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pdfSUPPORTING STATEMENT
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Native American Tribal Insignia Database
OMB CONTROL NUMBER 0651-0048
(January 2014)
A.
JUSTIFICATION
1.
Necessity of Information Collection
The Trademark Law Treaty Implementation Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-330, § 302, 112
Stat. 3071) required the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to study
issues surrounding the protection of the official insignia of federally and staterecognized Native American tribes under trademark law. The USPTO conducted the
study and presented a report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees on
November 30, 1999. One of the recommendations made in the report was that the
USPTO create and maintain an accurate and comprehensive database containing the
official insignia of all federally and state-recognized Native American tribes. In
accordance with this recommendation, the Senate Committee on Appropriations
directed the USPTO to create this database. The USPTO published the final
procedures for establishing and maintaining the tribal insignia database in the Federal
Register on August 24, 2001 (66 Fed. Reg. 44603).
The USPTO database of official tribal insignias provides evidence of what a federally or
state-recognized Native American tribe considers to be its official insignia. The
database thereby assists trademark examining attorneys in their examination of
applications for trademark registration by serving as a reference for determining the
registrability of a mark that may falsely suggest a connection to the official insignia of a
Native American tribe. The database is also available to the public on the USPTO Web
site at http://www.uspto.gov.
Tribes are not required to request that their official insignia be included in the database.
The entry of an official insignia into the database does not confer any rights to the tribe
that submitted the insignia, and entry is not the legal equivalent of registering the
insignia as a trademark under 15 U.S.C. § 1051 et seq. The inclusion of an official tribal
insignia in the database does not create any legal presumption of validity or priority,
does not carry any of the benefits of federal trademark registration, and is not a
determination as to whether a particular insignia would be refused registration as a
trademark pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1051 et seq.
Requests from federally recognized tribes to enter an official insignia into the database
must be submitted in writing and include: (1) a depiction of the insignia, including the
name of the tribe and the address for correspondence; (2) a copy of the tribal resolution
adopting the insignia in question as the official insignia of the tribe; and (3) a statement,
signed by an official with authority to bind the tribe, confirming that the insignia included
with the request is identical to the official insignia adopted by the tribal resolution.
Requests from state-recognized tribes must also be in writing and include each of the
three items described above that are submitted by federally recognized tribes.
Additionally, requests from state-recognized tribes must include either: (a) a document
issued by a state official that evidences the state's determination that the entity is a
Native American tribe; or (b) a citation to a state statute designating the entity as a
Native American tribe.
The USPTO enters insignia that have been properly submitted by federally or staterecognized Native American tribes into the database and does not investigate whether
the insignia is actually the official insignia of the tribe making the request.
This collection includes the information needed by the USPTO to enter an official
insignia for a federally or state-recognized Native American tribe into a database of
such insignia. No forms are associated with this collection.
2.
Needs and Uses
The database of official insignia of Native American tribes is included within the
USPTO’s database of material that is not registered but is searched to determine the
registrability of marks. Inclusion of official insignia in this database will ensure that an
examining attorney will consider these insignia before making a final determination of
the registrability of a mark that may be similar. The insignia database is available to the
public on the USPTO Web site.
The Information Quality Guidelines from Section 515 of Public Law 106-554, Treasury
and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001, apply to this
information collection, and this information collection and its supporting statement
comply with all applicable information quality guidelines, i.e., OMB and specific
operating-unit guidelines.
Table 1 lists the specific statutes and regulations authorizing the USPTO to collect this
information and outlines how this information is used by the public and the USPTO:
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Table 1: Information Requirements and Needs and Uses of Information Collected
Item
#
1
Requirement
Statute
Rule
Form #
Needs and Uses
Request to Record an Official
Native American Tribal Insignia
of a Federally Recognized
Tribe, including:
Depiction of the insignia.
Copy of the tribal resolution
adopting the insignia as the
official insignia of the tribe.
Statement confirming that
the insignia is identical to
the official insignia adopted
by tribal resolution.
P.L. 105330,
Sec. 302
37 CFR 2
No Form
Associated
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3.
Request to Record an Official
Native American Tribal Insignia
of a State-Recognized Tribe,
including:
Depiction of the insignia.
Copy of the tribal resolution
adopting the insignia as the
official insignia of the tribe.
Statement confirming that
the insignia is identical to
the official insignia adopted
by tribal resolution.
Document issued by a state
official that evidences the
state’s determination that
the entity is a Native
American tribe or a citation
to a state statute that
designates the entity as a
Native American tribe.
P.L. 105330,
Sec. 302
37 CFR 2
No Form
Associated
Used by the tribal government to
request entry of their official insignia
into the USPTO database of official
tribal insignias.
Used by the USPTO to determine
whether a trademark for which
registration is sought may falsely
suggest a connection to an official
insignia of a Native American tribe.
Used by the USPTO as evidence of
what a Native American tribe
considers to be its official insignia and
its official address for correspondence.
Used by the USPTO to maintain a
public search database.
Used by the tribal government to
request entry of their official insignia
into the USPTO database of official
tribal insignias.
Used by the USPTO to determine
whether a trademark for which
registration is sought may falsely
suggest a connection to an official
insignia of a Native American tribe.
Used by the USPTO as evidence of
what a Native American tribe
considers to be its official insignia and
its official address for correspondence.
Used by the USPTO to maintain a
public search database.
Use of Information Technology
The USPTO accepts submissions for the Native American tribal insignia database by
mail or facsimile. The USPTO does not collect these submissions electronically over
the Internet.
However, the USPTO does use information technology to process these submissions.
When the USPTO receives a request to record an official insignia for a Native American
tribe, the image of the insignia, the tribe’s name, and the correspondence address are
electronically captured and stored in a database. The database is used to populate the
automated trademark search system (X-Search), which employs sophisticated functions
to search the text and image data.
The USPTO also utilizes information technology by posting the insignia database on its
Web site. However, the USPTO currently does not plan on collecting this information
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electronically. The expected number of submissions is relatively small, and each
submission includes only a small number of data elements. Therefore, the USPTO
believes that the development of an electronic form to collect the insignia information is
impractical and not cost effective at this time.
4.
Efforts to Identify Duplication
This information is collected only when a Native American tribe submits an official
insignia to be entered into the USPTO database. This information is not collected
elsewhere and does not result in a duplication of effort.
5.
Minimizing Burden to Small Entities
This collection does impact small entities, since the respondents are tribal governments.
However, the USPTO does not expect that this collection will have a significant
economic impact on small entities. The same information is required from every
respondent, and this information is not available from any other source. This collection
has no associated fees.
6.
Consequences of Less Frequent Collection
This information is collected only when a Native American tribe submits its official
insignia for inclusion in the database of Native American tribal insignia. These
submissions could not be collected less frequently. If the collection of information were
not conducted, the USPTO could not comply with the Congressional directive to create
a database containing the official insignia of federally and state-recognized Native
American tribes.
7.
Special Circumstances in the Conduct of Information Collection
There are no special circumstances associated with this collection of information.
8.
Consultations Outside the Agency
The 60-Day Notice was published in the Federal Register on October 2, 2013 (78 Fed.
Reg. 60861). The comment period ended on December 2, 2013. No public comments
were received.
The USPTO has previously received input from several groups regarding the
establishment of this database, including Native American tribal governments,
associations, corporations, universities, trademark holders, and private citizens. Before
the creation of the database, the USPTO conducted a seven-month study to consider
how to better protect the official insignia of Native American tribes under trademark law.
The USPTO also published notices in the Federal Register requesting public comments
and held public hearings.
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9.
Payment or Gifts to Respondents
This information collection does not involve a payment or gift to any respondent.
10.
Assurance of Confidentiality
Confidentiality is not required in the processing of official insignias for the USPTO
database. The tribal insignia database is open to public inspection.
11.
Justification for Sensitive Questions
None of the required information in this collection is considered to be sensitive.
12.
Estimate of Hour and Cost Burden to Respondents
Table 2 calculates the burden hours and costs of this information collection to the
public, based on the following factors:
Respondent Calculation Factors
The USPTO estimates that it will receive approximately 3 total responses per
year. None of these responses will be submitted electronically.
These estimates are based on the Agency’s long-standing institutional
knowledge of and experience with the type of information collected by these
items.
Burden Hour Calculation Factors
The USPTO estimates that a federally or state-recognized Native American tribe
will require an average of 45 minutes (0.75 hours) to complete a request to
record an official insignia, including time to prepare the appropriate documents
and submit the completed request to the USPTO.
These estimates are based on the Agency’s long-standing institutional
knowledge of and experience with the type of information collected and the
length of time necessary to complete responses containing similar or like
information.
Cost Burden Calculation Factors
The USPTO expects that the information in this collection will be prepared by
both paraprofessionals and administrative staff. The estimated rate of $76 per
hour used in this submission is an average of the paraprofessional rate of $122
per hour and the administrative rate of $30 per hour. Therefore, the USPTO
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estimates that the respondent cost burden for this collection will be approximately
$228 per year.
Table 2: Burden Hour/Cost to Respondents
Item
#
Item
Hours
(a)
Responses
(yr)
(b)
Burden
(hrs/yr)
(c)
(a) x (b)
Rate
($/hr)
(d)
Total
Cost
($/yr)
(e)
(c) x (d)
1
Request to Record an Official Insignia of a Federally
Recognized Tribe
0.75
2
2
$76.00
$152.00
2
Request to Record an Official Insignia of a StateRecognized Tribe
0.75
1
1
$76.00
$76.00
Totals
.....
3
3
.....
$228.00
13.
Total Annual (Non-hour) Cost Burden
The total annual (non-hour) cost burden for this collection is calculated in Table 3 below.
This collection has no capital start-up, maintenance, or recordkeeping costs. There are
no filing fees for submitting a tribal insignia for recording.
Postage
Customers may incur postage costs when submitting the information in this collection to
the USPTO by mail. The USPTO estimates that the average first-class postage cost for
a submission mailed through the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) will be $1.19 (based on a
flat 9” by 12” envelope weighing 2 ounces, using the USPS rates effective January 26,
2014) and that up to 3 submissions will be mailed to the USPTO per year.
Table 3: Annual (Non-hour) Costs to Respondents
Item
#
Item
Postage
amount
Totals
1
Request to Record an Official Insignia of a Federally Recognized Tribe
2
$1.19
$2.00
2
Request to Record an Official Insignia of a State-Recognized Tribe
1
$1.19
$1.00
3
…..
$3.00
…..
…..
$3.00
Total postage for mailed submissions
Total annual (non-hour) cost burden
14.
Estimated
annual
responses
Annual Cost to the Federal Government
The USPTO estimates that it takes approximately 50 minutes (0.83 hours) for USPTO
staff to process a request to record an official insignia of a federally or state-recognized
Native American tribe in the USPTO database. This process includes 20 minutes for a
GS-15, step 5 employee and 30 minutes for a GS-12, step 7 employee.
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The estimated hourly cost of a GS-15, step 5 employee is $88.24 (GS-15/5 hourly rate
of $67.88 with 30% ($20.36) added for benefits and overhead), and the hourly cost of a
GS-12, step 7 employee is $56.52 (GS-12/7 hourly rate of $43.48 with 30% ($13.04)
added for benefits and overhead), for a weighted average hourly rate of $69.21.
Table 4 calculates the burden hours and costs to the Federal Government for
processing this information collection:
Table 4: Burden Hour/Cost to the Federal Government
Item
#
Item
Responses
(yr)
(b)
Burden
(hrs/yr)
(c)
(a) x (b)
Rate
($/hr)
(d)
Total
Cost
($/yr)
(e)
(c) x (d)
1
Request to Record an Official Insignia of a Federally
Recognized Tribe
0.83
2
2
$69.21
$138.00
2
Request to Record an Official Insignia of a State-Recognized
Tribe
0.83
1
1
$69.21
$69.00
.....
3
3
.....
$207.00
Totals
15.
Hours
(a)
Reason for Changes in Burden from the Current Inventory
The USPTO is submitting the following changes for this renewal:
Adjusting the estimated annual responses and burden hours.
Adjusting the estimated time per response.
Adjusting the estimated postage costs.
This information collection is currently approved with a total of 8 responses, 5 burden
hours, and $8 in annual (non-hour) costs.
Changes in Responses and Burden Hours from the Current Inventory
The USPTO estimates 3 total annual responses and 3 total annual burden hours, which
is a decrease of 5 responses and 2 burden hours from the currently approved burden
for this collection. These changes are due to administrative adjustments from updated
estimates for annual responses and updated estimates for the time per response
(revised from 0.50 hours to 0.75 hours per response).
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Table 5a: Changes in Responses and Burden Hours from the Current Inventory
Item
#
Item
Currently
approved
responses
Change in
responses
(admin.)
Updated
responses
Currently
approved
hours
Change
in hours
(admin.)
Updated
hours
1
Request to Record an Official
Insignia of a Federally Recognized
Tribe
5
(3)
2
3
(1)
2
2
Request to Record an Official
Insignia of a State-Recognized
Tribe
3
(2)
1
2
(1)
1
Totals
8
(5)
3
5
(2)
3
Changes in Annual (Non-hour) Costs from the Current Inventory
The total annual (non-hour) cost burden for this renewal submission of $3 is a decrease
of $5 from the currently approved total of $8. This decrease in annual costs is due to
administrative adjustments from a decrease in total postage costs. This decrease is
due to the reduction in the number of estimated responses for this collection, but is
partially offset by an increase in the estimated postage cost per response from $1.05 to
$1.19 for submitting the information in this collection to the USPTO by mail.
Table 5b: Changes in Annual (Non-hour) Costs from the Current Inventory
Cost
Currently approved
annual cost burden
Program
changes
Administrative
adjustments
Postage
$8.00
$0.00
($5.00)
($5.00)
$3.00
Totals
$8.00
$0.00
($5.00)
($5.00)
$3.00
16.
Total change
in costs
Updated annual
cost burden
Project Schedule
The USPTO does not plan to publish this information for statistical use. The tribal
insignia database is available to the public on the USPTO Web site.
17.
Display of Expiration Date of OMB Approval
There are no forms associated with this collection.
expiration date is not applicable.
18.
Therefore, the display of the
Exceptions to the Certificate Statement
This collection of information does not include any exceptions to the certificate
statement.
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B.
COLLECTION OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS
This collection of information does not employ statistical methods.
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| File Type | application/pdf |
| File Modified | 2014-01-27 |
| File Created | 2014-01-27 |