96-22282. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 171 (Tuesday, September 3, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46435-46436]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-22282]


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Department of Commerce


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce (DOC) has submitted 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: Patent and Trademark Office (PTO).
    Title: Trademark Registration Processing.
    Agency Approval Number: 0651-0009.
    Form Numbers: PTO Forms 1478, 1478a, 4.8, 4.9, 4.17a, 1553, and 
1581.
    Type of Request: Reinstatement, with change, of a previously 
approved collection for which approval has expired.
    Burden: 193,988 hours.
    Number of Respondents: 239,571.
    Avg. Hours Per Response: 1 hour for PTO Forms 1478, 1478s, 4.8 and 
4.9, and 4.17a; .25 hour for PTO Form 1553.
    Needs and Uses: This collection of information is required by the 
Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. 1501, et. eq, which provides for the Federal 
registration of trademarks and service marks. Any individual or 
business owning a valid mark, that is used in connection with goods or 
services traveling in commerce regulable by the U.S. Congress, may 
apply to federally register its mark. A registration is valid for ten 
years and renewable, by affidavit, for like periods.
    The Patent and Trademark Office administers the Trademark Act 
according to 37 CFR Part 2, containing the rules that implement the 
Trademark Act. Registration is not required to obtain rights in a mark; 
however, registration provides certain benefits, such as access to the 
Federal court system and nationwide constructive notice of the 
Registrant's rights. No individual or business is required to register 
a trademark, or to use the forms in this collection. The forms are 
provided as a convenience to the public, and serve as guidance on what 
information is legally mandated, should an individual or business 
desire registration.
    The PTO uses this information to determine the eligibility of each 
mark for registration and to maintain a public search library where 
copies of the registration certificates for marks can be searched. The 
PTO also provides the information to the Patent and Trade Depository 
Libraries (PTDLs) that also maintain the information for use by the 
public.
    The information is a matter of public record, and used by the 
public for a variety of private business purposes related to 
establishing and reinforcing trademark rights. This information is 
important to the public, since both common law trademark owners and 
Federal trademark registrants must actively protect their own rights.
    Affected Public: Trademark Owners and Trademark Practitioners.
    Frequency: When filing a mark application.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
    OMB Desk Officer: Maya A. Bernstein, [phone].
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by a calling or writing Linda Engelmeier, Acting DOC Forms Clearance 
Officer, [phone], Department of Commerce, Room 5312, 14th and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to Maya Bernstein, OMB Desk Officer, Room 10236, New Executive Office 
Building, Washington, DC 20503.


[[Page 46436]]


    Dated: August 27, 1996.
Linda Engelmeier,
Acting Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office of Management and 
Organization.
[FR Doc. 96-22282 Filed 8-30-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-M