This collection of information is
required by the Trademark Act, 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 certification marks. Individuals and businesses that use
such marks, or intend to use such marks, in interstate commerce may
file an application to register their marks with the United States
Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In some cases, the USPTO
issues Office Actions to applicants who have applied for a
trademark application, requesting additional information that was
not provided with the initial submission but is required before the
issuance of a registration. Also, the USPTO may determine that a
mark is not entitled to registration, pursuant to one or more
provisions of the Trademark Act. In such cases, the USPTO will
issue an Office Action advising the applicant of the refusal to
register the mark. Applicants reply to these Office Actions by
providing the required information and/or by putting forth legal
arguments as to why the refusal of registration should be
withdrawn. The USPTO administers the Trademark Act through Chapter
37 of the Code of Federal Regulations. These rules allow the USPTO
to request and receive information required to process
applications. These rules also allow applicants to submit certain
amendments to their applications. Applicants may also supplement
their applications and provide further information by filing a
Voluntary Amendment Not in Response to USPTO Office Action/Letter,
a Request for Reconsideration after Final Office Action, a
Post-Publication Amendment, a Petition to Amend Basis
Post-Publication, and a Suspension Inquiry or Letter of Suspension,
or by submitting a Substitute Trademark/Servicemark, Substitute
Certification Mark, or Substitute Collective Membership Mark
application. Thus, this collection includes information that was
not submitted with the initial application and is needed by the
USPTO to review applications for trademark registration.
IC lines are being modified to
account for rule making actions which result in the reduction in
the estimated numbers of paper based fillers and therefore a
reduction in postage costs associated with mailing items to USPTO
and burden hour due to faster submission process using electronic
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.