2020-13262: Trademark Fee Adjustment

Summary

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office or USPTO) proposes to set or adjust certain trademark fees, as authorized by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), as amended by the Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success Act of 2018 (SUCCESS Act). The proposed fees are intended to recover the prospective aggregate costs of future strategic and operational trademark and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB or Board) goals (based on workload projections included in the USPTO fiscal year (FY) 2021 Congressional Justification), including associated administrative costs. The proposed fees will further USPTO strategic objectives by: Better aligning fees with costs, protecting the integrity of the trademark register, improving the efficiency of agency processes, and ensuring financial sustainability to facilitate effective trademark operations. Before a final rule is issued, the USPTO will consider the state of the U.S. economy, the operational needs of the agency, and public comments submitted pursuant to this rulemaking. The USPTO will make adjustments as necessary to the substance and timing of any final rule based on all of these considerations.

The agency’s own summary, as published.

What this changes

Amends 2 parts of the Code of Federal Regulations — the standing rules this notice rewrites.

• 37 CFR 2 Rules of Practice in Trademark Cases
• 37 CFR 7 Rules of Practice in Filings Pursuant to the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks