[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 94 (Monday, May 18, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23168-23169]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-11534]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Trademark Petitions
ACTION: New 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 take this
opportunity to comment on this new information collection, as required
by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1955, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(2)(A)).
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before July 17, 2009.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``0651-00XX
Trademark Petitions collection comment'' in the subject line of the
message.
Fax: 571-273-0112, marked to the attention of Susan K.
Fawcett.
Mail: Susan K. Fawcett, Records Officer, Office of the
Chief Information Officer, Administrative Management Group, United
States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA
22313-1450.
Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://ww.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to the attention of Janis Long, 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 571-272-9573, or by e-mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
I. Abstract
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) administers
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 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 and
requests to make special.
A letter of protest is an informal procedure whereby third parties
who object to the registration of a mark in a pending application may
submit evidence relevant to the registrability of the mark to the
attention of the USPTO. A letter of protest should include an
explanation of which application is being protested and relevant
evidence to support the protest. A request to make special may be
submitted where an applicant's prior registration was cancelled due to
the inadvertent failure to file a post registration maintenance
document and should include an explanation of why special action is
appropriate. The USPTO is proposing to include these two items in the
inventory at this time because of a new method of submission that would
standardize some formatting involving the electronic collection of this
information. Both of these items are covered under 15 U.S.C. 1051.
II. Method of Collection
In order to provide filers with many of the benefits of electronic
filing for a submission where a true electronic form does not currently
exist within the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), the
USPTO is creating a new form of submission in a ``global'' format. This
new method of submission will allow the user to identify the type of
document being filed by selecting from a drop-down list and then
[[Page 23169]]
uploading a document in either the JPG or PDF format. Applicants may
also submit the information in paper form by mail, fax or hand
delivery.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-00xx.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: New information collection.
Affected Public: Primarily business or other for-profit
organizations.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 953 per year.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take
approximately 30 minutes (0.50 hours) to 1 hour to gather the necessary
information, create the document, and submit the completed request,
depending on whether the information is submitted electronically or on
paper.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 862 hours per year.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $267,220. The USPTO
believes that associate attorneys will complete the information in this
collection. The professional hourly rate for associate attorneys in
private firms is $310. This is a fully-loaded hourly rate. Therefore,
the USPTO estimates that the respondent cost burden for this collection
will be approximately $267,220 per year.
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Estimated Estimated
Item Estimated time for response annual annual burden
responses hours
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TEAS Letter of Protest........................ 50 minutes...................... 463 384
Letter of Protest............................. 1 hour.......................... 462 462
TEAS Request to Make Special.................. 30 minutes...................... 14 7
Request to Make Special....................... 40 minutes...................... 14 9
�����������������������������������������������
Total..................................... ................................ 953 862
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Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden: $209.
There are no capital start-up, operation, maintenance or record keeping
costs, nor are there filing fees associated with this information
collection.
Customers incur postage costs when submitting non-electronic
information to the USPTO by mail through the United States Postal
Service. The USPTO estimates that the majority of submissions for these
paper forms are made via first class mail at a cost of 44 cents per
submission. Therefore, the total estimated postage cost for this
collection is $209 (476 responses x $0.44).
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;
(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.
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.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer,
Administrative Management Group.
[FR Doc. E9-11534 Filed 5-15-09; 8:45 am]
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