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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office

37 CFR Part 2

[Docket No. 930508-3327]

RIN 0651-AA61

Revision of Trademark Fees

AGENCY: Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) is amending the rules of

practice in trademark cases. The PTO is announcing that the fee for

filing a trademark application is $245, in accordance with the

applicable provisions of the Patent and Trademark Office Authorization

Act of 1993. No other fees will be affected by this rulemaking.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 3, 1993.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Robert Kopson by telephone at (703) 305-8510 or by mail marked to his

attention and addressed to the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks,

Washington, DC 20231.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule change adjusts the fee for filing

a trademark application in accordance with the provisions of Public Law

103-179. The trademark fee increase is required to address long-term

funding needs of the trademark functions of the PTO which cannot be

satisfied with the current fee structure.

Statutory Provisions

Section 31 of the Trademark (Lanham) Act of 1946, as amended (15

U.S.C. 1113), authorizes the Commissioner to establish fees for the

filing and processing of an application for the registration of a

trademark or other mark, and for all other services and materials

furnished by the PTO relating to trademarks and other marks.

Public Law 103-179 established the fee for filing a trademark

application at $245 per class. Public Law 103-179 took effect on

December 3, 1993.

Recovery Level Determinations

The existing fee schedule, along with the adjustment to the

trademark application fee, will recover $518,692,000 in fiscal year

1994, of which $4,830,000 is attributable to the increase in the

trademark application fee. The enacted 1994 budget is $504,021,000. An

additional $14,671,000 of patent statutory fees will be collected in

1994 and will be deposited to the Fee Surcharge Fund.

Patent statutory fees are subject to the provisions of the Omnibus

Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, as amended by Public Law 102-204. Of

the total amount of income expected to be collected in 1994 under 35

U.S.C. 41 (a) and (b), $103,000,000 must be deposited to the Fee

Surcharge Fund for deficit reduction purposes in lieu of seeking

general taxpayer funds from the U.S. Treasury. The $103,000,000 is

deposited in a special account in the U.S. Treasury, reserved

exclusively for use by the PTO, and is made available to the PTO

through the appropriation process. For 1994, the Congress appropriated

$88,329,000 from the Fee Surcharge Fund.

General Procedures

There will be a grace period of 60 days, beginning December 3,

1993, and ending January 31, 1994. During the grace period, any party

who submits a trademark application, which is otherwise sufficient,

with a fee of at least $210, but less than $245, will be notified of

the fee deficiency and permitted to supplement it within a 30-day

period set by the notice of the insufficient fee. If the applicant

submits the amount by which the fee is deficient within the 30-day

period, the application will retain its original filing date. If the

amount by which the fee is deficient is not submitted within 30 days,

the application papers and fee will be returned to the applicant. Any

trademark application submitted after January 31, 1994 with a deficient

fee payment will be returned to the applicant.

Discussion of Specific Rules

37 CFR 2.6 Trademark fees

Section 2.6, subparagraph (a)(1), is revised to adjust the fee

authorized by the Trademark (Lanham) Act of 1946 in accordance with the

provisions of Public Law 103-179.

Other Considerations

This rule change is in conformity with the requirements of

Executive Order 12612, and the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, 44

U.S.C. 3501, et seq. There are no information collection requirements

relating to patent and trademark fee rules.

This regulation was reviewed by the Office of Information and

Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget under

Executive Order 12866.

The PTO has determined that this rule change has no Federalism

implications affecting the relationship between the National Government

and the States as outlined in Executive Order 12612.

Notice and opportunity for comment are unnecessary under 5 U.S.C.

553(6)(b) because this rule change merely restates a Congressionally-

mandated fee change. Because notice of proposed rulemaking is not

required for this rule, the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et

seq.) does not apply.

The PTO published a notice of proposed rulemaking on July 21, 1993,

(58 FR 39102) to increase the trademark fee to $245 based on pending

legislation that would have given PTO the authority to raise trademark

fees in excess of the Consumer Price Index. The legislation as passed

(Pub. L. 103-179) simply increased the trademark application filing fee

to $245 effective the date of enactment.

List of Subjects in 37 CFR Part 2

Administrative practice and procedure, Courts, Lawyers, Trademarks.

For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the PTO is amending

title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter I, as set forth

below.

PART 2--RULES OF PRACTICE IN TRADEMARK CASES

1. The authority citation for part 2 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1123; 35 U.S.C. 6, unless otherwise noted.

2. Section 2.6 is amended by revising paragraph (a)(1) to read as

follows:

Sec. 2.6 Trademark fees.

* * * * *

(a) Trademark process fees.

(1) For filing an application, per class: $245.00.

* * * * *

Dated: December 23, 1993.

Bruce A. Lehman,

Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Patents and

Trademarks.

[FR Doc. 94-1021 Filed 1-3-94; 8:45 am]

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