[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 1, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11208-11210]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-4457]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

United States Patent and Trademark Office


Proposed Collection; Substantive Submissions Made During 
Prosecution of the Trademark Application

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 take this 
opportunity to comment on the revision of a 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 May 2, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> E-mail: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b6ffd8d0d9c4dbd7c2dfd9d8f5d9dadad3d5c2dfd9d8f6c3c5c6c2d998d1d9c0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="aee7c0c8c1dcc3cfdac7c1c0edc1c2c2cbcddac7c1c0eedbdddedac180c9c1d8">[email protected]</span></a>. Include ``0651-
0054 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to the attention of Catherine Cain, Attorney 
Advisor, Office of the Commissioner for Trademarks, United States 
Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1451, Alexandria, VA 22313-1451, 
by telephone at 571-272-8946, or by e-mail to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#276446534f42554e49420964464e4967525457534809404851"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="357654415d50475c5b501b76545c5b75404645415a1b525a43">[email protected]</span></a>.

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.
    Such individuals and businesses may also submit various 
communications to the USPTO, including requests to amend their 
registrations to delete goods or services that are no longer being used 
by the registrant. Registered marks remain on the register for ten 
years and can be renewed, but will be cancelled unless the owner files 
with the USPTO a declaration attesting to the continued use (or 
excusable non-use) of the mark in commerce within specific deadlines. 
Applicants may also surrender a registration and, in limited 
situations, petition the Director to reinstate a registration that has 
been cancelled.
    The rules implementing the Act are set forth in 37 CFR part 2. 
These rules mandate that each register entry include the mark, the 
goods and/or services in connection with which the mark is used, 
ownership information, dates of use, and certain other information. The 
USPTO also provides similar information concerning pending 
applications. The register and pending application information may be 
accessed by an individual or by businesses to determine the 
availability of a mark. By accessing the USPTO's information, parties 
may reduce the possibility of initiating use of a mark previously 
adopted by another. The Federal trademark registration process may 
thereby lessen the filing of papers in court and between parties.
    The USPTO is proposing to include six new items in the inventory at 
this time to take into account a new method of electronic submission of 
information for which a dedicated TEAS form is not yet available (i.e., 
``Global Forms''). The new items are: Response to Intent-to-Use (ITU) 
Divisional Unit Office Action, Response to Petition to Revive 
Deficiency Letter, Petition to the Director Under Trademark Rule 2.146, 
Due Diligence Petition Under Trademark Rule 2.66, Petition to Revive 
With Request to Delete Section 1(b) Basis or to Delete ITU Goods/
Services After NOA, and Request to Divide Application. Corresponding 
paper submissions for these six new items are also included in this 
collection.

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: 0651-0054.
    Form Number(s): PTO Forms 1553, 1581, 2194, 2195, 2200, and 2202.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Primarily business or other for-profit 
organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 289,519 per year.
    Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take 
approximately 5 minutes (0.08 hours) to 20 minutes (0.33 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.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 48,469.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $15,752,425. The 
USPTO believes that attorneys will complete this information. The 
estimated hourly rate for attorneys in private firms is $325. Using 
this hourly rate, the USPTO estimates that the total respondent cost 
burden for this collection is $15,752,425 per year. This is a fully 
loaded hourly rate.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Estimated time       Estimated         Estimated
                           Item                               for response         annual        annual  burden
                                                                (minutes)         responses           hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trademark/Service Mark Allegation of Use (Statement of Use/               20             4,361             1,439
 Amendment to Allege Use) (Paper).........................
Trademark/Service Mark Allegation of Use (Statement of Use/               15            73,525            18,381
 Amendment to Allege Use) (TEAS)..........................
Request for Extension of Time to File a Statement of Use                  10             4,531               770
 (Paper)..................................................
Request for Extension of Time to File a Statement of Use                   8           176,715            22,973
 (TEAS)...................................................
Petition to Revive Abandoned Application--Failure to                      15               810               203
 Respond Timely to Office Action (Paper)..................

[[Page 11209]]

 
Petition to Revive Abandoned Application--Failure to                      12            15,396             3,079
 Respond Timely to Office Action (TEAS)...................
Petition to Revive Abandoned Application--Failure to File                 12                43                 9
 Timely Statement of Use or Extension Request (Paper).....
Petition to Revive Abandoned Application--Failure to File                 10               810               138
 Timely Statement of Use or Extension Request (TEAS)......
Request to Delete Section 1(b) Basis, Intent to Use                       10                69                12
 (Paper)..................................................
Request to Delete Section 1(b) Basis, Intent to Use (TEAS)                 5             1,380               110
Request for Express Abandonment (Withdrawal) of                           10               277                47
 Application (Paper)......................................
Request for Express Abandonment (Withdrawal) of                            5             5,548               444
 Application (TEAS).......................................
Request to Divide Application (Paper).....................                10               261                44
Request to Divide Application (TEAS Global)...............                 8             5,211               677
Response to Intent-to-Use (ITU) Divisional Unit Office                    10                 0                 0
 Action (Paper)...........................................
Response to Intent-to-Use (ITU) Divisional Unit Office                     8                 2                 1
 Action (TEAS Global).....................................
Response to Petition to Revive Deficiency Letter (Paper)..                15                 5                 1
Response to Petition to Revive Deficiency Letter (TEAS                    12               100                20
 Global)..................................................
Petition to the Director Under Trademark Rule 2.146                       20                16                 5
 (Paper)..................................................
Petition to the Director Under Trademark Rule 2.146 (TEAS                 15               310                78
 Global)..................................................
Due Diligence Petition Under Trademark Rule 2.66 (Paper)..                20                 7                 2
Due Diligence Petition Under Trademark Rule 2.66 (TEAS                    15               140                35
 Global)..................................................
Petition to Revive with Request to Delete Section 1(b)                    12                 0                 0
 Basis or to Delete ITU Goods/Services After NOA (Paper)..
Petition to Revive with Request to Delete Section 1(b)                    10                 2                 1
 Basis or to Delete ITU Goods/Services After NOA (TEAS
 Global)..................................................
                                                           -----------------------------------------------------
    Totals................................................  ................           289,519            48,469
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Total Annual Non-Hour Respondent Cost Burden (includes 
postage costs and filing fees): $37,280,667. This collection has no 
operating or maintenance 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 majority of the paper forms are 
submitted to the USPTO via first-class mail at a rate of 44 cents per 
ounce. Therefore, the USPTO estimates that the postage costs for the 
paper submissions in this collection will be $4,567.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           Item                              Responses  (yr)   Postage  Costs   Total cost  (yr)
                                                                         (a)               (b)           (a x b)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trademark/Service Mark Allegation of Use (Statement of Use/            4,361             $0.44         $1,919.00
 Amendment to Allege Use).................................
Request for Extension of Time to File a Statement of Use..             4,531              0.44          1,994.00
Petition to Revive Abandoned Application--Failure to                     810              0.44            356.00
 Respond Timely to Office Action..........................
Petition to Revive Abandoned Application--Failure to File                 43              0.44             19.00
 Timely Statement of Use or Extension Request.............
Request to Delete Section 1(b) Basis, Intent to Use.......                69              0.44             30.00
Request for Express Abandonment (Withdrawal of                           277              0.44            122.00
 Application).............................................
Request to Divide Application.............................               261              0.44            115.00
Response to Intent-to-Use (ITU) Divisional Unit Office                     0              0.44              0.00
 Action...................................................
Response to Petition to Revive Deficiency Letter..........                 5              0.44              2.00
Petition to the Director Under Trademark Rule 2.146.......                16              0.44              7.00
Due Diligence Petition Under Trademark Rule 2.66..........                 7              0.44              3.00
Petition to Revive with Request to Delete Section 1(b)                     0              0.44              0.00
 Basis or to Delete ITU Goods/Services After NOA..........
                                                           -----------------------------------------------------
    Totals................................................            10,380  ................         $4,567.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Filing fees are based on per class filing of goods and services; 
therefore, the total filing fees can vary depending on the number of 
classes. The total filing fees of $37,276,100 shown here are the 
minimum fees associated with this information collection.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           Item                              Responses (yr)      Filing fees     Total cost (yr)
                                                                         (a)               (b)           (a x b)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trademark/Service Mark Allegation of Use (Statement of Use/            4,361           $100.00       $436,100.00
 Amendment to Allege Use) (Paper).........................

[[Page 11210]]

 
Trademark/Service Mark Allegation of Use (Statement of Use/           73,525            100.00      7,352,500.00
 Amendment to Allege Use) (TEAS)..........................
Request for Extension of Time to File a Statement of Use               4,531            150.00        679,650.00
 (Paper)..................................................
Request for Extension of Time to File a Statement of Use             176,715            150.00     26,507,250.00
 (TEAS)...................................................
Petition to Revive Abandoned Application--Failure to                     810            100.00         81,000.00
 Respond Timely to Office Action (Paper)..................
Petition to Revive Abandoned Application--Failure to                  15,396            100.00      1,539,600.00
 Respond Timely to Office Action (TEAS)...................
Petition to Revive Abandoned Application--Failure to File                 43            100.00          4,300.00
 Timely Statement of Use or Extension Request (Paper).....
Petition to Revive Abandoned Application--Failure to File                810            100.00         81,000.00
 Timely Statement of Use or Extension Request (TEAS)......
Request to Delete Section 1(b) Basis, Intent to Use                       69              0.00              0.00
 (Paper)..................................................
Request to Delete Section 1(b) Basis, Intent to Use (TEAS)             1,380              0.00              0.00
Request for Express Abandonment (Withdrawal) of                          277              0.00              0.00
 Application (Paper)......................................
Request for Express Abandonment (Withdrawal) of                        5,548              0.00              0.00
 Application (TEAS).......................................
Request to Divide Application (Paper).....................               261            100.00         26,100.00
Request to Divide Application (TEAS Global)...............             5,211            100.00        521,100.00
Response to Intent-to-Use (ITU) Divisional Unit Office                     0              0.00              0.00
 Action (Paper)...........................................
Response to Intent-to-Use (ITU) Divisional Unit Office                     2              0.00              0.00
 Action (TEAS Global).....................................
Response to Petition to Revive Deficiency Letter (Paper)..                 5              0.00              0.00
Response to Petition to Revive Deficiency Letter (TEAS                   100              0.00              0.00
 Global)..................................................
Petition to the Director Under Trademark Rule 2.146                       16            100.00          1,600.00
 (Paper)..................................................
Petition to the Director Under Trademark Rule 2.146 (TEAS                310            100.00         31,000.00
 Global)..................................................
Due Diligence Petition Under Trademark Rule 2.66 (Paper)..                 7            100.00            700.00
Due Diligence Petition Under Trademark Rule 2.66 (TEAS                   140            100.00         14,000.00
 Global)..................................................
Petition to Revive with Request to Delete Section 1(b)                     0            100.00              0.00
 Basis or to Delete ITU Goods/Services After NOA (Paper)..
Petition to Revive with Request to Delete Section 1(b)                     2            100.00            200.00
 Basis or to Delete ITU Goods/Services After NOA (TEAS
 Global)..................................................
                                                           -----------------------------------------------------
    Totals................................................           289,519  ................     37,276,100.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Note: All filing fees are based on per class filing.

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, e.g., 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.

    Dated: February 24, 2011.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011-4457 Filed 2-28-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P


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