[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 130 (Monday, July 8, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55926-55927]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14919]


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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; Fastener Quality Act Insignia Recordal Process

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will submit 
the following information collection request to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of 
publication of this notice. The USPTO invites comments on this 
information collection renewal, which helps the USPTO assess the impact 
of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the 
Federal Register on April 23, 2024 during a 60-day comment period (89 
FR 30324). This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public 
comment.
    Agency: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of 
Commerce.
    Title: Fastener Quality Act Insignia Recordal Process.
    OMB Control Number: 0651-0028.
    Needs and Uses: Under Section 5 of the Fastener Quality Act (FQA) 
of 1999,\1\ 15 U.S.C. 5401 et seq., certain industrial fasteners must 
bear an insignia identifying the manufacturer. It is also mandatory for 
manufacturers of fasteners covered by the FQA to submit an application 
to the USPTO for recordal of the insignia on the Fastener Insignia 
Register.
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    \1\ https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-106publ34/pdf/PLAW-106publ34.pdf.
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    The procedures for the recordal of fastener insignia under the FQA 
are set forth in 15 CFR 280.300 et seq. The purpose of requiring both 
the insignia and the recordation is to ensure that certain fasteners 
can be traced to their manufacturers and to protect against the sale of 
mismarked, misrepresented, or counterfeit fasteners.
    The insignia may be a unique alphanumeric designation that the 
USPTO will issue upon request or a trademark that is registered at the 
USPTO or is the subject of an application to obtain a registration. 
After a manufacturer submits a complete application for recordal, the 
USPTO issues a Certificate of Recordal. These certificates remain 
active for five years. Applications to renew the certificates must be 
filed within six months of the expiration date or, upon payment of an 
additional surcharge, within six months following the expiration date.
    If a recorded alphanumeric designation is assigned by the 
manufacturer to a new owner, the designation becomes ``inactive'' and 
the

[[Page 55927]]

new owner must submit an application to reactivate the designation 
within six months of the date of assignment. If the recordal is based 
on a trademark application or registration and the registration is 
assigned to a new owner, the recordal becomes ``inactive'' and cannot 
be reassigned. Instead, the new owner of the trademark application or 
registration must apply for a new recordal. Manufacturers who record 
insignia must notify the USPTO of any changes of address.
    This information collection includes one form, the Application for 
Recordal of Insignia or Renewal/Reactivation of Recordal Under the 
Fastener Quality Act (PTO-1611), which provides manufacturers with a 
convenient way to submit a request for the recordal of a fastener 
insignia or to renew or reactivate an existing Certificate of Renewal.
    The public uses this information collection to comply with the 
insignia recordal provisions of the FQA. The USPTO uses the information 
in this collection to record or renew insignias under the FQA and to 
maintain the Fastener Insignia Register, which is open for public 
inspection and is updated quarterly. The public may download the 
Fastener Insignia Register from the USPTO website.\2\
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    \2\ https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/laws/fastener-quality-act-fqa/fastener-quality-act-fqa.
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Forms

 PTO-1611 (Application for Recordal of Insignia or Renewal/
Reactivation of Recordal Under the Fastener Quality Act)

    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.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 90 respondents.
    Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 90 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses 
in this information collection will take the public approximately 30 
minutes (0.50 hours) to complete. This includes the time to gather the 
necessary information, complete the form, and submit the completed 
request to the USPTO.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 45 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-Hourly Cost Burden: $2,413.
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of 
Commerce, USPTO information collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for this information 
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of 
this notice on the following website, www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting 
``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using 
the search function and entering either the title of the information 
collection or the OMB Control Number, 0651-0028.
    Further information can be obtained by:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0028 information request'' in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: Justin Isaac, Office of the Chief Administrative 
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, 
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.

Justin Isaac,
Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative 
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2024-14919 Filed 7-5-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P