[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 171 (Tuesday, September 3, 1996)] [Notices] [Pages 46435-46436] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 96-22282] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Department of Commerce Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request The Department of Commerce (DOC) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). Agency: Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). Title: Trademark Registration Processing. Agency Approval Number: 0651-0009. Form Numbers: PTO Forms 1478, 1478a, 4.8, 4.9, 4.17a, 1553, and 1581. Type of Request: Reinstatement, with change, of a previously approved collection for which approval has expired. Burden: 193,988 hours. Number of Respondents: 239,571. Avg. Hours Per Response: 1 hour for PTO Forms 1478, 1478s, 4.8 and 4.9, and 4.17a; .25 hour for PTO Form 1553. Needs and Uses: This collection of information is required by the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. 1501, et. eq, which provides for the Federal registration of trademarks and service marks. Any individual or business owning a valid mark, that is used in connection with goods or services traveling in commerce regulable by the U.S. Congress, may apply to federally register its mark. A registration is valid for ten years and renewable, by affidavit, for like periods. The Patent and Trademark Office administers the Trademark Act according to 37 CFR Part 2, containing the rules that implement the Trademark Act. Registration is not required to obtain rights in a mark; however, registration provides certain benefits, such as access to the Federal court system and nationwide constructive notice of the Registrant's rights. No individual or business is required to register a trademark, or to use the forms in this collection. The forms are provided as a convenience to the public, and serve as guidance on what information is legally mandated, should an individual or business desire registration. The PTO uses this information to determine the eligibility of each mark for registration and to maintain a public search library where copies of the registration certificates for marks can be searched. The PTO also provides the information to the Patent and Trade Depository Libraries (PTDLs) that also maintain the information for use by the public. The information is a matter of public record, and used by the public for a variety of private business purposes related to establishing and reinforcing trademark rights. This information is important to the public, since both common law trademark owners and Federal trademark registrants must actively protect their own rights. Affected Public: Trademark Owners and Trademark Practitioners. Frequency: When filing a mark application. Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit. OMB Desk Officer: Maya A. Bernstein, (202) 395-4816. Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained by a calling or writing Linda Engelmeier, Acting DOC Forms Clearance Officer, (202) 482-3272, Department of Commerce, Room 5312, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to Maya Bernstein, OMB Desk Officer, Room 10236, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503. [[Page 46436]] Dated: August 27, 1996. Linda Engelmeier, Acting Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office of Management and Organization. [FR Doc. 96-22282 Filed 8-30-96; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-16-M