This collection of information is
required by the Trademark Act of 1946, 15 U .S.C. § 1051 et seq.,
which provides for the Federal registration of trademarks, service
marks, collective trademarks and service marks, collective
membership marks, and certificate marks. Individuals and businesses
that use or intend to use such marks in commerce may file an
application to register the marks with the United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO). Both the register and the information
provided in pending applications for registration can be accessed
by the public in order to determine the availability of a mark and
lessen the likelihood of initiating the use of a mark previously
adopted by another. 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. The International Bureau
(IB) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in
Geneva, Switzerland, administers the international registration
system. The Madrid Protocol Implementation Act of 2002 amended the
Trademark Act to provide that: (1) the owner of a U.S. application
or registration may seek protection of its mark in any of the
participating countries by submitting a single international
application to the IB through the USPTO and (2) the holder of an
international registration may request an extension of protection
of the international registration to the United States. The Madrid
Protocol became effective in the United States on November 2, 2003,
and is implemented under 15 U.S.C. § 1141 et seq. and 37 CFR Part 2
and Part 7. 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 applicant must be a national of the United States, be domiciled
in the United States, and have a real and effective industrial or
commercial established in the United States. The USPTO reviews the
international application to certify that it corresponds to the
data contained in the existing U.S. application or registration
before forwarding the international application to the IB. The IB
then reviews the international application to determine whether the
Madrid filing requirements have been met and the required fees have
been paid. If the international application is unacceptable, the IB
will send a notice of irregularity to the USPTO and the applicant.
The applicant must respond to the irregularities to avoid
abandonment, unless a response from the USPTO is required. After
any irregularities are corrected and the application is accepted,
the IB issues an international registration number, publishes the
registration in the WIPO Gazette of International Marks, and sends
a certification to the holder. This collection includes the
information necessary for the USPTO to process applications for
international registration and related requests under the Madrid
Protocol. The USPTO provides electronic forms for filing the items
in this collection online using the Trademark Electronic
Application System (TEAS), available through the USPTO website.
Applicants may also submit the items in this collection on paper or
by using the forms provided by the IB, available on the WIPO
website the IB requires Applications for International Registration
and Applications for Subsequent Designation that are filed on paper
be submitted on the official IB forms.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.