[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 18 (Tuesday, January 28, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4452-4454]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-01520]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Response to Office Action and Voluntary Amendment Forms
ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.
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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
this continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before March 31, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0050 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
Mail: Susan K. Fawcett, Records Officer, 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, Attorney Advisor, Office of the
Commissioner for Trademarks, 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]. Additional information about
this collection is also available at http://www.reginfo.gov under
``Information Collection Review.''
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
This collection of information is required by the Trademark 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 such marks, or intend to use such marks, in
interstate commerce may file an application to register their marks
with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In some
cases, the USPTO issues Office Actions to applicants who have applied
for a trademark application, requesting additional 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 Trademark 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 putting forth legal arguments as to why the refusal of
registration should be withdrawn.
The USPTO administers the Trademark Act through Chapter 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
further information by filing a Voluntary Amendment Not in Response to
USPTO Office Action/Letter, a Request for Reconsideration after Final
Office Action, a Post-Publication Amendment, a Petition to Amend Basis
Post-Publication, and a Suspension Inquiry or Letter of Suspension, or
by submitting a Substitute Trademark/Servicemark, Substitute
Certification Mark, or Substitute Collective Membership Mark
application.
Thus, this collection includes information that was not submitted
with the initial application and is needed by the USPTO to review
applications for trademark registration.
II. Method of Collection
The forms in this collection are available in electronic format
through the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), which may
be accessed on the USPTO Web site. TEAS Global Forms are available for
the items where a TEAS form with dedicated data fields is not yet
available. Applicants may also submit the information in paper form by
mail, fax, or hand delivery.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-0050.
Form Number(s): PTO 1771, 1822, 1957, 1960, and 1966.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
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Affected Public: Businesses or other for profits; not-for-profit
institutions.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 271,783 responses per year.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take
the public from 10 to 40 minutes (0.17 to 0.67 hours), depending on the
complexity of the situation, to gather the necessary information,
prepare the appropriate documents, and submit the information required
for this collection.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 132,122 hours per
year.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $51,395,458. The
USPTO expects that the information in this collection will be prepared
by attorneys at an estimate rate of $389 per hour. Therefore, the USPTO
estimates that the respondent cost burden for this collection will be
approximately $51,395,458 per year.
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Estimated time Estimated Estimated
Item for response annual annual burden
(minutes) responses hours
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Response to Office Action (TEAS)................................ 30 218,540 109,270
Response to Office Action (Paper)............................... 35 10,927 6,338
Substitute Trademark/Servicemark Application, Principal Register 30 1 1
(TEAS Global)..................................................
Substitute Trademark/Servicemark Application, Principal Register 30 1 1
(Paper)........................................................
Substitute Certification Mark (TEAS Global)..................... 30 1 1
Substitute Certification Mark (Paper)........................... 30 1 1
Substitute Collective Membership Mark........................... 30 1 1
(TEAS Global)...................................................
Substitute Collective Membership Mark (Paper)................... 30 1 1
Substitute Collective Trademark/Servicemark (TEAS Global)....... 30 1 1
Substitute Collective Trademark/Servicemark (Paper)............. 30 1 1
Voluntary Amendment Not in Response to USPTO Office Action/ 20 11,000 3,630
Letter (TEAS)..................................................
Voluntary Amendment Not in Response to USPTO Office Action/ 25 224 94
Letter (Paper).................................................
Request for Reconsideration After Final Office Action (TEAS).... 35 15,000 8,700
Request for Reconsideration After Final Office Action (Paper)... 40 625 419
Post-Publication Amendment (TEAS)............................... 25 2,900 1,218
Post-Publication Amendment (Paper).............................. 30 59 30
Petition to Amend Basis Post-Publication (TEAS Global).......... 15 3,000 750
Petition to Amend Basis Post-Publication (Paper)................ 20 125 41
Response to Suspension Inquiry or Letter of Suspension (TEAS)... 10 9,000 1,530
Response to Suspension Inquiry or Letter of Suspension (Paper).. 15 375 94
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Totals...................................................... .............. 271,783 132,122
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Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden: $5,916.
There are no capital start-up, maintenance, or record keeping costs
associated with this information collection, nor are there filing fees.
However, this collection does have annual (non-hour) costs in the form
of postage costs.
Customers incur postage costs when submitting non-electronic
information to the USPTO by mail through the United States Postal
Service. The USPTO expects that the majority (roughly 98%) of the paper
forms are submitted to the USPTO via first-class mail. The USPTO
estimates that these submissions will typically weigh approximately one
ounce and that the first-class postage rate for these submissions is 49
cents.
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Total (non-
Item Responses Postage costs hour) cost
($) burden
(a) (b) (a x b) = (c)
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Response to Office Action....................................... 10,708 0.49 5,247.00
Substitute Trademark/Servicemark Application, Principal Register 1 0.49 1.00
Substitute Certification Mark................................... 1 0.49 1.00
Substitute Collective Membership Mark........................... 1 0.49 1.00
Substitute Collective Trademark/Servicemark..................... 1 0.49 1.00
Voluntary Amendment Not in Response to USPTO Office Action/ 220 0.49 108.00
Letter.........................................................
Request for Reconsideration after Final Office Action........... 613 0.49 300.00
Post-Publication Amendment...................................... 58 0.49 28.00
Petition to Amend Basis Post-Publication........................ 123 0.49 60.00
Response to Suspension Inquiry or Letter of Suspension.......... 368 0.49 169.00
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Totals...................................................... 12,094 .............. 5,916.00
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There are no filing fees associated with this collection.
The USPTO estimates that the total (non-hour) respondent cost
burden for this collection in the form of postage costs is $5,916 per
year.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will
become a matter of public record.
The USPTO is soliciting public comments to: (a) Evaluate 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) Evaluate the
[[Page 4454]]
accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed
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.
Dated: January 23, 2014.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-01520 Filed 1-27-14; 8:45 am]
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