[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 54 (Friday, March 20, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14968-14970]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-06448]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Proposed Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection;
Comment Request; Trademark Petitions
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part
of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden,
invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before May 19, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted by any of the following
methods:
Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0061 Trademark Petitions'' in the subject line of the message.
Mail: Marcie Lovett, Records Management Division Director,
Office of the Chief Information Officer, United States Patent and
Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to Catherine Cain, United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO), P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313- 1450; by
telephone at 571-272-8946; or by email at [email protected] with
``Paperwork'' 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 USPTO administers the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. 1051 et seq.,
[[Page 14969]]
which provides for the registration of trademarks, service marks,
collective trademarks and collective 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.
Individuals and businesses may also submit various communications
to the USPTO, including letters of protest, requests to make special,
responses to petition inquiry letters, petitions to make special,
requests to restore a filing date, and requests for reinstatement. The
USPTO uses the information described in this collection to process
letters of protest, requests to make special, responses to petition
inquiry letters, petitions to make special, requests to restore filing
date, and requests for reinstatement. The information is used by the
public for a variety of private business purposes related to
establishing and enforcing trademark rights. Information relating to
the registration of a trademark is made publicly available by the
USPTO. The release of information in a letter of protest is controlled
and may be available upon request only.
A letter of protest is an informal procedure whereby third parties
who object to the registration of a mark in a pending application may
bring to the attention of the USPTO evidence bearing on the
registrability of the mark. A letter of protest must identify the
application being protested and the proposed grounds for refusing
registration and include relevant evidence to support the protest.
A request to make special may be submitted where an applicant
requests that initial examination of an application be advanced out of
its regular order because the mark in the application was the subject
of an inadvertently cancelled or expired previous registration.
A response to a petition inquiry letter is submitted by a
petitioner who is responding to a notice of deficiency that the USPTO
issued after receiving an incomplete Petition to the Director. A
petition may be considered incomplete if, for example, it does not
include the fee required by 37 CFR 2.6 or if it includes an unverified
assertion that is not supported by evidence.
The USPTO generally examines applications in the order in which
they are received. A petition to make special is a request by the
applicant to advance the initial examination of an application out of
its regular order.
A request to restore a filing date is submitted by an applicant who
previously filed an application that was denied a filing date. The
request must include evidence showing that the applicant is entitled to
the earlier filing date.
If an applicant has proof that an application was inadvertently
abandoned due to a USPTO error, an applicant may file a request to
reinstate the application instead of a formal petition to revive. To
support such a request, the applicant must include clear evidence of
the USPTO error.
II. Method of Collection
Electronically, if applicants submit the information using the
forms available through the Trademark Electronic Application System
(TEAS). By mail or hand delivery, if applicants choose to submit the
information in paper form.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-0061.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; business or other for-
profit organizations; not-for-profit organizations.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 2,988 responses per year.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take
approximately 35 minutes (0.58 hours) to 75 minutes (1.25 hours) to
complete this information. This includes the time to gather the
necessary information, create the documents, and submit the completed
request to the USPTO.
The time per response, estimated annual responses, and estimated
annual hour burden associated with each instrument in this information
collection is shown in the table below.
Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 2,749.67 hours per year.
Estimated Total Annual Cost Burden: $1,069,620.33. The USPTO
expects that an attorney will complete the instruments associated with
this information collection. The professional hourly rate for attorneys
is $389. Using this hourly rate applied across the 2,749.67 respondent
burden hours associated with this collection, the USPTO estimates
$1,069,620.33 per year for the total hourly costs associated with
respondents.
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Estimated time Estimated
IC No. Information collection for response annual Estimated annual Rate ($/hr) Total cost
instrument (hours) responses burden hours
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (c) (c) x (d) =
(e)
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1.................................... Letter of Protest (TEAS Global) 1.0 1,692 1,692.00 $389.00 $658,188.00
1.................................... Letter of Protest (Paper)...... 1.25 423 528.75 389.00 205,683.75
2.................................... Request to Make Special TEAS 0.58 90 52.50 389.00 20,422.50
Global).
2.................................... Request to Make Special (Paper) 0.75 10 7.50 389.00 2,917.50
3.................................... Response to Petition to 0.58 200 116.67 389.00 45,383.33
Director Inquiry Letter (TEAS
Global).
3.................................... Response to Petition to 0.75 35 26.25 389.00 10,211.25
Director Inquiry Letter
(Paper).
4.................................... Petition to Make Special (TEAS 0.58 202 117.83 389.00 45,837.17
Global).
4.................................... Petition to Make Special 0.75 22 16.50 389.00 6,418.50
(Paper).
5.................................... Request to Restore Filing Date 0.58 1 0.58 389.00 226.92
(TEAS Global).
5.................................... Request to Restore Filing Date 0.75 5 3.75 389.00 1,458.75
(paper).
6.................................... Request for Reinstatement (TEAS 0.58 262 152.83 389.00 59,452.17
Global).
6.................................... Request for Reinstatement 0.75 46 34.5 389.00 13,420.50
(paper).
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Total............................ ............................... .............. 2,988 2,749.67 .............. 1,069,620.33
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[[Page 14970]]
Estimated Total Annual Cost Burden (Non-Hourly): $22,660.19. This
collection has no capital startup, maintenance, or operating fees. This
collection does have postage and filing fees.
Postage Costs
Applicants incur postage costs when submitting non-electronic
information to the USPTO by mail through the United States Postal
Service. The USPTO estimates that the vast majority--approximately
98%--of the paper forms are submitted to the USPTO via first-class
mail, while the rest are submitted by hand delivery. Out of 541 paper
forms, the USPTO estimates that 531 forms will be mailed, at a rate of
49 cents per ounce. Therefore, the USPTO estimates that the postage
costs for the paper submissions in this collection will be $260.19.
Filing Fees
The only item in this information collection with a filing fee is
the Petition to Make Special, with a filing fee of $100. The total
estimated filing fee cost for this collection is $22,400.
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Information collection Total non-hour
IC No. instrument Responses (yr) Filing fee ($) cost burden (yr)
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (c)
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4............................ Petition to Make Special 202 $100.00 $20,200.00
(TEAS Global).
4............................ Petition to Make Special 22 100.00 2,200.00
(Paper).
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Total.................... ........................ 224 ................. 22,400.00
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Therefore, the USPTO estimates that the total annual (non-hour)
cost burden for this collection, in the form of postage costs ($260.19)
and filing fees ($22,400.00), is $22,660.19 per year.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information,
including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c)
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of
information on respondents, including through the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g.,
permitting electronic submission of responses.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized or
included in the request for OMB approval of this information
collection; they will also become a matter of public record.
Dated: March 13, 2015.
Marcie Lovett,
Records Management Division Director, USPTO, Office of the Chief
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-06448 Filed 3-19-15; 8:45 am]
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