15 U.S.C. § 1113 (COMMERCE AND TRADE)
§ 1113. Fees
(a) Applications; services; materials
The Director shall establish fees for the filing and processing of an application for the registration of a trademark or other mark and for all other services performed by and materials furnished by the Patent and Trademark Office related to trademarks and other marks. Fees established under this subsection may be adjusted by the Director once each year to reflect, in the aggregate, any fluctuations during the preceding 12 months in the Consumer Price Index, as determined by the Secretary of Labor. Changes of less than 1 percent may be ignored. No fee established under this section shall take effect until at least 30 days after notice of the fee has been published in the Federal Register and in the Official Gazette of the Patent and Trademark Office.
(b) Waiver; Indian products
The Director may waive the payment of any fee for any service or material related to trademarks or other marks in connection with an occasional request made by a department or agency of the Government, or any officer thereof. The Indian Arts and Crafts Board will not be charged any fee to register Government trademarks of genuineness and quality for Indian products or for products of particular Indian tribes and groups.
(July 5, 1946, ch. 540, title V, § 31, 60 Stat. 437; Pub. L. 85–609, § 1(e), Aug. 8, 1958, 72 Stat. 540; Pub. L. 89–83, § 3, July 24, 1965, 79 Stat. 260; Pub. L. 93–596, § 1, Jan. 2, 1975, 88 Stat. 1949; Pub. L. 96–517, § 5, Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 3018; Pub. L. 97–247, § 3(f), Aug. 27, 1982, 96 Stat. 319; Pub. L. 97–256, title I, § 103, Sept. 8, 1982, 96 Stat. 816; Pub. L. 102–204, § 5(f)(1), Dec. 10, 1991, 105 Stat. 1640; Pub. L. 105–330, title II, § 201(a)(7), Oct. 30, 1998, 112 Stat. 3070; Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(9) [title IV, § 4732(b)(1)(B)], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A–583.)
heading: Editorial Notes
heading: Prior Provisions
text: Acts Feb. 20, 1905, ch. 592, §§ 14, 15, 33 Stat. 728; Mar. 19, 1920, ch. 104, § 8, 41 Stat. 535; Apr. 11, 1930, ch. 132, § 4, 46 Stat. 155.
heading: Amendments
text: 1999—Pub. L. 106–113 substituted “Director” for “Commissioner” wherever appearing.
1998—Pub. L. 105–330 made technical amendment relating to section catchline.
1991—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102–204 amended subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (a) read as follows: “The Commissioner will establish fees for the filing and processing of an application for the registration of a trademark or other mark and for all other services performed by and materials furnished by the Patent and Trademark Office related to trademarks and other marks. However, no fee for the filing or processing of an application for the registration of a trademark or other mark or for the renewal or assignment of a trademark or other mark will be adjusted more than once every three years. No fee established under this section will take effect prior to sixty days following notice in the Federal Register.”
1982—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97–256 struck out “of Patents” after “Commissioner”.
Pub. L. 97–247 struck out provisions directing that fees be set and adjusted by the Commissioner to recover in aggregate 50 per centum of the estimated average cost to the Office of processing and that fees for all other services or materials related to trademarks and other marks recover the estimated average cost to the Office of performing the service or furnishing the material.
1980—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 96–517 in revising fee provisions required the Commissioner to establish fees based on recovery of estimated average cost of processing applications, performing services and providing material; authorized triennial adjustments; and prescribed an effective date for fees; deleted prior provisions containing statutory schedule covering fees for filing: applications for registration and renewals, affidavits, revival petitions for abandoned applications, opposition or application for cancellation, disclaimers, and notice of benefits for a mark to be published; and fees covering: appeals from examiners in charge of registration, certificates of amendment, certifying, printed copies of registered marks, and recordation of documents and papers relating to property in a registration or application.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 96–517 added subsec. (b) and struck out former subsec. (b) authorizing Commissioner to establish charges for copies of records, publications, or services of Patent and Trademark Office. See subsec. (a).
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 96–517 in revising fee provisions struck out subsec. (c) authorizing Commissioner to refund any mistaken or excessive payments.
1975—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 93–596 substituted “Patent and Trademark Office” for “Patent Office”.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 93–596 substituted “Patent and Trademark Office” for “Patent Office”.
1965—Pub. L. 89–83 increased fees for filing an application for registration of a mark from $25 to $35; for issuance of a new certificate of registration following a change of ownership of a mark or correction of a registrant’s mistake from $10 to $15; for a certificate of correction of registrant’s mistake from $10 to $15; for filing a disclaimer from $10 to $15; and for recording an assignment, agreement, or other paper relating to the property in a registration or application from $3 for documents not exceeding six pages plus $1 for each additional two pages or less and 50 cents additional for each additional registration or application included in one writing, to a $20 fee for every document plus an additional fee of $3 for each additional item where the document relates to more than one application or registration; eliminated provisions which established fees for the surrender or cancellation of a registration, for an abstract of title, for a title report required for office use, for certificates that marks have not been registered, and for copies of various specified records and documents; added the fees for filing and affidavit under section 1058(a) or (b) of this title and for filing a petition for the revival of an abandoned application; empowered the Commissioner to establish charges for copies of records, publications or services furnished by the Patent Office; and made the provisions relating to refunds of sums paid by mistake permissive.
1958—Pub. L. 85–609 struck out “to the Commissioner” after “on appeal from an examiner in charge of the registration of marks”, and provisions which required payment of a $25 fee on appeals from an examiner in charge of interferences to the Commissioner.
heading: Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
heading: Effective Date of 1999 Amendment
text: Amendment by Pub. L. 106–113 effective 4 months after Nov. 29, 1999, see section 1000(a)(9) [title IV, § 4731] of Pub. L. 106–113, set out as a note under section 1 of Title 35, Patents.
heading: Effective Date of 1998 Amendment
text: Amendment by Pub. L. 105–330 effective Oct. 30, 1998, and applicable only to any civil action filed or proceeding before the United States Patent and Trademark Office commenced on or after such date relating to the registration of a mark, see section 201(b) of Pub. L. 105–330, set out as a note under section 1051 of this title.
heading: Effective Date of 1982 Amendment
text: Amendment by Pub. L. 97–247 effective Oct. 1, 1982, see section 17(a) of Pub. L. 97–247, set out as a note under section 41 of Title 35, Patents.
heading: Effective Date of 1980 Amendment
text: Amendment by Pub. L. 96–517 effective Dec. 12, 1980, with provision for continuation of fees in effect as of such date until corresponding fees are established under this section, see section 8(a), (d) of Pub. L. 96–517, set out as a note under section 41 of Title 35, Patents.
heading: Effective Date of 1975 Amendment
text: Amendment by Pub. L. 93–596 effective Jan. 2, 1975, see section 4 of Pub. L. 93–596, set out as a note under section 1111 of this title.
heading: Effective Date of 1965 Amendment
text: For effective date and applicability of amendment by Pub. L. 89–83, see section 7(a), (d) of Pub. L. 89–83, set out as a note under section 41 of Title 35, Patents.
heading: Effective Date of 1958 Amendment
text: For effective date and applicability of amendment by Pub. L. 85–609, see section 3 of Pub. L. 85–609, set out as a note under section 1067 of this title.
heading: Repeal and Effect on Existing Rights
text: Repeal of inconsistent provisions, effect of this chapter on pending proceedings and existing registrations and rights under prior acts, see notes set out under section 1051 of this title.
heading: Appropriations and Fees Authorized To Be Carried Over
text: For provisions authorizing fees collected under this chapter, and certain appropriations, to remain available until expended, see section 2 of Pub. L. 99–607, set out as a note under section 42 of Title 35, Patents.
heading: Trademark Fees
text: Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(9) [title IV, § 4203], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A–554, as amended by Pub. L. 107–273, div. C, title III, § 13208, Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1908, provided that: “Notwithstanding the second sentence of section 31(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1113(a)), the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office is authorized in fiscal year 2000 to adjust trademark fees without regard to fluctuations in the Consumer Price Index during the preceding 12 months.”
Pub. L. 103–179, § 4, Dec. 3, 1993, 107 Stat. 2040, provided that: “Effective on the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 3, 1993], the fee under section 31(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1113(a)) for filing an application for the registration of a trademark shall be $245. Any adjustment of such fee under the second sentence of such section may not be effective before October 1, 1994.”
Pub. L. 102–204, § 5(f)(2), Dec. 10, 1991, 105 Stat. 1640, provided that fees established by Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks under 15 U.S.C. 1113(a) during fiscal year 1992 could reflect fluctuations during the preceding 3 years in the Consumer Price Index and could take effect on or after 1 day after such fees are published in the Federal Register and that the last sentence of 31 U.S.C. 31(a) and 5 U.S.C. 553 did not apply to the establishment of such fees.
Similar provisions were contained in the following prior appropriation acts:
Pub. L. 100–703, title I, § 103(a), Nov. 19, 1988, 102 Stat. 4674.
Pub. L. 99–607, § 3(a), Nov. 6, 1986, 100 Stat. 3470.
heading: Reorganization Plan No. 5 of 1950
text: Amendment by Pub. L. 85–609 as subject to Reorganization Plan No. 5 of 1950, see note set out under section 1067 of this title.
heading: Executive Documents
heading: Transfer of Functions
text: For transfer of functions of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of Commerce, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of Commerce, with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 5 of 1950, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1263, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.