information collection.
Affected Public: Private sector; individuals and households.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 54,082 respondents.
Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 54,082 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses
in
[[Page 7431]]
this information collection will take the public approximately between
40 minutes (0.66 hours) to 75 minutes (1.25 hours) to complete. This
includes 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: 48,671 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden: $21,171,885.
Table 1--Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Private Sector Respondents
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Estimated
Estimated Responses per Estimated Estimated time for Estimated Rate \1\ annual
Item No. Item annual respondent annual response (hours) burden (hour/ ($/hour) respondent
respondents responses year) cost burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (d).................... (c) x (d) = (f) (e) x (f) =
(c) (e) (g)
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1............ Application for 7,778 1 7,778 .66 (40 minutes)....... 5,133 $435 $2,232,855
International
Registration; PTO-
2131.
2............ Request for 34,960 1 34,960 1...................... 34,960 435 15,207,600
Extension of
Protection of
International
Registration to the
United States
(WIPO).
3............ Response to Notice 812 1 812 .66 (40 minutes)....... 536 435 233,160
of Irregularity;
PTO-2133.
4............ Replacement Request; 10 1 10 .75 (45 minutes)....... 8 435 3,480
PTO-2314.
5............ Transformation 2 1 2 .66 (40 minutes)....... 1 435 435
Request; PTO-2315.
6............ Petition to Director 3 1 3 1.25 (75 minutes)...... 4 435 1,740
to Review Denial of
Certification of
International
Application; PTO-
2316.
7............ Application for 740 1 740 1.25 (75 minutes)...... 925 435 402,375
Subsequent
Designation; PTO-
2132.
8............ Declaration of 4,703 1 4,703 .66 (40 minutes)....... 3,104 435 1,350,240
Continued Use/
Excusable Nonuse of
Mark in Commerce
Under Section 71;
PTO-1663.
9............ Combined Declaration 2,317 1 2,317 .66 (40 minutes)....... 1,529 435 665,115
of Continued Use/
Excusable Nonuse
and
Incontestability
Under Sections 71
and 15; PTO-1683.
10........... Petition to Director 50 1 50 .66 (40 minutes)....... 33 435 14,355
for an
International
Application/
Registration; PTO-
2317.
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Total............ 51,375 .............. 51,375 ....................... 46,233 .......... 20,111,355
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\1\ 2021 Report of the Economic Survey, published by the Committee on Economics of Legal Practice of the American Intellectual Property Law Association
(AIPLA); pg F-27. The USPTO uses the average billing rate for intellectual property attorneys in private firms which is $435 per hour. (https://www.aipla.org/home/news-publications/economic-survey).
Table 2--Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Individuals and Households Respondents
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Estimated
Estimated Responses per Estimated Estimated time for Estimated Rate \2\ annual
Item No. Item annual respondent annual response (hours) burden (hour/ ($/hour) respondent
respondents responses year) cost burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (d).................... (c) x (d) = (f) (e) x (f) =
(c) (e) (g)
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1............ Application for 409 1 409 .66 (40 minutes)....... 270 $435 $117,450
International
Registration; PTO-
2131.
2............ Request for 1,840 1 1,840 1...................... 1,840 435 800,400
Extension of
Protection of
International
Registration to the
United States
(WIPO).
3............ Response to Notice 43 1 43 .66 (40 minutes)....... 28 435 12,180
of Irregularity;
PTO-2133.
4............ Replacement Request; 1 1 1 .75 (45 minutes)....... 1 435 435
PTO-2314.
5............ Transformation 1 1 1 .66 (40 minutes)....... 1 435 435
Request; PTO-2315.
6............ Petition to Director 2 1 2 1.25 (75 minutes)...... 3 435 1,305
to Review Denial of
Certification of
International
Application; PTO-
2316.
7............ Application for 39 1 39 1.25 (75 minutes)...... 49 435 21,315
Subsequent
Designation; PTO-
2132.
8............ Declaration of 248 1 248 .66 (40 minutes)....... 164 435 71,340
Continued Use/
Excusable Nonuse of
Mark in Commerce
Under Section 71;
PTO-1663.
9............ Combined Declaration 122 1 122 .66 (40 minutes)....... 81 435 35,235
of Continued Use/
Excusable Nonuse
and
Incontestability
Under Sections 71
and 15; PTO-1683.
10........... Petition to Director 2 1 2 .66 (40 minutes)....... 1 435 435
for an
International
Application/
Registration; PTO-
2317.
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Totals........... 2,707 .............. 2,707 ....................... 2,438 .......... 1,060,530
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\2\ Ibid.
[[Page 7432]]
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden:
$21,516,380. This information collection has no capital start-up,
maintenance costs, or recordkeeping costs. However, this information
collection does have annual costs in the form of filing fees and
postage costs.
Filing Fees: Filing fees are charged per class of goods or services
and can vary depending on the number of classes. The filing fees shown
here are based on the minimum fee of one class per document associated
with this information collection.
Table 3--Estimated Total Annual Respondent Filing Fee Cost Burden
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Estimated Total non-hour
Item No. Item annual Filing fee cost burden
responses ($) (yr)
(a) (b) (a) x (b) =
(c)
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1........................ Application for International 6,959 $100 $695,900
Registration (for certifying an
international application based on a
single basic application or
registration, per international
class) (TEAS).
1........................ Application for International 1 200 200
Registration (for certifying an
international application based on a
single basic application or
registration, per international
class) (paper).
1........................ Application for International 1,228 150 184,200
Registration (for certifying an
international application based on
more than one basic application or
registration, per international
class) (TEAS).
1........................ Application for International 1 250 250
Registration (for certifying an
international application based on
more than one basic application or
registration, per international
class) (paper).
2........................ Request for Extension of Protection 36,800 500 18,400,000
of International Registration to the
United States (WIPO).
3........................ Transmitting a Subsequent Designation 779 100 77,900
under Section 7.21 (TEAS).
3........................ Transmitting a Subsequent Designation 1 200 200
under Section 7.21 (paper).
4........................ Notice of Replacement under Section 10 100 1,000
7.28 (per international class)
(TEAS).
4........................ Notice of Replacement under Section 1 200 200
7.28 (per international class)
(paper).
6........................ Transformation Request (per 2 350 700
international class (TEAS).
6........................ Transformation Request (per 1 750 750
international class) (paper).
7........................ Petition to Director to Review Denial 5 250 1,250
of Certification of International
Application (TEAS).
7........................ Petition to Director to Review Denial 1 350 350
of Certification of International
Application (paper).
8........................ Declaration of Continued Use/ 4,951 225 1,113,975
Excusable Nonuse of Mark in Commerce
Under Section 71 (per international
class) (TEAS).
8........................ Declaration of Continued Use/ 1 325 325
Excusable Nonuse of Mark in Commerce
Under Section 71 (per international
class) (paper).
9........................ Combined Declaration of Continued Use/ 2,439 425 1,036,575
Excusable Nonuse and
Incontestability Under Sections 71
and 15 (per international class)
(TEAS).
9........................ Combined Declaration of Continued Use/ 1 625 625
Excusable Nonuse and
Incontestability Under Sections 71
and 15 (per international class)
(paper).
10....................... Petition to Director for an 2 250 500
International Application/
Registration (TEAS).
10....................... Petition to Director for an 1 350 350
International Application/
Registration (paper).
10....................... Request to Record an Assignment or 8 100 800
Restriction, or Release of a
Restriction, under Sections 7.23 and
7.24 (TEAS).
10....................... Request to Record an Assignment or 1 200 200
Restriction, or Release of a
Restriction, under Section 7.23 and
7.24 (paper).
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Total............................. 53,193 .............. 21,516,250
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Postage Costs:
Although the USPTO requires that the items in this information
collection be submitted electronically, the items may, in limited
situations, be submitted by mail through the United States Postal
Service (USPS). Approximately 14 submissions per year are estimated to
be mailed to the USPTO. The USPTO estimates that the average postage
cost for a mailed submission, using a Priority Mail flat rate legal
envelope will be $9.25. Therefore, the USPTO estimates $130 in postage
costs associated with this information collection.
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 personally
identifiable information (PII)
[[Page 7433]]
in a comment, be aware that the entire comment-- including PII--may be
made publicly available at any time. While you may ask in your comment
to withhold PII 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. 2022-02641 Filed 2-8-22; 8:45 am]
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