[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 136 (Friday, July 17, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44830-44832]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-14389]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Response to Office Action and Voluntary Amendment Forms
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (hereafter
``USPTO'' or ``Agency''), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, invites comments on the extension and revision of an existing
information collection: 0651-0050 (Response to Office Action and
Voluntary Amendment Forms). The purpose of this notice is to allow 60
days for public comments preceding submission of the information
collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
DATES: To ensure consideration, you must submit comments regarding this
information collection on or before September 15, 2026.
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-
0050 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://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.
Telephone: Emily Carlsen, Office of the Deputy
Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy, 571-272-2235.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to Emily Carlsen, Senior Attorney Advisor, at:
Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy,
United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria,
VA 22313-1450; 571-272-2235; or [email protected] with ``0651-
0050 comment'' in the subject line. Additional information about this
information collection is also available at https://www.reginfo.gov/public/ under ``Information Collection Review.''
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
This collection of information is required by the Trademark Act
(Act), 15 U.S.C. 1051 et seq., which provides for the registration of
trademarks, service marks, collective trademark 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 United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO). This information collection generally
contains information that is not submitted with the initial trademark
application but is associated with, or required for, the USPTO review
of applications for registration.
In some cases, the USPTO issues Office actions to applicants who
have applied to register a mark, to request information that was not
provided with the initial submission but is required before the
issuance of a registration. Also, the USPTO may determine that a mark
is not entitled to registration, pursuant to one or more provisions of
the Act. In such cases, the USPTO will issue an Office action advising
the applicant of the refusal to register the mark. Applicants reply to
these Office actions by providing the required information and/or by
advancing legal arguments as to why the refusal of registration should
be withdrawn.
[[Page 44831]]
The USPTO administers the Act through Title 37 of the Code of
Federal Regulations. These rules allow the USPTO to request and receive
information required to process applications. These rules also allow
applicants to submit certain amendments to their applications.
Applicants may also supplement their applications and provide
additional information by filing a Voluntary Amendment Not in Response
to USPTO Office Action/Letter, a Request for Reconsideration after
Final Action, a Post-Approval/Publication/Post-Notice of Allowance
(NOA) Amendment, a Petition to Amend Basis Post-Publication, a Response
to Suspension Inquiry or Letter of Suspension, or a Request for
Extension of Time to File a Response.
II. Method of Collection
The USPTO prefers that items in this information collection be
submitted electronically via Trademark Center and 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: 0651-0050.
Forms:
PTO-1771 (Post-Approval/Publication/Post-Notice of Allowance
(NOA) Amendment)
PTO-1772 (Petition to Amend Basis Post-Publication)
PTO-1822 (Response to Suspension Inquiry or Letter of
Suspension)
PTO-1957 (Response to Office Action)
PTO-1960 (Request for Reconsideration after Final Action)
PTO-1966 (Voluntary Amendment Form)
PTO-2313 (Request for Extension of Time to File a Response)
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: 431,900 respondents.
Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 431,900 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses
in this information collection will take the public approximately 5
minutes (0.08 hours) to 50 minutes (0.83 hours) to complete. This
includes the time to gather the necessary information, create the
document, and submit the completed item(s) to the USPTO.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 309,962 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden: $170,479,100.
Table 1--Total Reporting Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Private Sector Respondents
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Estimated
Estimated Responses Estimated Estimated time for response Estimated Rate \1\ annual
Item No. Item annual per annual (hours) burden (hour/ ($/hour) respondent
respondents respondent 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............... Response to Office 300,000 1 300,000 0.83 (50 minutes)........... 249,000 $550 $136,950,000
Action; PTO-1957.
2............... Voluntary Amendment 25,000 1 25,000 0.58 (35 minutes)........... 14,500 550 7,975,000
Not in Response to
USPTO Office Action/
Letter; PTO-1966.
3............... Request for 36,000 1 36,000 0.83 (50 minutes)........... 29,880 550 16,434,000
Reconsideration
After Final Action;
PTO-1960.
4............... Post-Approval/ 7,300 1 7,300 0.58 (35 minutes)........... 4,234 550 2,328,700
Publication/Post-
Notice of Allowance
(NOA) Amendment; PTO-
1771.
5............... Petition to Amend 1,600 1 1,600 0.58 (35 minutes)........... 928 550 510,400
Basis Post-
Publication; PTO-
1772.
6............... Response to 19,000 1 19,000 0.42 (25 minutes)........... 7,980 550 4,389,000
Suspension Inquiry
or Letter of
Suspension; PTO-1822.
7............... Request for Extension 43,000 1 43,000 0.08 (5 minutes)............ 3,440 550 1,892,000
of Time to File a
Response; PTO-2313.
Totals............ 431,900 ........... 431,900 ............................ 309,962 .......... $170,479,100
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Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden:
$28,816,690. There are no capital start-up costs, maintenance costs, or
recordkeeping costs associated with this information collection.
However, the USPTO estimates that the total annual non-hour cost burden
for this information collection, in the form of filing fees and
postage, is $28,816,690.
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\1\ 2025 Report of the Economic Survey, published by the
Committee on Economics of Legal Practice of the American
Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA); pg. F-35. The USPTO
uses the average billing rate for intellectual property work in all
firms which is $550 per hour (https://www.aipla.org/home/news-publications/economic-survey/2025-report-of-the-economic-survey).
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Filing Fees
There are four filing fees associated with this information
collection as listed in the table below:
Table 2--Filing Fees
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Estimated Estimated non-
Item No. Fee code Item annual Estimated cost hourly cost
responses burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) =
(c)
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1................. 7018 Insufficient information 8,000 $100 $800,000
(Sections 1 and 44), per
class.
1................. 7019 Using the free-form text box 110,000 200 22,000,000
instead of the Trademark ID
Manual within Trademark
Center to identify goods
and services (Sections 1
and 44), per class.
[[Page 44832]]
5................. 7005 Petition to Amend Basis Post- 1,599 400 639,600
Publication.
5................. 6005 Petition to Amend Basis Post- 1 500 500
Publication (paper).
7................. 7016 Extension of time for filing 43,000 125 5,375,000
a response to a pre-
registration office action.
Totals................... 162,600 .............. $28,815,100
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Postage Costs
Although the USPTO prefers that the items in this information
collection be submitted electronically, responses may be submitted by
mail through the United States Postal Service. The USPTO estimates that
120 of the items of this information collection may be submitted in
themail. The USPTO estimates that the average postage cost for a mailed
submission, using a Priority Mail legal flat-rate envelope, will be
$13.25. Therefore, the USPTO estimates the total mailing costs for this
information collection at $1,590.
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 for those
who intend 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. The 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 advised that the entire
comment--including PII--may be made publicly available at any time.
While one may request in a comment to withhold PII from public view,
the 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. 2026-14389 Filed 7-16-26; 8:45 am]
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