2023-18545. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) Actions

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will submit the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. The USPTO invites comments on this information collection renewal, which helps the USPTO assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on June 5, 2023, during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comment.

Agency: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce.

Title: Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) Actions.

OMB Control Number: 0651–0040.

Needs and Uses: The USPTO administers the Trademark Act of 1946, 15 U.S.C. 1051 et seq., as amended, which provides for the Federal registration of trademarks, service marks, collective 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.

Section 13 of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. 1063, allows individuals and entities who believe that they would be damaged by the registration of a mark to file an opposition, or an extension of time to file an opposition, to the registration of the mark. Section 14 of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. 1064, allows individuals and entities to file a petition to cancel a registration of a mark. Section 20 of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. 1070, allows individuals and entities to appeal any final decision of the examiner in charge of the registration of marks or a final decision by an examiner in an ex parte expungement proceeding or ex parte reexamination proceeding.

The USPTO administers certain provisions of the Trademark Act of 1946 through the regulations at 37 CFR part 2, which contains the various rules that govern the filings identified above and other submissions filed in connection with inter partes and ex parte proceedings. These petitions, notices, extensions, and additional papers are filed with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), an administrative tribunal empowered to determine the right to register and subsequently determine the validity of a trademark. The information in this collection must be submitted electronically through the TTAB's electronic filing system. If applicants or entities wish to submit the petitions, notices, extensions, and additional papers in inter partes and ex parte cases, they may use the forms provided through the TTAB's electronic filing system.

This information collection includes the items needed for individuals or entities to file inter partes and ex parte proceedings regarding federal registration of their trademarks or service marks. Information is collected in view of the provisions of the Trademark Act of 1946. The responses in this information collection are a matter of public record, and are used by the public for a variety of private business purposes related to establishing and enforcing trademark rights. This information is important to the public, as both common law trademark owners and federal trademark registrants must actively protect their own rights.

Form Number(s):

• PTO 2120 (Notice of Opposition)
• PTO 2151 (Papers in Inter Partes Cases)
• PTO 2153 (Request for Extension of Time to File an Opposition)
• PTO 2188 (Petition for Cancellation)
• PTO 2189 (Ex Parte Appeal General Filing)
• PTO 2190 (Notice of Appeal)

Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved information collection.

Affected Public: Private sector.

Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.

Frequency: On occasion.

Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 41,300 respondents.

Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 76,650 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take the public from 10 minutes (0.17 hours) to 21 hours to complete, depending on the complexity of the situation and item, to gather the necessary information, prepare the appropriate documents, and submit them to the USPTO.

Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 1,038,747 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-Hourly Cost Burden: $9,080,047.

This information collection request may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce, USPTO information collections currently under review by OMB.

Written comments and recommendations for this information collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on the following website, www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function and entering either the title of the information collection of the OMB Control Number, 0651–0040.

Further information can be obtained by:

• Email:[e-mail]. Include “0651–0040 information request” in the subject line of the message.

• Mail: Justin Isaac, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313–1450.

Justin Isaac,

Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.