[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 11, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44113-44114]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14607]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Response to Office Action and Voluntary Amendment Forms
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on
the extension and revision of an existing information collection: 0651-
0050 (Response to Office Action and Voluntary Amendment Forms). The
purpose of this notice is to allow 60 days for public comment preceding
submission of the information collection to OMB.
DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this information
collection must be received on or before September 11, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by
any of the following methods. Do not submit Confidential Business
Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information.
Federal Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Mail: Justin Isaac, Office of the Chief Administrative
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450,
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
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] with ``0651-0050 comment'' in
the subject line. Additional information about this information
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
(Act), 15 U.S.C. 1051 et seq., which provides for the 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 United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO). The USPTO administers the Act through title
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. This information collection generally contains
information that is not submitted with the initial trademark
application but is associated with, or required for, the USPTO review
of applications for registration.
In some cases, the USPTO issues Office Actions to applicants who
have applied to register a mark, requesting 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 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.
Applicants may also supplement their applications and provide
further information by filing the items included in this information
collection. These items include a Voluntary Amendment Not in Response
to USPTO Office Action/Letter, a Request for Reconsideration after
Final Office Action, a Post-Approval/Publication/Post-Notice of
Allowance (NOA) Amendment, a Petition to Amend Basis Post-Publication,
or a Response to Suspension Inquiry or Letter of Suspension.
II. Method of Collection
Items in this information collection must be submitted
electronically through the Trademark Electronic Application System
(TEAS). In limited circumstances, applicants may also be permitted to
submit the information in paper form by mail or hand delivery.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0651-0050.
Forms: None.
Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved
information collection.
Affected Public: Private sector.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain or Retain Benefits.
Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 518,643 respondents.
Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 518,643 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses
in this information collection will take the public approximately
between 25 minutes (0.42 hours) and 50 minutes (0.83 hours) to
complete. This includes the time to gather the necessary information,
create the document, and submit the completed request to the USPTO.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 420,113 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden: $182,749,155.
[[Page 44114]]
Table 1--Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Private Sector Respondents
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Estimated Estimated Estimated Estimated annual
Item No. Item annual Responses per annual Estimated time for burden (hour/ Rate \1\ respondent cost
respondents respondent responses response (hours) year) ($/hour) burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (d)................. (c) x (d) = (f) (e) x (f) = (g)
(c) (e)
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1............... Response to Office 467,083 1 467,083 0.83 (50 minutes)... 387,679 $435 $168,640,365
Action (TEAS).
2............... Voluntary Amendment 21,312 1 21,312 0.58 (35 minutes)... 12,361 435 5,377,035
Not in Response to
USPTO Office Action/
Letter (TEAS).
3............... Request for 16,446 1 16,446 0.83 (50 minutes)... 13,650 435 5,937,750
Reconsideration
After Final Office
Action (TEAS).
4............... Post-Approval/ 3,330 1 3,330 0.58 (35 minutes)... 1,931 435 839,985
Publication/Post-
Notice of Allowance
(NOA) Amendment
(TEAS).
5............... Petition to Amend 590 1 590 0.58 (35 minutes)... 342 435 148,770
Basis Post-
Publication (TEAS).
6............... Response to 9,882 1 9,882 0.42 (25 minutes)... 4,150 435 1,805,250
Suspension Inquiry
or Letter of
Suspension (TEAS).
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Totals...... .................... 518,643 .............. 518,643 .................... 420,113 ......... 182,749,155
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\1\ 2021 Report of the Economic Survey, published by the Committee on Economics of Legal Practice of the American Intellectual Property Law Association
(AIPLA); pg. F-27. The USPTO uses the average billing rate for intellectual property attorneys in private firms which is $435 per hour.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden: $699,101.
There are no capital start-up, maintenance cost, or recordkeeping costs
associated with this information collection. However, USPTO estimates
that the total annual (non-hour) cost burden for this information
collection, in the form of filing fees ($647,500) and postage costs
($51,601) is $699,101.
Filing Fees
There are 2 filing fees associated with this information collection
as listed in the table below:
Table 2--Filing Fees
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Estimated Estimated non-
Item No. Fee code Item annual Estimated cost hour cost
responses burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) =
(c)
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1.............................................. 7008 Additional processing fee for 5,000 $100 $500,000
application that does not meet TEAS
Plus filing requirements, per Class.
5.............................................. 7005 Petition to Amend Basis Post- 590 250 147,500
Publication (TEAS Global).
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Total...................................... .............. ....................................... 5,590 .............. 647,500
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Postage Costs
Although the USPTO requires that the items in this information
collection be submitted electronically, in rare cases, the items may be
submitted by mail through the United States Postal Service (USPS). The
USPTO estimates that 1% of the 518,643 items will be submitted in the
mail resulting in 5,186 mailed items. The USPTO estimates that the
average postage cost for a mailed submission, using a Priority Mail
flat rate legal envelope, will be $9.95. Therefore, the USPTO estimates
the total mailing costs for this information collection at $51,601.
IV. Request for Comments
The USPTO is soliciting public comments to:
(a) Evaluate whether the collection of information is necessary for
the proper performance of the functions of the Agency, including
whether the information will have practical utility;
(b) Evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden of
the 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.
All comments submitted in response to this notice are a matter of
public record. USPTO will include or summarize each comment in the
request to OMB to approve this information collection. Before including
an address, phone number, email address, or other personally
identifiable information (PII) in a comment, be aware that the entire
comment--including PII--may be made publicly available at any time.
While you may ask in your comment to withhold PII from public view,
USPTO cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so.
Justin Isaac,
Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2023-14607 Filed 7-10-23; 8:45 am]
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