View Information Collection Request (ICR) Package

OMB Control No: 0651-0061	ICR Reference No: 202107-0651-004
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 201910-0651-009
Agency/Subagency: DOC/PTO	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Trademark Petitions
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 11/16/2021
	Date Received in OIRA: 09/16/2021
Terms of Clearance:

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	11/30/2024	36 Months From Approved	11/30/2021
Responses	6,221	0	4,768
Time Burden (Hours)	6,953	0	4,334
Cost Burden (Dollars)	393,875	0	53,508

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 collective 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. This information collection covers various trademark related 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. The information is used by the public for a variety of private business purposes related to establishing and enforcing trademark rights. Information relating to the registration of a trademark is made available to the public by the USPTO. However, the release of information in a letter of protest is controlled and may be available only upon request. A letter of protest is a 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 unverified 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 abandoned due to a USPTO error, an applicant may file a request to reinstate the application instead of a petition to revive. To support such a request, the applicant must include evidence of the USPTO error.

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 15 USC 1051 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:
	86 FR 23350	05/03/2021
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	86 FR 51655	09/16/2021
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate
Annual Number of Responses	6,221	4,768	0	1,453
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	6,953	4,334	0	2,619
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	393,875	53,508	230,150	110,217

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: This information collection request, as outlined in the table above, seeks to modify the existing information collection. Changes in Responses and Burden Hours: For this renewal, the USPTO estimates that the annual responses will increase by 1,453 (from 4,768 to 6,221) and the total burden hours will increase by 2,619 (from 4,334 to 6,953) from the currently approved burden for this information collection. These changes are due to estimated fluctuations in the number of trademark submissions to USPTO. Changes in Annual (Non-hour) Costs: For this renewal, the USPTO estimates that the total annual (non-hour) costs will increase by $340,367 (from $53,508 to $393,875) due to: • The addition of a new fee for Letters of Protest results in an increase of $230,150 in respondent cost burdens due to Agency discretion. • The expected increase in the number of submissions, based on USPTO estimates, results in an increase of $110,217 in respondent cost burdens from existing fees and postage.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $300,312

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. Yes

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. Yes

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? No

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

View ICR - OIRA Conclusion