2012-22854. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

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 (USPTO).

Title: Madrid Protocol.

Form Number(s): PTO-1663, PTO-1683, PTO-2131, PTO-2132, PTO-2133.

Agency Approval Number: 0651-0051.

Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Burden: 1,711 hours annually.

Number of Respondents: 6,620 responses per year.

Avg. Hours per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take the public approximately 15 minutes to one hour and 15 minutes (0.25 to 1.25 hours) to complete the information in this collection, including the time to gather the necessary information, prepare the forms or documents, and submit the completed request to the USPTO.

Needs and Uses: The Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (“Madrid Protocol”) is an international treaty that allows a trademark owner to seek registration in any of the participating countries by filing a single international application. An international application submitted through the USPTO must be based on an active U.S. application or registration and must be filed by the owner of the application or registration. The public uses this collection to submit applications for international registration and related requests to the USPTO under the Madrid Protocol.

Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other for-profits; and 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 the Information Collection Review page at www.reginfo.gov.

Paper copies can be obtained by:

• Email: [e-mail]. Include “0651-0051 copy request” in the subject line of the message.
• Mail: Susan K. Fawcett, Records Officer, Office of the Chief Information 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 October 18, 2012 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.

Dated: September 12, 2012.

Susan K. Fawcett,

Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer.