3510-16-P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Trademark
Petitions
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.
SUMMARY: 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: 0651-0061 (Trademark Petitions). The purpose of this
notice is to allow 60 days for public comment preceding submission of the information
collection to OMB.
DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this information collection must
be received on or before [INSERT DATE 60 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN
THE FEDERAL REGISTER].
ADDRESSES: 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.
•

Email: InformationCollection@uspto.gov. Include “0651-0061 comment” in the
subject line of the message.

•

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.

•

Mail: Justin Isaac, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, United States Patent
and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313–1450.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Request for additional information should
be directed to Catherine Cain, Attorney Advisor, Office of the Commissioner for

Trademarks, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA
22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-8946; or by email at Catherine.Cain@uspto.gov
with “0651-0061 comment” in the subject line. Additional information about this
information collection is also available at http://www.reginfo.gov under “Information
Collection Review.”
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I.

Abstract
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) administers the

Trademark Act (Act), 15 U.S.C. 1051 et seq., which provides for the registration of
trademarks, service marks, collective membership marks, and certification marks.
Individuals and businesses that use or intend to use such marks in commerce may file an
application to register their marks with the USPTO.
This information collection covers various trademark-related communications to
the USPTO, including letters of protest, requests to make special, responses to petition
inquiry letters, petitions to make special, requests to restore a filing date, and requests
for reinstatement. This information collection also incorporates petitions for ex parte
expungement or reexamination (PTO-2312). Ex parte expungement and reexamination
proceedings were established by the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (TMA), Pub.
L. 116-260 (Dec. 27, 2020), to cancel, either in whole or in part, registered marks for
which the required use in commerce was not made. The burden estimate for petitions for
ex parte expungement or reexamination was previously contained in OMB Control No.
0651-0086, Changes to Implement Provisions of the Trademark Modernization Act, but
is being transferred into this information collection for efficiency. Finally, this information
collection consolidates into a single burden estimate the burden for responses to petition
inquiry letters (PTO-2305), which was previously reflected in both OMB Control No. 06510086 and this information collection.

The information covered in this collection is used by the public for a variety of
private business purposes related to establishing and enforcing trademark rights.
Information relating to the registration of a trademark is made available to the public by
the USPTO. However, the release of information in a letter of protest is controlled and
may be available only upon request.
II.

Method of Collection

Items in this information collection must be submitted electronically. In limited
circumstances, applicants may also be permitted to submit the information in paper form,
by mail, or by hand delivery.
III.

Data

OMB Control Number: 0651-0061.
Forms:
•

PTO-2303 (Letter of Protest)

•

PTO-2304 (Request to Make Special)

•

PTO-2305 (Response to Petition to Director Inquiry Letter)

•

PTO-2306 (Petition to Make Special)

•

PTO-2307 (Request to Restore Filing Date)

•

PTO-2308 (Request for Reinstatement)

•

PTO-2312 (Petition for Expungement or Reexamination Form)

Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved information collection.
Affected Public: Private sector.
Respondent’s Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 5,813 respondents.
Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 5,813 responses.
Frequency: On occasion.

Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses in this
information collection will take the public approximately between 40 minutes (0.67 hours)
and 4.5 hours to complete. This includes the time to gather the necessary information,
create the document, and submit the completed request to the USPTO.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 7,893 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden: $3,528,171.
Table 1: Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Private Sector Respondents
Item
No.

Item

Estimated
Annual
Respondents

Responses
per
Respondent

Estimated
Annual
Responses

Estimated
Time For
Response
(hours)

Estimated
Burden
(hour/year)

Rate1
($/hour)

Estimated
Annual
Respondent
Cost Burden

(a)

(b)

(a) X (b) = (c)

(d)

(c) x (d) = (e)

(f)

(e) x (f) = (g)

Letter of Protest
3,243

3,243

1.5

4,865

$447

$2,174,655

1

0.83
(50 minutes)

$447

$296,808

1

1

$447

$357,600

1

0.83
(50 minutes)

$447

$111,303

1

0.83
(50 minutes)

$447

$14,751

1

1

$447

$178,800

Petition for Ex
Parte
Expungement

1

4.5

$447

$181,035

PTO-2312
Petition for Ex
Parte
Reexamination

1

4.5

$447

$201,150

1

0.67
(40 minutes)

$447

$12,069

3

PTO-2303
Request to Make
Special
PTO-2304
Response to
Petition to Director
Inquiry Letter
PTO-2305

Petition to Make
Special
PTO-2306

Request to Restore
Filing Date
PTO-2307

Request for
Reinstatement
PTO-2308

PTO-2312
Response to
Petition for
Expungement or
Reexamination
Inquiry Letter
PTO-2312

2023 Report of the Economic Survey, published by the Committee on Economics of Legal Practice of the American Intellectual
Property Law Association (AIPLA); pg. F–41. The USPTO uses the average billing rate for intellectual property work in all firms which
is $447 per hour (https://www.aipla.org/home/news-publications/economic-survey).
.
Item
No.

Item

Totals

Estimated
Annual
Respondents

Responses
per
Respondent

Estimated
Annual
Responses

Estimated
Time For
Response
(hours)

Estimated
Burden
(hour/year)

Rate1
($/hour)

Estimated
Annual
Respondent
Cost Burden

(a)

(b)

(a) X (b) = (c)

(d)

(c) x (d) = (e)

(f)

(e) x (f) = (g)

5,813



5,813



7,893



Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden: $313,260. There are no
capital start-up, 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 filings fees and postage, is $313,260.
Filing Fees
There are fees associated with submitting the petitions and requests in this
information collection for a total of $313,250 per year.
Table 2: Filing Fees
Item
No.

Fee
Code

Item

Estimated
Annual
Responses

Filing Fee
($)

Non-hourly Cost
Burden

(b)

(a) x (b) = (c)

(a)
1
4
4
7
7011
7005
6005
7014
Letter of Protest
Petition to Make Special (Electronic)
Petition to Make Special (Paper)
Petition for Ex Parte Expungement
Petition for Ex Parte Reexamination
Totals

3,243
299
1
90
100
3,733

$50
$250
$350
$400
$400


$162,150
$74,750
$350
$36,000
$40,000
$313,250

Postage Costs
In limited circumstances, applicants may be permitted to submit the information in
paper form by mail, fax, or hand delivery. Applicants and registrants incur postage costs
when submitting information to the USPTO by mail through the United States Postal
Service. The USPTO estimates that 1 item will be submitted by mail. The USPTO
estimates that the average postage cost for a mailed submission, using a Priority Mail
legal flat rate envelope, will be $10.15. Therefore, the USPTO estimates the total mailing
costs for this information collection will be $10.
IV.

Request for Comments

The USPTO is soliciting public comments to:

$3,528,171

(a) Evaluate whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance
of the functions of the Agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;
(b) Evaluate the accuracy of the Agency’s estimate of the burden of the collection of
information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
(c) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
(d) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond,
including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other
technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g.,
permitting electronic submission of responses.
All comments submitted in response to this notice are a matter of public record. The
USPTO will include or summarize each comment in the request to OMB to approve this
information collection. Before including an address, phone number, email address, or
other personally identifiable information (PII) in a comment, be aware that the entire
comment—including PII—may be made publicly available at any time. While you may ask
in your comment to withhold PII from public view, the USPTO cannot guarantee that it will
be able to do so.
Justin Isaac,
Information Collections Officer,
Office of the Chief Administrative Officer,
United States Patent and Trademark Office.

[FR Doc. 2024-15123 Filed: 7/9/2024 8:45 am; Publication Date: 7/10/2024]