Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Madrid Protocol

<NOTICE> DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE <SUBAGY>Patent and Trademark Office</SUBAGY> <SUBJECT>Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Madrid Protocol</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Notice of information collection; request for comments. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on the extension and revision of an existing information collection: 0651-0051 (Madrid Protocol). The purpose of this notice is to allow 60 days for public comments preceding submission of the information collection to the office of Management and Budget (OMB). </SUM> <DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> To ensure consideration, you must submit comments regarding this information collection on or before May 12, 2025. </DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by any of the following methods. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information. • <E T="03">Email: InformationCollection@uspto.gov</E> . Include “0651-0051 comment” in the subject line of the message. • <E T="03">Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov</E> . • <E T="03">Mail:</E> Justin Isaac, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Requests for additional information should be directed to Cristiana Schwab at: Attorney Advisor, Office of the Commissioner for Trademarks, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; 571-272-3514; or <E T="03">cristiana.schwab@uspto.gov</E> with “0651-0051 comment” in the subject line. Additional information about this information collection is also available at <E T="03">www.reginfo.gov</E> under “Information Collection Review.” </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Abstract</HD> This collection of information is required by the Trademark Act of 1946, 15 U.S.C. 1051 <E T="03">et seq.,</E> which provides for the federal registration of trademarks, service marks, collective trademarks and service marks, collective membership marks, and certification marks. 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 of the World Intellectual Property Organization 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 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 came into effect in the United States on November 2, 2003, and is implemented under 15 U.S.C. 1141 <E T="03">et seq.</E> and 37 CFR parts 2 and 7. Individuals and businesses that use or intend to use such marks in commerce may file an application to register the marks with the USPTO. Both the register and the information provided in pending applications for registration can be accessed by the public. This public access allows users to determine the availability of a mark and lessens the likelihood of initiating the use of a mark previously adopted by another. <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. Method of Collection</HD> Items in this information collection must be submitted electronically. In limited circumstances, registrants may be permitted to submit the information by mail or hand delivery. <HD SOURCE="HD1">III. Data</HD> <E T="03">OMB Control Number:</E> 0651-0051. <E T="03">Forms:</E> (MM = Madrid Mark). <FP SOURCE="FP-1">• MM2(E) (Application for International Registration Under the Madrid Protocol)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">• MM4(E) (Designation Subsequent to the International Registration)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">• PTO-1663 (Declaration of Continued Use/Excusable Nonuse of Mark in Commerce Under Section 71)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">• PTO-1683 (Combined Declaration of Use/Excusable Nonuse and Incontestability Under Sections 71 and 15)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">• PTO-2131 (Application for International Registration)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">• PTO-2132 (Application for Subsequent Designation)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">• PTO-2133 (Response to Notice of Irregularity)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">• PTO-2314 (Replacement Request)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">• PTO-2315 (Transformation Request)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">• PTO-2316 (Petition to Director to Review Denial of Certification of International Application)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">• PTO-2317 (Petition to the Director for an International Application/Registration)</FP> <E T="03">Type of Review:</E> Extension and revision of a currently approved information collection. <E T="03">Affected Public:</E> Private sector. <E T="03">Respondent's Obligation:</E> Required to obtain or retain benefits. <E T="03">Frequency:</E> On occasion. <E T="03">Estimated Number of Annual Respondents:</E> 91,024 respondents. <E T="03">Estimated Number of Annual Responses:</E> 91,024 responses. <E T="03">Estimated Time per Response:</E> The USPTO estimates that the responses in this information collection will take the public between 45 minutes (0.75 hours) and 75 minutes (1.25 hours) to complete. This includes the time to gather the necessary information, create the forms or documents, and submit the completed item to the USPTO. <E T="03">Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours:</E> 96,109 hours. <E T="03">Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden:</E> $42,960,723. <GPOTABLE COLS="9" OPTS="L2(,0,),nj,p7,7/8,i1" CDEF="xs24,r55,10,9,12,xs55,12,7,12"> <TTITLE>Table 1—Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Private Sector Respondents</TTITLE> <CHED H="1">Item No.</CHED> <CHED H="1">Item</CHED> <ENT>Application for International Registration</ENT> <ENT>15,167</ENT> <ENT>1</ENT> <ENT>15,167</ENT> <ENT>0.75 (45 minutes)</ENT> <ENT>11,375</ENT> <ENT>$447</ENT> <ENT>$5,084,625</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">2</ENT> <ENT>Request for Extension of Protection of International Registration to the United States (WIPO)</ENT> <ENT>51,001</ENT> <ENT>1</ENT> <ENT>51,001</ENT> <ENT>1.25 (75 minutes)</ENT> <ENT>63,751</ENT> <ENT>447</ENT> <ENT>28,496,697</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">3</ENT> <ENT>Response to Notice of Irregularity</ENT> <ENT>4,554</ENT> <ENT>1</ENT> <ENT>4,554</ENT> <ENT>0.75 (45 minutes)</ENT> <ENT>3,416</ENT> <ENT>447</ENT> <ENT>1,526,952</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">4</ENT> <ENT>Replacement Request</ENT> <ENT>0.83 (50 minutes)</ENT> <ENT>6</ENT> <ENT>447</ENT> <ENT>2,682</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">5</ENT> <ENT>Transformation Request</ENT> <ENT>0.75 (45 minutes)</ENT> <ENT>36</ENT> <ENT>447</ENT> <ENT>16,092</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">6</ENT> <ENT>Petition to Director to Review Denial of Certification of International Application</ENT> <ENT>77</ENT> <ENT>1</ENT> <ENT>77</ENT> <ENT>1.25 (75 minutes)</ENT> <ENT>96</ENT> <ENT>447</ENT> <ENT>42,912</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">7</ENT> <ENT>Application for Subsequent Designation</ENT> <ENT>1,651</ENT> <ENT>1</ENT> <ENT>1,651</ENT> <ENT>1.25 (75 minutes)</ENT> <ENT>2,064</ENT> <ENT>447</ENT> <ENT>922,608</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">8</ENT> <ENT>Declaration of Continued Use/Excusable Nonuse of Mark in Commerce Under Section 71</ENT> <ENT>13,564</ENT> <ENT>1</ENT> <ENT>13,564</ENT> <ENT>0.83 (50 minutes)</ENT> <ENT>11,258</ENT> <ENT>447</ENT> <ENT>5,032,326</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">9</ENT> <ENT>Combined Declaration of Continued Use/Excusable Nonuse and Incontestability Under Sections 71 and 15</ENT> <ENT>4,887</ENT> <ENT>1</ENT> <ENT>4,887</ENT> <ENT>0.83 (50 minutes)</ENT> <ENT>4,056</ENT> <ENT>447</ENT> <ENT>1,813,032</ENT> </ROW> <ROW RUL="n,n,s"> <ENT I="01">10</ENT> <ENT>Petition to the Director for an International Application/Registration</ENT> <ENT>68</ENT> <ENT>1</ENT> <ENT>68</ENT> <ENT>0.75 (45 minutes)</ENT> <ENT>51</ENT> <ENT>447</ENT> <ENT>22,797</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="22"> </ENT> <ENT O="oi3">Total</ENT> <ENT>91,024</ENT>  2023 Report of the Economic Survey, published by the Committee on Economics of Legal Practice of the American Intellectual Property Law Association; pg. F-41. The USPTO uses the average billing rate for intellectual property work in all firms, which is $447 per hour ( <E T="03">www.aipla.org/home/news-publications/economic-survey</E> ). </TNOTE> </GPOTABLE> <E T="03">Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden:</E> $41,700,722. There are no capital start-up costs, maintenance costs, or recordkeeping costs associated with this information collection. However, the USPTO estimates that the total annual non-hour cost burden for this information collection, in the form of filing fees and postage, is $41,700,722. <HD SOURCE="HD2">Filing Fees</HD> There are fees associated with processing international applications and related requests under the Madrid Protocol, as set forth in 37 CFR 2.6 and 37 CFR 7.6. Most of those fees are charged per class of goods or services. Therefore, ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 18k characters. 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