Request for Comments on Establishment of a One-Year Retention Period for Trademark-Related Papers That Have Been Scanned Into the Trademark Initial Capture Registration System, 59114-59115 [2011-24466]
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59114
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 185 / Friday, September 23, 2011 / Notices
forms, and mail and facsimile
transmission of paper forms.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0648–0214.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Regular submission
(extension of a currently approved
collection).
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations; individuals, or
households.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
345.
Estimated Time per Response: 30
minutes.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 6,231.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $5,048 in recordkeeping/
reporting costs.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether
the proposed collection of information
is necessary for the proper performance
of the functions of the agency, including
whether the information shall have
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden
(including hours and cost) of the
proposed collection of information; (c)
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information
on respondents, including through the
use of automated collection techniques
or other forms of information
technology.
Comments submitted in response to
this notice will be summarized and/or
included in the request for OMB
approval of this information collection;
they also will become a matter of public
record.
Dated: September 19, 2011.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011–24436 Filed 9–22–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark
Office
sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
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).
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:41 Sep 22, 2011
Jkt 223001
Agency: United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO).
Title: Representative and Address
Provisions.
Form Number(s): PTO/SB/80/81/81A/
81B/81C/83/84, PTO/SB/122/123/123A/
123B/124/125, and PTO–2248.
Agency Approval Number: 0651–
0035.
Type of Request: Revision of a
currently approved collection.
Burden: 33,867 hours annually.
Number of Respondents: 592,315
responses per year.
Avg. Hours Per Response: The USPTO
estimates that it will take the public
approximately 3 minutes (0.05 hours) to
1.5 hours to submit the information in
this collection, including the time to
gather the necessary information,
prepare the appropriate form or
document, and submit the completed
request to the USPTO.
Needs and Uses: Under 35 U.S.C. 2
and 37 CFR 1.31–1.36, the public uses
this information collection to grant or
revoke power of attorney, to withdraw
as attorney or agent of record, to
authorize a practitioner to act in a
representative capacity, to change a
correspondence address, to request a
Customer Number, and to change the
data associated with a Customer
Number. The USPTO’s Customer
Number practice permits authorized
individuals to change the
correspondence address or
representatives of record for a number of
applications, patents, or reexamination
proceedings with one change request
instead of filing separate requests for
each application, patent, or
reexamination proceeding. The USPTO
uses the information in this collection to
determine who is authorized to take
action in an application, patent, or
reexamination proceeding and where to
send correspondence regarding an
application, patent, or reexamination
proceeding.
Affected Public: Individuals or
households; businesses or other forprofits; and not-for-profit institutions.
Frequency: On occasion.
Respondent’s Obligation: Required to
obtain or retain benefits.
OMB Desk Officer: Nicholas A. Fraser,
e-mail:
Nicholas_A._Fraser@omb.eop.gov.
Once submitted, the request will be
publicly available in electronic format
through the Information Collection
Review page at https://www.reginfo.gov.
Paper copies can be obtained by:
• E-mail:
InformationCollection@uspto.gov.
Include ‘‘0651–0035 copy request’’ in
the subject line of the message.
• Mail: Susan K. Fawcett, Records
Officer, Office of the Chief Information
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
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 24, 2011 to Nicholas
A. Fraser, OMB Desk Officer, via e-mail
to Nicholas_A._Fraser@omb.eop.gov, or
by fax to 202–395–5167, marked to the
attention of Nicholas A. Fraser.
Dated: September 20, 2011.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011–24506 Filed 9–22–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–16–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark
Office
[Docket No. PTO–T–2011–0050]
Request for Comments on
Establishment of a One-Year Retention
Period for Trademark-Related Papers
That Have Been Scanned Into the
Trademark Initial Capture Registration
System
AGENCY: United States Patent and
Trademark Office, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: The United States Patent and
Trademark Office (‘‘USPTO’’) is
considering establishing a retention
period of one year for trademark-related
documents submitted on paper that are
subsequently scanned into the
Trademark Initial Capture Registration
System (‘‘TICRS’’). TICRS is available to
the public through the Trademark
Document Retrieval (‘‘TDR’’) database
on the USPTO Web site. After the
expiration of the one-year retention
period, the USPTO would dispose of the
paper documents unless, within
sufficient time prior to disposal, the
relevant trademark applicant or owner
files a request to correct the electronic
record in TICRS, and the request
remains outstanding at the time disposal
would otherwise have occurred.
Specifically, the proposed one-year
retention period begins on: September
26, 2011, for papers scanned into TICRS
prior to September 26, 2011; or a paper’s
submission date, for papers scanned
into TICRS on or after September 26,
2011. The proposal would reduce the
costs currently associated with
indefinitely warehousing paper
documents, while permitting sufficient
time for the review and rarely needed
correction of the scanning of such paper
documents.
E:\FR\FM\23SEN1.SGM
23SEN1
sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 185 / Friday, September 23, 2011 / Notices
DATES: Comment Deadline Date: To be
ensured of consideration, written
comments must be received on or before
November 22, 2011.
ADDRESSES: The USPTO prefers that any
comments be submitted via electronic
mail message to
TMFRNotices@uspto.gov. Written
comments may also be submitted by
mail addressed to: Commissioner for
Trademarks, P.O. Box 1451, Alexandria,
VA 22313–1451, Attention Cynthia C.
Lynch; by hand delivery to the
Trademark Assistance Center,
Concourse Level, James Madison
Building—East Wing, 600 Dulany Street,
Alexandria, Virginia, Attention Cynthia
C. Lynch.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Cynthia C. Lynch, Office of the Deputy
Commissioner for Trademark
Examination Policy, by telephone at
(571) 272–8742, or by mail addressed to:
Commissioner for Trademarks, P.O. Box
1451, Alexandria, VA 22313–1451,
marked to the attention of Cynthia C.
Lynch. The comments will be available
for public inspection on the USPTO’s
Web site at https://www.uspto.gov, and
will also be available at the Office of the
Commissioner for Trademarks, Madison
East, Tenth Floor, 600 Dulany Street,
Alexandria, Virginia. Because comments
will be available for public inspection,
information that is not desired to be
made public, such as an address or
phone number, should not be included
in the comments.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: TICRS is
the USPTO’s database for electronically
capturing, storing, and retrieving all
trademark application image files and
most registration image files. The
USPTO is nearing completion of a
multi-year project to scan into TICRS all
paper documents for every active
registered mark. The data in TICRS is
available to the public through the
Trademark Document Retrieval (‘‘TDR’’)
database on the USPTO Web site. The
public can also view the data in TICRS
at the USPTO’s Public Search Facility in
Alexandria, Virginia.
The majority of trademark
applications, and subsequent
correspondence concerning the
application, are filed electronically
using the Trademark Electronic
Application System (‘‘TEAS’’) and the
file images are stored in TICRS. To date
in Fiscal Year 2011, almost 99% of
applications were filed electronically,
and over 72% of applications were
processed and disposed of
electronically. Thus far in fiscal year
2011, approximately 3,897 new
applications were filed on paper, and
other paper submissions (i.e.,
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:41 Sep 22, 2011
Jkt 223001
correspondence, post registration
maintenance documents, etc.)
accounted for approximately 33,482
additional documents. Upon receipt, the
USPTO scans all paper documents and
stores the documents electronically in
TICRS. Currently, the USPTO also
retains the paper documents after
scanning them, even though the paper
documents duplicate the electronic
record in TICRS. While not actively or
routinely used, the paper records are
available for comparison purposes in
the rare situation where an issue might
arise concerning the accuracy of the
electronic records in TICRS.
The USPTO invests heavily in its
electronic systems and conducts
multiple reviews of the electronic
records in TICRS to ensure accuracy of
the data. After a paper application is
scanned, personnel in the PreExamination section of the USPTO
review the application record in TICRS
and request scanning corrections, as
needed. The record in TICRS is
reviewed again when the application is
assigned to a trademark examining
attorney who may determine, as part of
the application review, that additional
scanning corrections are necessary.
Further review of the record is
conducted by the Post Registration
section of the USPTO when registration
maintenance documents are filed. In the
first 41 weeks of fiscal year 2011, the
USPTO processed only 100 internal
requests for the rescanning of paper
documents. Relative to the number of
paper submissions, the number of
requested scanning corrections is
extremely small.
Currently, paper documents that have
been scanned into TICRS are boxed and
sent to a warehouse for storage. The
USPTO incurs warehouse storage costs
to maintain the paper records. The
USPTO anticipates that these costs will
rise if paper records continue to be
stored. Additionally, the USPTO’s
warehouse storage space is projected to
reach its capacity by mid-year 2012, and
additional warehouse storage space
would be necessary, further increasing
the costs.
To address these costs while still
allowing sufficient time for the review
and rarely needed correction of the
scanning of paper documents, the
USPTO proposes establishing a definite
period of time for the retention of paper
records. Specifically, the proposed oneyear retention period begins on:
September 26, 2011, for papers scanned
into TICRS prior to September 26, 2011;
or a paper’s submission date, for papers
scanned into TICRS on or after
September 26, 2011. This plan will
allow the USPTO and the public
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
59115
sufficient time to review and determine
the accuracy of the record in TICRS/
TDR and request any needed
corrections, thereby providing assurance
that the record is correct. The plan will
also significantly reduce the costs
currently associated with indefinitely
warehousing duplicative paper records.
Therefore, the USPTO proposes
establishing a one-year retention period
for paper documents for which an
electronic record has been created in
TICRS/TDR. Paper filings with
electronic and digital media
attachments would not be subject to the
one-year retention period and will
remain retrievable, consistent with past
practice.
After the expiration of the one-year
retention period, the USPTO proposes
to dispose of the paper records, unless
a request to correct the electronic record
in TICRS remains outstanding. Requests
to correct the electronic records in
TICRS should be e-mailed to ‘‘TM-TDRCorrect@uspto.gov’’ using the subject
line ‘‘Electronic Record Correction’’ at
least one month prior to the expiration
of the one-year retention period to allow
sufficient time to process the request.
The request should include: (1) The
serial number or registration number; (2)
the date and nature of the paper
document filed; (3) a description of the
error(s) in TICRS/TDR; (4) the name and
telephone number of the applicant or
owner; and (5) a replacement copy of
the paper document, if available. Under
the plan, the USPTO will review the
request and update the record within 21
days of receipt, if appropriate. Thus, the
applicant or owner may check TICRS or
TDR approximately three weeks after
submitting the request to verify entry of
the requested changes.
Dated: September 19, 2011.
David J. Kappos,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual
Property and Director of the United States
Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2011–24466 Filed 9–22–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–16–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No. PTO–P–2011–0049]
Notice of Availability of Patent Fee
Changes Under the Leahy-Smith
America Invents Act
AGENCY: United States Patent and
Trademark Office, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
SUMMARY: The United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) is
E:\FR\FM\23SEN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 185 (Friday, September 23, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59114-59115]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-24466]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No. PTO-T-2011-0050]
Request for Comments on Establishment of a One-Year Retention
Period for Trademark-Related Papers That Have Been Scanned Into the
Trademark Initial Capture Registration System
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (``USPTO'') is
considering establishing a retention period of one year for trademark-
related documents submitted on paper that are subsequently scanned into
the Trademark Initial Capture Registration System (``TICRS''). TICRS is
available to the public through the Trademark Document Retrieval
(``TDR'') database on the USPTO Web site. After the expiration of the
one-year retention period, the USPTO would dispose of the paper
documents unless, within sufficient time prior to disposal, the
relevant trademark applicant or owner files a request to correct the
electronic record in TICRS, and the request remains outstanding at the
time disposal would otherwise have occurred. Specifically, the proposed
one-year retention period begins on: September 26, 2011, for papers
scanned into TICRS prior to September 26, 2011; or a paper's submission
date, for papers scanned into TICRS on or after September 26, 2011. The
proposal would reduce the costs currently associated with indefinitely
warehousing paper documents, while permitting sufficient time for the
review and rarely needed correction of the scanning of such paper
documents.
[[Page 59115]]
DATES: Comment Deadline Date: To be ensured of consideration, written
comments must be received on or before November 22, 2011.
ADDRESSES: The USPTO prefers that any comments be submitted via
electronic mail message to TMFRNotices@uspto.gov. Written comments may
also be submitted by mail addressed to: Commissioner for Trademarks,
P.O. Box 1451, Alexandria, VA 22313-1451, Attention Cynthia C. Lynch;
by hand delivery to the Trademark Assistance Center, Concourse Level,
James Madison Building--East Wing, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria,
Virginia, Attention Cynthia C. Lynch.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia C. Lynch, Office of the Deputy
Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy, by telephone at (571)
272-8742, or by mail addressed to: Commissioner for Trademarks, P.O.
Box 1451, Alexandria, VA 22313-1451, marked to the attention of Cynthia
C. Lynch. The comments will be available for public inspection on the
USPTO's Web site at https://www.uspto.gov, and will also be available at
the Office of the Commissioner for Trademarks, Madison East, Tenth
Floor, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, Virginia. Because comments will
be available for public inspection, information that is not desired to
be made public, such as an address or phone number, should not be
included in the comments.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: TICRS is the USPTO's database for
electronically capturing, storing, and retrieving all trademark
application image files and most registration image files. The USPTO is
nearing completion of a multi-year project to scan into TICRS all paper
documents for every active registered mark. The data in TICRS is
available to the public through the Trademark Document Retrieval
(``TDR'') database on the USPTO Web site. The public can also view the
data in TICRS at the USPTO's Public Search Facility in Alexandria,
Virginia.
The majority of trademark applications, and subsequent
correspondence concerning the application, are filed electronically
using the Trademark Electronic Application System (``TEAS'') and the
file images are stored in TICRS. To date in Fiscal Year 2011, almost
99% of applications were filed electronically, and over 72% of
applications were processed and disposed of electronically. Thus far in
fiscal year 2011, approximately 3,897 new applications were filed on
paper, and other paper submissions (i.e., correspondence, post
registration maintenance documents, etc.) accounted for approximately
33,482 additional documents. Upon receipt, the USPTO scans all paper
documents and stores the documents electronically in TICRS. Currently,
the USPTO also retains the paper documents after scanning them, even
though the paper documents duplicate the electronic record in TICRS.
While not actively or routinely used, the paper records are available
for comparison purposes in the rare situation where an issue might
arise concerning the accuracy of the electronic records in TICRS.
The USPTO invests heavily in its electronic systems and conducts
multiple reviews of the electronic records in TICRS to ensure accuracy
of the data. After a paper application is scanned, personnel in the
Pre-Examination section of the USPTO review the application record in
TICRS and request scanning corrections, as needed. The record in TICRS
is reviewed again when the application is assigned to a trademark
examining attorney who may determine, as part of the application
review, that additional scanning corrections are necessary. Further
review of the record is conducted by the Post Registration section of
the USPTO when registration maintenance documents are filed. In the
first 41 weeks of fiscal year 2011, the USPTO processed only 100
internal requests for the rescanning of paper documents. Relative to
the number of paper submissions, the number of requested scanning
corrections is extremely small.
Currently, paper documents that have been scanned into TICRS are
boxed and sent to a warehouse for storage. The USPTO incurs warehouse
storage costs to maintain the paper records. The USPTO anticipates that
these costs will rise if paper records continue to be stored.
Additionally, the USPTO's warehouse storage space is projected to reach
its capacity by mid-year 2012, and additional warehouse storage space
would be necessary, further increasing the costs.
To address these costs while still allowing sufficient time for the
review and rarely needed correction of the scanning of paper documents,
the USPTO proposes establishing a definite period of time for the
retention of paper records. Specifically, the proposed one-year
retention period begins on: September 26, 2011, for papers scanned into
TICRS prior to September 26, 2011; or a paper's submission date, for
papers scanned into TICRS on or after September 26, 2011. This plan
will allow the USPTO and the public sufficient time to review and
determine the accuracy of the record in TICRS/TDR and request any
needed corrections, thereby providing assurance that the record is
correct. The plan will also significantly reduce the costs currently
associated with indefinitely warehousing duplicative paper records.
Therefore, the USPTO proposes establishing a one-year retention period
for paper documents for which an electronic record has been created in
TICRS/TDR. Paper filings with electronic and digital media attachments
would not be subject to the one-year retention period and will remain
retrievable, consistent with past practice.
After the expiration of the one-year retention period, the USPTO
proposes to dispose of the paper records, unless a request to correct
the electronic record in TICRS remains outstanding. Requests to correct
the electronic records in TICRS should be e-mailed to ``TM-TDR-Correct@uspto.gov'' using the subject line ``Electronic Record
Correction'' at least one month prior to the expiration of the one-year
retention period to allow sufficient time to process the request. The
request should include: (1) The serial number or registration number;
(2) the date and nature of the paper document filed; (3) a description
of the error(s) in TICRS/TDR; (4) the name and telephone number of the
applicant or owner; and (5) a replacement copy of the paper document,
if available. Under the plan, the USPTO will review the request and
update the record within 21 days of receipt, if appropriate. Thus, the
applicant or owner may check TICRS or TDR approximately three weeks
after submitting the request to verify entry of the requested changes.
Dated: September 19, 2011.
David J. Kappos,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2011-24466 Filed 9-22-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P
