2018-06295. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Fastener Quality Act Insignia Recordal Process

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

Agency: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.

Title: Fastener Quality Act Insignia Recordal Process.

OMB Control Number: 0651-0028.

Form Number(s): N/A.

Type of Request: Regular.

Number of Respondents: 96 responses per year.

Average Hours per Response: 20 minutes (0.33 hours) per response.

Burden Hours: 32 hours annually.

Cost Burden: $2,121.96.

Needs and Uses: Under Section 5 of the Fastener Quality Act of 1999 (FQA), 15 U.S.C. 5401 et seq., certain industrial fasteners must bear an insignia identifying the manufacturer. It is also mandatory for manufacturers of fasteners covered by the FQA to submit an application to the United Stated Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for recordal of the insignia on the Fastener Insignia Register.

The procedures for the recordal of fastener insignia under the FQA are set forth in 15 CFR 280.300 et seq. The purpose of requiring both the insignia and the recordation is to ensure that certain fasteners can be traced to their manufacturers and to protect against the sale of mismarked, misrepresented, or counterfeit fasteners.

This information collection was created to facilitate the public's compliance with the insignia recordal provisions of the FQA. The USPTO uses the information in this collection to record or renew insignias under the FQA and to maintain the Fastener Insignia Register, which is open to public inspection. The public may download the Fastener Insignia Register from the USPTO website at https://www.uspto.gov/​trademark/​laws-regulations/​fastener-quality-act-fqa/​fastener-quality-act-fqa.

Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits; not-for-profit institutions.

Frequency: On occasion.

Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain or Retain Benefits.

OMB Desk Officer: Nicholas A. Fraser, email: [e-mail].

Once submitted, the request will be publicly available in electronic format through reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.

Further information can be obtained by:

• Email: [e-mail]. Include “0651-0028 copy request” in the subject line of the message.
• Mail: Marcie Lovett, Records and Information Governance Division Director, Office of the Chief Technology Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent on or before April 30, 2018 to Nicholas A. Fraser, OMB Desk Officer, via email to [e-mail], or by fax to 202-395-5167, marked to the attention of Nicholas A. Fraser.

Marcie Lovett,

Records and Information Governance Division Director, OCTO, United States Patent and Trademark Office.