[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 15, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3015-3019]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-00603]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DHS-2012-0034]


Privacy Act of 1974; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; DHS/CBP-
004-Intellectual Property Rights e-Recordation and Search Systems, 
System of Records

AGENCY: Department of Homeland Security, Privacy Office.

ACTION: Notice of Privacy Act system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of 
Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection proposes to 
establish a new system of records titled, ``U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection, DHS/CBP-004-Intellectual Property Rights e-Recordation and 
Search Systems System of Records.'' This system of records allows the 
Department and CBP to collect and maintain records on copyrights, 
trademarks, and trade names that the respective owners have applied to 
have recorded with CBP. In addition, the Department is issuing a Notice 
of Proposed Rulemaking elsewhere in the Federal Register to exempt this 
system of records from certain provisions of the Privacy Act. This 
newly established system will be included in the Department's inventory 
of record systems.

DATES: Submit comments on or before February 14, 2013. This new system 
will be effective February 14, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS-
2012-034 by one of the following methods:
     Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 202-343-4010.
     Mail: Jonathan R. Cantor, Acting Chief Privacy Officer, 
Privacy Office, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number for this rulemaking. All comments received will be 
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any 
personal information provided.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, visit http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions, please contact: 
Laurence E. Castelli, 202-325-0280, CBP Privacy Officer, Office of 
International Trade/Regulations and Rulings, U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection, Mint Annex, 799 9th Street NW., Washington, DC 20229-1177. 
For privacy issues, please contact: Jonathan R. Cantor, 202-343-1717, 
Acting Chief Privacy Officer, Privacy Office, Department of Homeland 
Security, Washington, DC 20528.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) proposes to establish a new DHS system of records 
titled, ``DHS/CBP-004-Intellectual Property Rights e-Recordation and 
Search Systems System of Records.''
    The Intellectual Property Rights e-Recordation and Search Systems 
(IPRRSS) collect, use, and maintain records related to intellectual 
property rights recordations and their owners. The purpose of IPRRSS is 
to aid in the enforcement of intellectual property rights by making 
intellectual property recordations available to the public and to CBP 
officials.
    IPRRSS collectively encompasses three separate systems. The first 
system is the online Intellectual Property Rights e-Recordation (IPRR) 
system, which allows intellectual property owners to submit 
applications for trademark and copyright recordations. The IPRR system 
shares information with the public Intellectual Property Rights Search 
(IPRS) system and the CBP Intellectual Property Rights Internal Search 
(IPRiS) system. Because CBP may collect personally identifiable 
information (PII) about intellectual property rights holders, their 
agents, or their licensees in IPRR, IPRS, and IPRiS (collectively 
IPRRSS), CBP is providing the public notice about how CBP collects, 
uses, and maintains records related to intellectual property rights 
recordations.
    The authority for this system derives from Section 42 of the Lanham 
Act (Trademark Act of 1946), as amended, 15 U.S.C. 1124; Sections 101 
and 602 through 603 of the Copyright Act of 1976, as amended, 17 U.S.C. 
101, 602-603; and Sections 526, 595a, and 624 of the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended, 19 U.S.C. 1526, 1595a, and 1624. The cited sections 
provide that intellectual property rights owners may submit information 
to CBP to enable CBP officials to identify infringing articles at the 
borders and prevent the importation of counterfeit or pirated 
merchandise. Owners seeking to have merchandise excluded from entry 
must provide proof to CBP of the validity of the intellectual property 
rights they seek to protect.
    Pursuant to the Independent Offices Appropriations Act of 1952, 31 
U.S.C. 9701, and regulations at 19 CFR 133.3, 133.13, and 133.33, 
intellectual property rights owners or their agents must pay a fee when 
they apply for the recordation with CBP of their trademark, trade name, 
or copyright. Through IPRR's web-based interface, the user will be 
prompted through several steps that capture the user's required 
application information. Once the applicant has entered all required 
application information, IPRR will guide the applicant through a series 
of prompts seeking his/her billing name, billing address, and credit 
card information. IPRR forwards this payment information to Pay.gov for 
payment processing, and the applicant name and an IPRR tracking number 
to the DHS/CBP-003 Credit/Debit Card Data System (CDCDS) System of 
Records for payment reconciliation. Pay.gov sends a nightly activity 
file, including the last four digits of the credit card, authorization 
number, billing name, billing address, IPRR

[[Page 3016]]

tracking number, and Pay.gov tracking numbers to CDCDS. Pay.gov also 
sends a daily batch file with the necessary payment information to a 
commercial bank for settlement processing. After processing, the 
commercial bank sends a settlement file, including the full credit card 
number, authorization number, card type, transaction date, amount, and 
IPRR tracking number to CDCDS. Once IPRR receives confirmation from 
Pay.gov that the payment has been processed successfully, IPRR will 
retain the Pay.gov tracking number for payment reconciliation purposes 
in accordance with the CDCDS system of records retention schedule.
    When an applicant enters the registration number of a copyright or 
trademark he or she would like to record with CBP, the IPRR system must 
receive a positive match response from the U.S. Patent and Trademark 
Office (USPTO) and U.S. Copyright Office Web sites in order for the 
application to proceed. Only the registration number is shared with the 
USPTO and U.S. Copyright Office Web sites. If the registration number 
entered in IPRR does not match an entry in either of these Web sites, 
the applicant cannot record their trademark or copyright with CBP. Once 
a positive match response is received from these systems, certain 
fields in the application are automatically populated with public data 
taken directly from the U.S. Copyright Office or USPTO Web sites. All 
of the information copied from the U.S. Copyright Office or U.S. Patent 
and Trademark Office Web sites is publicly available at www.uspto.gov 
and www.copyright.gov.
    The public may search for trademark, trade name, and copyright 
information in IPRS, the public facing portion of this system of 
records. The IPRS database collects and retains only a portion of the 
information entered by the right holder in IPRR, such as the name, 
address, and phone number of the right holder or representative, along 
with a text description of the recorded trademark or copyright. This 
information allows retailers, consumers, and other businesses to 
contact the right owner to ensure that they are not obtaining goods 
that infringe on the owner's intellectual property rights.
    CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials 
have access to IPRiS to assist in the enforcement of intellectual 
property rights. IPRiS provides a central searchable database of all 
trademark, trade name, and copyright recordation information. IPRiS 
contains the same information as IPRS, but with additional fields 
containing confidential information submitted by the right holder, 
including the names of entities who have used the trademark or 
copyright, the country of manufacture of merchandise, images of the 
recorded trademark or copyright, lists of licensees, and any additional 
information relating to enforcement of the intellectual property right. 
Only CBP and ICE officials may search IPRiS.
    Only a few users within CBP have access to an administrative 
interface to process IPRR recordations. Those authorized CBP users with 
administrative access process the renewals of existing trademark and 
copyright recordations, trade name recordations, and information about 
ownership changes or cancellations.
    Consistent with DHS' information-sharing mission, information 
stored in the DHS/CBP-004-Intellectual Property Rights e-Recordation 
and Intellectual Property Rights Search Systems may be shared with 
other DHS components with a need to know the information. In addition 
these records may be shared with appropriate federal, state, local, 
tribal, territorial, foreign, or international government agencies so 
long as the recipient has a need to know the information to carry out 
functions consistent with the routine uses set forth in this system of 
records notice (SORN).
    In addition, DHS is issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
elsewhere in the Federal Register to exempt certain portions of this 
system of records from specific provisions of the Privacy Act. DHS is 
not exempting any data in IPRRSS regarding an individual's application 
for recordation of his or her trademark, trade name, or copyright. This 
system of records may contain records or information pertaining to the 
accounting of disclosures made from IPRRSS to other national security, 
law enforcement, or intelligence agencies (federal, state, local, 
foreign, international or tribal) in accordance with the published 
routine uses or statutory basis for disclosure under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b). 
For the accounting of these disclosures only, in accordance with 5 
U.S.C. 552a(j)(2), DHS will claim exemptions for these records or 
information. In addition, the system may contain records or information 
pertaining to individuals who may have used an intellectual property 
right without the owner's authorization. For information or records 
pertaining to the unauthorized use of intellectual property rights, in 
accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2), DHS will claim exemptions for 
these records or information.
    This newly established system of records will be included in DHS's 
inventory of record systems.

II. Privacy Act

    The Privacy Act embodies fair information practice principles in a 
statutory framework governing the means by which the federal government 
collects, maintains, uses, and disseminates personally identifiable 
information. The Privacy Act applies to information that is maintained 
in a ``system of records.'' A ``system of records'' is a group of any 
records under the control of an agency from which information is 
retrieved by the name of an individual or by some identifying number, 
symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual. In 
the Privacy Act, an individual is defined to encompass U.S. citizens 
and lawful permanent residents. As a matter of policy, DHS extends 
administrative Privacy Act protections to all persons, regardless of 
citizenship, where systems of records maintain information on U.S. 
citizens, lawful permanent residents, and visitors.
    Below is the description of the DHS/CBP-004-Intellectual Property 
Rights e-Recordation and Search Systems, System of Records.
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DHS has provided a report of 
this system of records to the Office of Management and Budget and to 
Congress.

System of Records:
DHS/CBP-004

System name:
    U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Intellectual Property Rights e-
Recordation and Search Systems (IPRRSS).

Security classification:
    Unclassified, sensitive.

System location:
    Records are maintained at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
Headquarters in Washington, DC and field offices.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
    The individuals included in the system include the owners of the 
trademark, trade name, or copyright; former owners of the trademark, 
trade name, or copyright; agents or representatives applying on behalf 
of the intellectual property right owners; contact persons; individuals 
authorized to use the trademark, trade name, or copyright; and other 
individuals who

[[Page 3017]]

are alleged to have infringed on the trademark, trade name, or 
copyright. For trade names, the system may include individuals who are 
not associated with or related to the trade name applicant, but who 
have actual knowledge and state that the applicant used the trade name, 
that the applicant is the only one who may use the trade name, and that 
the trade name is not identical or confusingly similar to another 
trademark or trade name used in connection with the same class or kind 
of merchandise. See 19 CFR 133.13. For copyrights, the names of the 
performers in the copyrighted work may be included. The photographs may 
include an individual modeling the trademark or copyrighted work, or an 
individual depicted in the copyrighted work.

Categories of records in the system:
    The categories of records in the system include, but are not 
limited to:

     Full name (first, middle, and last).
     Address (country, city, state and zip code).
     Telephone number.
     Fax number.
     Email address.
     Citizenship.
     Relationship to trademark, copyright, or trade name owner.
     USPTO or U.S. Copyright Office registration number.
     Description of registered trademark or registered 
copyright.
     Date of issuance of trademark or copyright registration.
     Country of manufacture of goods bearing the genuine 
trademark, or genuine copies or phonorecords of the protected work.
     Names of all parties authorized to use the trademark, 
trade name, or copyright, and the nature of the relationship to the 
owner.
     Names of any parties, foreign or domestic, who use or 
claim the trademark, trade name, or copyright, and a description of 
those uses or claims.
     Filing date of trademark registration.
     If the trademark being registered is a standard character 
mark.
     Date of expiration of the USPTO registration.
     Supplemental information concerning the trademark (e.g., 
type of mark or design code category).
     International class of goods covered by the USPTO 
registration and the specific products entitled to protection.
     Title of copyrighted work.
     Foreign title of the copyrighted work.
     IPRR tracking number.
     Pay.gov payment tracking number.
     Up to five digital images of the protected mark or 
copyrighted work.

Authority for maintenance of the system:
    The authority for this system derives from section 42 of the Lanham 
Act (Trademark Act of 1946), as amended, 15 U.S.C. 1124; sections 101 
and 602 through 603 of the Copyright Act of 1976, as amended, 17 U.S.C. 
101, 602-603; and sections 526, 595a, and 624 of the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended, 19 U.S.C. 1526, 1595a, and 1624; the Independent 
Offices Appropriations Act, 1952, 31 U.S.C. 9701; and regulations at 19 
CFR 133.3, 133.13, and 133.33.

Purpose(s):
    The purpose of this system is to collect and maintain information 
on valid trademarks, trade names, and copyrights, to enable CBP 
officials to identify at the border merchandise that infringes on 
registered trademarks, registered copyrights, or trade names. IPRRSS 
collection encompasses three separate systems. The Intellectual 
Property Rights e-Recordation (IPRR) system allows intellectual 
property owners to submit applications for trademark and copyright 
recordations. The IPRR system shares information with two other CBP 
intellectual property search systems: The public Intellectual Property 
Rights Search (IPRS) system, and the Intellectual Property Rights 
Internal Search (IPRiS) system. IPRS provides a web-based search engine 
for the public to research trademark, trade name, and copyright 
recordations. IPRiS is used to assist CBP and Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement (ICE) in enforcing copyrights, trademarks, and trade names.
    The Pay.gov tracking number (associated with the payment 
information provided to Pay.gov and stored in DHS/CBP-003 Credit/Debit 
Card Data System (CDCDS)) will be used to process application fees and 
to reconcile issues regarding payment between CDCDS and Pay.gov. 
Payment information, such as credit card numbers or account 
information, will not be used for determining recordation in IPRS or 
IPRiS, and is stored in a separate system (CDCDS) from the IPRR 
application data.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories 
of users and the purposes of such uses:
    In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 
552a(b) of the Privacy Act, all or a portion of the records or 
information contained in this system may be disclosed outside DHS as a 
routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
    A. To the Department of Justice (DOJ), including U.S. Attorney 
Offices, or other federal agency conducting litigation or in 
proceedings before any court, adjudicative or administrative body, when 
it is necessary or relevant to the litigation and one of the following 
is a party to the litigation or has an interest in such litigation:
    1. DHS or any component thereof;
    2. Any employee of DHS in his/her official capacity;
    3. Any employee of DHS in his/her individual capacity where DOJ or 
DHS has agreed to represent the employee; or
    4. The United States or any agency thereof.
    B. To a congressional office from the record of an individual in 
response to an inquiry from that congressional office made pursuant to 
a written Privacy Act waiver at the request of the individual to whom 
the record pertains.
    C. To the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) or 
General Services Administration pursuant to records management 
inspections being conducted under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 
2906.
    D. To an agency or organization for the purpose of performing audit 
or oversight operations as authorized by law, but only such information 
as is necessary and relevant to such audit or oversight function.
    E. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when:
    1. DHS suspects or has confirmed that the security or 
confidentiality of information in the system of records has been 
compromised;
    2. DHS has determined that as a result of the suspected or 
confirmed compromise there is a risk of harm to economic or property 
interests, identity theft or fraud, or harm to the security or 
integrity of this system or other systems or programs (whether 
maintained by DHS or another agency or entity) or harm to the 
individuals that rely upon the compromised information; and
    3. The disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is 
reasonably necessary to assist in connection with DHS's efforts to 
respond to the suspected or confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, 
or remedy such harm.
    F. To contractors and their agents, grantees, experts, consultants, 
and others performing or working on a contract, service, grant, 
cooperative agreement, or other assignment for DHS, when necessary to 
accomplish an agency function related to this system of records. 
Individuals provided

[[Page 3018]]

information under this routine use are subject to the same Privacy Act 
requirements and limitations on disclosure as are applicable to DHS 
officers and employees.
    G. To appropriate federal, state, tribal, local, or foreign 
governmental agencies or multilateral governmental organizations 
responsible for investigating or prosecuting the violations of, or for 
enforcing or implementing, a statute, rule, regulation, order, or 
license, where CBP believes the information would assist enforcement of 
applicable civil or criminal laws.
    H. To the U.S. Copyright Office or U.S. Patent and Trademark 
Office, to confirm that the applicant has a registered copyright or a 
registered trademark.
    I. To Pay.gov, for payment processing and payment reconciliation 
purposes.
    J. To members of the public, through IPRS, a portion of the 
intellectual property rights information, such as the name, address, 
and phone number of the intellectual property right owner and the 
owner's representative; and a description of the recorded trademark, 
trade name, or copyright. The intellectual property right owner 
consents to disclosing this portion of information in IPRS upon 
application for recordation, and the public information in IPRS does 
not include trade secrets, business proprietary information, or 
information about enforcement.
    K. To the news media and the public, with the approval of the Chief 
Privacy Officer in consultation with counsel, when there exists a 
legitimate public interest in the disclosure of the information or when 
disclosure is necessary to preserve confidence in the integrity of DHS 
or is necessary to demonstrate the accountability of DHS's officers, 
employees, or individuals covered by the system, except to the extent 
it is determined that release of the specific information in the 
context of a particular case would constitute an unwarranted invasion 
of personal privacy.

Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:
    None.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, 
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
    Records in this system are stored electronically or on paper in 
secure facilities in a locked drawer behind a locked door. The records 
are stored on magnetic disc, tape, digital media, and CD-ROM.

Retrievability:
    Authorized CBP officials may retrieve information in IPRiS by the 
data elements supplied by the applicant. The public may search the non-
confidential records in IPRS by keyword and Boolean operators, and may 
limit the search by title, product, description, owner, contact name, 
firm name, recordation number, or agency registration number; the 
public may also filter the search by trademarks, copyrights, trade 
names, exclusion orders, or whether the recordation has expired.

Safeguards:
    Records in this system are safeguarded in accordance with 
applicable rules and policies, including all applicable DHS automated 
systems security and access policies. Strict controls have been imposed 
to minimize the risk of compromising the information that is being 
stored. Access to the computer system containing the records in this 
system is limited to those individuals who have a need to know the 
information for the performance of their official duties and who have 
appropriate clearances or permissions.

Retention and disposal:
    CBP will retain expired recordations, which have not been renewed, 
for seven years after the date of expiration. NARA guidelines for 
retention and archiving of data will apply to IPRR, IPRS, and IPRiS; 
CBP is in negotiation with NARA for approval of the IPRRSS data 
retention and archiving plan.
    Payment information is not stored in IPRR, IPRiS or IPRS, but is 
forwarded to Pay.gov and stored in CBP's financial processing system, 
CDCDS, pursuant to the DHS/CBP-003, CDCDS system of records notice.

System Manager and address:
    Director, Office of Automated Systems, U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20229.

Notification procedure:
    The Secretary of Homeland Security has exempted portions of this 
system of records from the notification, access, and amendment 
procedures of the Privacy Act because the records may be used for law 
enforcement purposes. No exemption shall be asserted with respect to 
information maintained in the systems as it relates to data submitted 
by or on behalf of the owner of the trademark, trade name, or 
copyright, except with respect to information about individuals who are 
alleged to have infringed on the trademark, trade name, or copyright. 
DHS/CBP will consider individual requests to determine whether or not 
information may be released. Thus, individuals seeking notification of 
and access to any record contained in this system of records, or 
seeking to contest its content, may submit a request in writing to the 
CBP FOIA Officer whose contact information can be found at http://www.dhs.gov/foia under ``contacts.'' If an individual believes more 
than one component maintains Privacy Act records concerning him or her 
the individual may submit the request to the Chief Privacy Officer and 
Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer, Department of Homeland 
Security, 245 Murray Drive SW., Building 410, STOP-0655, Washington, DC 
20528.
    When seeking records about yourself from this system of records or 
any other Departmental system of records your request must conform with 
the Privacy Act regulations set forth in 6 CFR part 5. You must first 
verify your identity, meaning that you must provide your full name, 
current address and date and place of birth. You must sign your 
request, and your signature must either be notarized or submitted under 
28 U.S.C. 1746, a law that permits statements to be made under penalty 
of perjury as a substitute for notarization. While no specific form is 
required, you may obtain forms for this purpose from the Chief Privacy 
Officer and Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer, http://www.dhs.gov or 1-866-431-0486. In addition you should:
     Explain why you believe the Department would have 
information on you;
     Identify which component(s) of the Department you believe 
may have the information about you;
     Specify when you believe the records would have been 
created; and
     Provide any other information that will help the FOIA 
staff determine which DHS component agency may have responsive records.
    If your request seeks records pertaining to another living 
individual, you must also include a statement from that individual 
certifying his/her agreement for you to access his/her records. Without 
the information specified above, the component(s) may not be able to 
conduct an effective search, and your request may be denied due to lack 
of specificity or lack of compliance with applicable regulations.

Record access procedures:
    See ``Notification procedure'' above.

[[Page 3019]]

Contesting record procedures:
    See ``Notification procedure'' above.

Record source categories:
    Records are obtained primarily from the individual submitting the 
application for recordation of the trademark, trade name, or copyright. 
If the applicant provides a registered trademark number, the USPTO Web 
site will provide automatically supplemental information concerning the 
trademark, the USPTO registration number, the international class of 
goods covered by the registration and the specific products entitled to 
protection, the date the owner filed the registration application, and 
the date it issued the trademark registration. If the applicant 
provides a registered copyright, the U.S. Copyright Office Web site 
will provide automatically the title of the copyrighted work, the U.S. 
Copyright Office registration number, the date it issued the copyright 
registration, and the name of the copyright owner.

Exemptions claimed for the system:
    CBP will not assert any exemptions with respect to information in 
the systems submitted by the intellectual property right owner or the 
owner's representative, except with respect to information about 
individuals who are alleged to have infringed on the trademark, trade 
name, or copyright. Information in the system pertaining to persons 
alleged to have infringed on an intellectual property right may be 
shared with national security, law enforcement, or intelligence 
agencies pursuant to the above routine uses. The Privacy Act requires 
DHS to maintain an accounting of the disclosures made pursuant to all 
routines uses. Disclosing the fact that national security, law 
enforcement or intelligence agencies have sought particular records may 
affect ongoing national security, law enforcement, or intelligence 
activity. As such, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2), DHS will claim 
exemption from subsections (c)(3), (e)(8), and (g) of the Privacy Act 
of 1974, as amended, as necessary and appropriate to protect this 
information. In addition, because the system may contain information or 
records about the unauthorized use of intellectual property rights and 
disclosure of that information could impede law enforcement 
investigations, DHS will claim, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2), 
exemption from subsections (c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H), 
(e)(4)(I), and (f) of the Privacy Act of 1974, as necessary and 
appropriate to protect this information.

    Dated: December 12, 2012.
Jonathan R. Cantor,
Acting Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2013-00603 Filed 1-14-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-06-P