[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 75 (Wednesday, April 17, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27420-27421]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08089]



[[Page 27420]]

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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 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-
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 June 17, 2024.

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 eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
     Mail: Justin Isaac, Office of the Chief Administrative 
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, 
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Request 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 at [email protected] 
with ``0651-0056 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

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) administers 
the Trademark Act (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 businesses 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 
application, or filing the papers necessary to keep a trademark in 
force. In the majority of circumstances, individuals and businesses 
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 or 
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.
    This information collection covers various actions concerning the 
appointment and retention of attorneys and domestic representatives in 
trademark registrations. The information in this collection is also a 
matter of public record and is utilized by the public for a variety of 
private business purposes related to establishing and enforcing 
trademark rights.

II. Method of Collection

    Items in this information collection must be submitted 
electronically. 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-2201 (Request for Withdrawal as Attorney of Record/Update 
of USPTO's Database After Power of Attorney Ends)
 PTO-2300 (Change Address or Representation Form)

    Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved 
information collection.
    Affected Public: Private sector.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
    Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 486,000 respondents.
    Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 486,000 responses.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses 
in this information collection will take the public approximately 
between 15 minutes (0.25 hours) and 1 hour to complete. This includes 
the time to gather the necessary information, prepare the appropriate 
documents, and submit the completed request to the USPTO.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 156,650 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden: $70,022,550.

[[Page 27421]]



                                       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)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...........  Revocation,                  430,000               1         430,000  0.33 (20 minutes)........         141,900       $447     $63,429,300
               Appointment, and/or
               Change of Address
               of Attorney/
               Domestic
               Representative--PTO
               -2300.
2...........  Request for                   45,000               1          45,000  0.25 (15 minutes)........          11,250        447       5,028,750
               Withdrawal as
               Attorney of Record/
               Update of USPTO's
               Database After
               Power of Attorney
               Ends--PTO-2201.
3...........  Replacement of                 1,000               1           1,000  1........................           1,000        447         447,000
               Attorney of Record
               with Another
               Already-Appointed
               Attorney--PTO-2300.
4...........  Request to Withdraw           10,000               1          10,000  0.25 (15 minutes)........           2,500        447       1,117,500
               as Domestic
               Representative--PTO
               -2300.
                                   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Totals...........         486,000  ..............         486,000  .........................         156,650  .........      70,022,550
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\1\ 2023 Report of the Economic Survey, published by the Committee on Economics of Legal Practice of the American Intellectual Property Law Association
  (AIPLA); pg. F-41. The USPTO uses the average billing rate for intellectual property work in all firms which is $447 per hour (https://www.aipla.org/home/news-publications/economic-survey).

    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden: $508. 
There are no capital start-up, maintenance costs, recordkeeping costs, 
or filing fees associated with this information collection. However, 
USPTO estimates that the total annual (non-hour) cost burden for this 
information collection, in the form of postage is $508.
    Postage Costs: In limited circumstances, applicants may be 
permitted to submit the information in paper form by mail, fax, or hand 
delivery. Applicants and registrants incur postage costs when 
submitting information to the USPTO by mail through the United States 
Postal Service. The USPTO estimates that 50 of the items in this 
information collection will submitted via mail. The USPTO estimates 
that the average postage cost for a mailed submission, using a Priority 
Mail legal flat rate envelope, will be $10.15. Therefore, the USPTO 
estimates the total mailing costs for this information collection at 
$508.

IV. Request for Comments

    The USPTO is soliciting public comments to:
    (a) Evaluate whether the 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 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) 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.

Justin Isaac,
Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative 
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2024-08089 Filed 4-16-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P