USPTO To Begin Issuing Electronic Trademark Registration Certificates, 71249-71250 [2021-27116]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 238 / Wednesday, December 15, 2021 / Notices e. Assess policies in connection with fees and charges for NTIS services in order for the agency to operate on a substantially self-sustaining basis, as required by law. f. Assess organizational capabilities required to carry out NTIS’s mission, including capabilities in data science and for operational management of its project portfolio. khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES Membership 1. The NTIS Advisory Board shall be composed of a Chairperson appointed by the Secretary and four other members appointed by the Secretary. In the event of a vacancy in the Chairperson position, the NTIS Director may designate a member to serve as acting Chairperson until a Chairperson is appointed by the Secretary. 2. Members shall be selected solely on the basis of established records of distinguished service and objectivity; shall have recognized expertise in data collection, compilation, analysis, use, and dissemination, as well as data science, information technology, cybersecurity, and privacy. Members will be selected from the business, academic, non-profit, and state and local government communities. Reasonable efforts will be made to ensure members represent the entire spectrum of Federal data interests including demographic, economic, trade, health, scientific, patent, environmental, geospatial, cybersecurity, and transactional data. No Federal Government employee shall serve as a member of the Board. 3. The term of office of each member of the Board shall be three years, except that vacancy appointments shall be for the remainder of the unexpired term of the vacancy. All appointments shall automatically terminate if the charter is terminated or not renewed. All members serve at the pleasure of the Secretary. 4. Any person who has completed two consecutive full terms of service on the Board shall be ineligible for appointment for a third term during the one-year period following the expiration of the second term. 5. Members shall serve as Special Government Employees (SGEs) and will be subject to all ethical standards and rules applicable to SGEs. Miscellaneous 1. Members of the Committee will not be paid for their services, but will, upon request, be allowed travel and per diem expenses in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 5701 et seq., while attending meetings of the Committee or of its subcommittees, or while otherwise performing duties at the request of the VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:04 Dec 14, 2021 Jkt 256001 chairperson, while away from their homes or a regular place of business. 2. The Board shall meet at the call of the Secretary or the Secretary’s designee, but not less often than once every six months. 3. NTIS may establish such subcommittees of its members as may be necessary, pursuant to the provisions of FACA, the FACA implementing regulations, and applicable Department of Commerce guidance. Subcommittees will report to the NTIS Advisory Board and may not provide advice or work products directly to the Department of Commerce or NTIS. 4. Recordkeeping. Records of the NTIS Advisory Board, any formally and informally established subcommittees, or other subgroups of the Board, shall be handled in accordance with General Records Schedule 6.2 or other approved agency records disposition schedule. These records shall be available for public inspection and copying, subject to the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552). Nomination Information 1. NTIS seeks nominations of practitioners with recognized expertise in data collection, compilation, analysis, use, and dissemination, as well as data science, information technology, cybersecurity, and privacy. 2. Members will be selected from the business, academic, non-profit, and state and local government communities. 3. Reasonable efforts will be made to ensure members represent the entire spectrum of Federal data interests including demographic, economic, trade, health, scientific, patent, environmental, geospatial, cybersecurity, and transactional data. Collectively, their knowledge will include all types of data the Federal Government collects, compiles, analyzes, uses, and disseminates. 4. Nominees should have established records of distinguished service. The field of expertise in which the candidate is qualified should be specified in the nomination letter. Nominations for a particular field should come from organizations or individuals within that field. A summary of the candidate’s qualifications should be included with the nomination, including (where applicable) current or former service on federal advisory boards and federal employment. In addition, each nomination letter should state that the person agrees to the nomination, acknowledges the responsibilities of serving on the board, and will actively participate in good faith in the tasks of the NTIS Advisory Board. PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 71249 5. The Department of Commerce is committed to equal opportunity in the workplace and seeks a broad-based and diverse NTIS Advisory Board membership. Greg Capella, Acting Director, National Technical Information Service. [FR Doc. 2021–27094 Filed 12–14–21; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–04–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Patent and Trademark Office [Docket No. PTO–T–2021–0051] USPTO To Begin Issuing Electronic Trademark Registration Certificates United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce. ACTION: Request for comments. AGENCY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is seeking comments on its plan to begin issuing electronic trademark registration certificates in the spring of 2022. Upon issuance, the electronic registration certificate will be the official registration certificate. After the USPTO begins issuing electronic registration certificates, trademark owners will have the option to order paper ‘‘presentation’’ copies for a fee. They will also continue to be able to order certified copies of their trademark registrations. This notice outlines the USPTO’s plan and requests comments from U.S. trademark owners, practitioners, and other interested parties regarding their views about this plan. DATES: Written comments must be received on or before December 15, 2021. SUMMARY: Comments regarding this notice should be sent to TMFRNotices@ uspto.gov, with the subject line ‘‘Electronic Registration Certificates.’’ If a submission by email is not feasible due to, e.g., a lack of access to a computer and/or the internet, please contact the USPTO for special instructions using the contact information provided in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Catherine Cain, Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy, USPTO, at 571– 272–8946 or TMFRNotices@uspto.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The USPTO will begin issuing trademark registration certificates electronically via the USPTO’s Trademark Status and ADDRESSES: E:\FR\FM\15DEN1.SGM 15DEN1 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES 71250 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 238 / Wednesday, December 15, 2021 / Notices Document Retrieval (TSDR) system in the spring of 2022. By doing so, the USPTO is continuing with its efforts to move to full electronic processing of trademark applications and registrations. This change also updates USPTO practice to conform to customer requests and public comments the USPTO has received that indicated a strong preference to receive trademark registration certificates in a digital format rather than as a paper certificate. The change will make the certificates more accessible for trademark owners and decrease the time it takes for trademark owners to receive them. After implementation, trademark registration certificates will no longer be issued by printing the registration certificate on paper and mailing it to the correspondence address of record. Instead, the USPTO will issue the registration electronically under the electronic signature of the Director and with a digital seal, which will serve to authenticate the registration. The USPTO will upload the official registration certificate to the TSDR database, and an electronic notice will be emailed to the trademark owner with a link to provide access to the certificate upon issue. Posted with the electronic registration certificate will be information regarding registration maintenance requirements pursuant to sections 8(d) and 71(c) of the Trademark Act of 1946. Trademark owners will be able to use the emailed link to view, download, and print a complete copy of the registration certificate at no charge at any time. While the USPTO will no longer send a paper registration certificate upon issue, trademark owners will be able to obtain a printed copy of the first page of the issued registration that is suitable for framing. This document, known as a ‘‘presentation’’ copy, will be printed on heavy paper; feature a gold foil seal; identify the owner(s); and display bibliographic data, the trademark, and the classes of goods and/or services. Trademark owners who file an initial application on or after the implementation date will be able to order presentation copies for $25 per copy through the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS). Trademark owners who filed an initial application before the implementation date will be able to order presentation copies for free using a TEAS form. Trademark owners will continue to be able to order certified copies of the trademark registration for a fee. The certified copy certifies the status and title of the registration and includes the signature of an authorized certifying officer. VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:04 Dec 14, 2021 Jkt 256001 Background The USPTO has made significant efforts to implement end-to-end electronic processing of trademark applications and related submissions. End-to-end electronic processing means that an application and all applicationand registration-related submissions are filed and processed electronically, and any related correspondence between the USPTO and the relevant party is conducted electronically. TEAS was established to provide applicants the capability of filing their trademark applications electronically, and TSDR provides real-time access to the electronic file wrappers of U.S. trademark applications and registrations, and displays information contained in USPTO records regarding documents filed under the Madrid system through the United States. In December 2019, the USPTO added a quick-response code to the paper registration certificate that opens a digital version of the registration certificate in TSDR. This was a step toward providing an official digital registration certificate to replace the printed version. In February 2020, the USPTO began requiring, with limited exceptions, all filers to submit trademark application- and registrationrelated documents using TEAS. See Changes to the Trademark Rules of Practice To Mandate Electronic Filing (84 FR 69330, December 18, 2019). By mandating electronic filing of trademark applications and submissions concerning applications or registrations through TEAS, the final rule reduced paper processing to an absolute minimum. As part of the rule, and to prepare for the transition to electronic registration certificates, 37 CFR 2.151 was amended to delete the wording regarding sending the certificate of registration. In an effort to further streamline the trademark application process, the USPTO is now planning to issue trademark registration certificates electronically. The USPTO currently issues approximately 6,000 to 9,000 printed trademark registration certificates per week. The printing process is costly and time-consuming. Each registration certificate must be reviewed by a team of in-house contractors, printed on special paper, and then mailed to customers. Once a paper trademark registration certificate is issued, a copy of the registration certificate is available for viewing and printing by the public in TSDR. The electronic trademark issuance process would permit the USPTO to issue trademark registrations PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 approximately one to two weeks faster than the current paper process by discontinuing the printing, assembling, and mailing of a paper trademark registration certificate upon issuance. The trademark owner and the public would benefit from this time saved. For example, owners would be able to view and print their electronically issued trademark registrations through TSDR sooner, rather than waiting for their paper trademark registration certificate to be sent by mail. The USPTO will review any comments received and will publish a notice reminding the public of the transition to electronic registration certificates approximately 30 days before the implementation date, once it is determined. Andrew Hirshfeld, Commissioner for Patents, Performing the Functions and Duties of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. [FR Doc. 2021–27116 Filed 12–14–21; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–16–P DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Air Force Notice of Intent To Grant a PartiallyExclusive Patent License in the Field of Wearables Department of the Air Force, Department of Defense. ACTION: Notice of intent. AGENCY: Pursuant to the Bayh-Dole Act and implementing regulations, the Department of the Air Force hereby gives notice of its intent to grant a Partially-Exclusive Patent License in the field of wearables to FlexEnergy LLC, a small business, limited liability corporation having a place of business at 6969 Worthington Galena Blvd., Suite D, Worthington, Ohio 43085. DATES: Written objections must be filed no later than fifteen (15) calendar days after the date of publication of this Notice. SUMMARY: Submit written objections to Jeremy Gratsch, AFRL/RXOP, 2977 Hobson Way, WPAFB, OH 45433; Telephone: 937–255–0010; or email: jeremy.gratsch@us.af.mil. Include Docket No. ARX–211019B–PLA in the subject line of the message. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeremy Gratsch, AFRL/RXOP, 2977 Hobson Way, WPAFB, OH 45433; Telephone: 937–255–0010; or email: jeremy.gratsch@us.af.mil. ADDRESSES: E:\FR\FM\15DEN1.SGM 15DEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 15, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71249-71250]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27116]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office

[Docket No. PTO-T-2021-0051]


USPTO To Begin Issuing Electronic Trademark Registration 
Certificates

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.

ACTION: Request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is 
seeking comments on its plan to begin issuing electronic trademark 
registration certificates in the spring of 2022. Upon issuance, the 
electronic registration certificate will be the official registration 
certificate. After the USPTO begins issuing electronic registration 
certificates, trademark owners will have the option to order paper 
``presentation'' copies for a fee. They will also continue to be able 
to order certified copies of their trademark registrations. This notice 
outlines the USPTO's plan and requests comments from U.S. trademark 
owners, practitioners, and other interested parties regarding their 
views about this plan.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before December 15, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: Comments regarding this notice should be sent to 
[email protected], with the subject line ``Electronic Registration 
Certificates.'' If a submission by email is not feasible due to, e.g., 
a lack of access to a computer and/or the internet, please contact the 
USPTO for special instructions using the contact information provided 
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Catherine Cain, Office of the Deputy 
Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy, USPTO, at 571-272-8946 
or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The USPTO will begin issuing trademark 
registration certificates electronically via the USPTO's Trademark 
Status and

[[Page 71250]]

Document Retrieval (TSDR) system in the spring of 2022. By doing so, 
the USPTO is continuing with its efforts to move to full electronic 
processing of trademark applications and registrations. This change 
also updates USPTO practice to conform to customer requests and public 
comments the USPTO has received that indicated a strong preference to 
receive trademark registration certificates in a digital format rather 
than as a paper certificate. The change will make the certificates more 
accessible for trademark owners and decrease the time it takes for 
trademark owners to receive them.
    After implementation, trademark registration certificates will no 
longer be issued by printing the registration certificate on paper and 
mailing it to the correspondence address of record. Instead, the USPTO 
will issue the registration electronically under the electronic 
signature of the Director and with a digital seal, which will serve to 
authenticate the registration. The USPTO will upload the official 
registration certificate to the TSDR database, and an electronic notice 
will be emailed to the trademark owner with a link to provide access to 
the certificate upon issue. Posted with the electronic registration 
certificate will be information regarding registration maintenance 
requirements pursuant to sections 8(d) and 71(c) of the Trademark Act 
of 1946. Trademark owners will be able to use the emailed link to view, 
download, and print a complete copy of the registration certificate at 
no charge at any time.
    While the USPTO will no longer send a paper registration 
certificate upon issue, trademark owners will be able to obtain a 
printed copy of the first page of the issued registration that is 
suitable for framing. This document, known as a ``presentation'' copy, 
will be printed on heavy paper; feature a gold foil seal; identify the 
owner(s); and display bibliographic data, the trademark, and the 
classes of goods and/or services. Trademark owners who file an initial 
application on or after the implementation date will be able to order 
presentation copies for $25 per copy through the Trademark Electronic 
Application System (TEAS). Trademark owners who filed an initial 
application before the implementation date will be able to order 
presentation copies for free using a TEAS form. Trademark owners will 
continue to be able to order certified copies of the trademark 
registration for a fee. The certified copy certifies the status and 
title of the registration and includes the signature of an authorized 
certifying officer.

Background

    The USPTO has made significant efforts to implement end-to-end 
electronic processing of trademark applications and related 
submissions. End-to-end electronic processing means that an application 
and all application- and registration-related submissions are filed and 
processed electronically, and any related correspondence between the 
USPTO and the relevant party is conducted electronically. TEAS was 
established to provide applicants the capability of filing their 
trademark applications electronically, and TSDR provides real-time 
access to the electronic file wrappers of U.S. trademark applications 
and registrations, and displays information contained in USPTO records 
regarding documents filed under the Madrid system through the United 
States.
    In December 2019, the USPTO added a quick-response code to the 
paper registration certificate that opens a digital version of the 
registration certificate in TSDR. This was a step toward providing an 
official digital registration certificate to replace the printed 
version. In February 2020, the USPTO began requiring, with limited 
exceptions, all filers to submit trademark application- and 
registration-related documents using TEAS. See Changes to the Trademark 
Rules of Practice To Mandate Electronic Filing (84 FR 69330, December 
18, 2019). By mandating electronic filing of trademark applications and 
submissions concerning applications or registrations through TEAS, the 
final rule reduced paper processing to an absolute minimum. As part of 
the rule, and to prepare for the transition to electronic registration 
certificates, 37 CFR 2.151 was amended to delete the wording regarding 
sending the certificate of registration.
    In an effort to further streamline the trademark application 
process, the USPTO is now planning to issue trademark registration 
certificates electronically. The USPTO currently issues approximately 
6,000 to 9,000 printed trademark registration certificates per week. 
The printing process is costly and time-consuming. Each registration 
certificate must be reviewed by a team of in-house contractors, printed 
on special paper, and then mailed to customers. Once a paper trademark 
registration certificate is issued, a copy of the registration 
certificate is available for viewing and printing by the public in 
TSDR.
    The electronic trademark issuance process would permit the USPTO to 
issue trademark registrations approximately one to two weeks faster 
than the current paper process by discontinuing the printing, 
assembling, and mailing of a paper trademark registration certificate 
upon issuance. The trademark owner and the public would benefit from 
this time saved. For example, owners would be able to view and print 
their electronically issued trademark registrations through TSDR 
sooner, rather than waiting for their paper trademark registration 
certificate to be sent by mail.
    The USPTO will review any comments received and will publish a 
notice reminding the public of the transition to electronic 
registration certificates approximately 30 days before the 
implementation date, once it is determined.

Andrew Hirshfeld,
Commissioner for Patents, Performing the Functions and Duties of the 
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2021-27116 Filed 12-14-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P

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