View Information Collection Request (ICR) Package

OMB Control No: 0651-0061	ICR Reference No: 201910-0651-009
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 201807-0651-001
Agency/Subagency: DOC/PTO	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Trademark Petitions
Type of Information Collection: No material or nonsubstantive change to a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 02/05/2020
	Date Received in OIRA: 01/30/2020
Terms of Clearance:

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	09/30/2021	09/30/2021	09/30/2021
Responses	4,768	0	4,768
Time Burden (Hours)	4,334	0	4,336
Cost Burden (Dollars)	53,508	0	53,510

Abstract: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) administers the Trademark 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 USPTO. Individuals and businesses may also submit various communications to the USPTO, including letters of protest, requests to make special, responses to petition inquiry letters, petitions to make special, requests to restore a filing date, and requests for reinstatement. A letter of protest is an informal procedure whereby third parties who object to the registration of a mark in a pending application may bring to the attention of the USPTO evidence bearing on the registrability of the mark. A letter of protest must identify the application being protested and the proposed grounds for refusing registration and include relevant evidence to support the protest. A request to make special may be submitted where an applicant requests that initial examination of an application be advanced out of its regular order because the mark in the application was the subject of an inadvertently cancelled or expired previous registration. A response to a petition inquiry letter is submitted by a petitioner who is responding to a notice of deficiency that the USPTO issued after receiving an incomplete Petition to the Director. A petition may be considered incomplete if, for example, it does not include the fee required by 37 CFR 2.6 or if it includes an unveiled assertion that is not supported by evidence. The USPTO generally examines applications in the order in which they are received. A petition to make special is a request by the applicant to advance the initial examination of an application out of its regular order. A request to restore a filing date is submitted by an applicant who previously filed an application that was denied a filing date. The request must include evidence showing that the applicant is entitled to the earlier filing date. If an applicant has proof that an application was inadvertently abandoned due to a USPTO error, an applicant may file a request to reinstate the application. To support such a request, the applicant must include evidence of the USPTO error. The public uses this information collection for a variety of private business purposes related to establishing and enforcing trademark rights. The USPTO uses the information described in this collection to process letters of protest, requests to make special, responses to petition inquiry letters, petitions to make special, requests to restore a filing date, and requests for reinstatement. Information relating to the registration of a trademark is made publicly available by the USPTO. The release of information in a letter of protest is controlled and may be available upon request only.

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 15 USC 1051 Name of Law: Trademark Act
US Code: 15 USC 1123 Name of Law: Trademark Act

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	83 FR 16835	04/17/2018
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	83 FR 31381	07/05/2018
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to Agency Discretion
Annual Number of Responses	4,768	4,768	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	4,334	4,336	-2
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	53,508	53,510	-2

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Increase Due to: Changing Regulations

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Reduction Due to: Changing Regulations

Short Statement: IC lines are being modified to account for rule making actions which result in the reduction in the estimated numbers of paper based fillers and therefore a reduction in postage costs associated with mailing items to USPTO and burden hour due to faster submission process using electronic forms.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $265,368

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. No

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? Uncollected

Agency Contact: Catherine Cain 571 272-8946 catherine.cain@uspto.gov

View ICR - OIRA Conclusion