Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Fastener Quality Act Insignia Recordal Process

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will submit the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. The USPTO invites comment on this information collection renewal, which helps the USPTO assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on January 15, 2021 during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.

Agency: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce.

Title: Fastener Quality Act Insignia Recordal Process.

OMB Control Number: 0651-0028.

Form Number:

• PTO-1611 (Application for Recordal of Insignia or Renewal/Reactivation of Recordal Under the Fastener Quality Act)

Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved information collection.

Number of Respondents: 96 respondents per year.

Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take the public approximately 30 minutes (0.5 hours) to gather the necessary information, prepare the form, and submit the request for recordal or renewal of a fastener insignia to the USPTO.

Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 48 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Non-Hour Cost Burden: $2,136.

Needs and Uses: Under Section 5 of the Fastener Quality Act (FQA) of 1999, (15 U.S.C. 5401 et seq.), certain industrial fasteners must bear an insignia identifying the manufacturer. It is also mandatory for manufacturers of fasteners covered by the FQA to submit an application to the USPTO for recordal of the insignia on the Fastener Insignia Register. The purpose of requiring both the insignia and the recordation is to ensure that certain fasteners can be traced to their manufacturers and to protect against the sale of mismarked, misrepresented, or counterfeit fasteners. The procedures for the recordal of fastener insignia under the FQA are set forth in 15 CFR 280.300 et seq.

This information collection covers data gathered by the FQA applications for Recordal of Insignia and the applications for Renewal/Reactivation of Recordal. The USPTO uses the information in this information collection to record or renew insignias under the FQA and to maintain the Fastener Insignia Register, which is open to public inspection. The public may download the Fastener Insignia Register from the USPTO website at https://www.uspto.gov/trademark/laws-regulations/fastener-quality-act-fqa/fastener-quality-act-fqa.

Affected Public: Private sector.

Frequency: On occasion.

Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.

This information collection request may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce, USPTO information collections currently under review by OMB.

Written comments and recommendations for this information collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function and entering either the title of the information collection or the OMB Control Number 0651-0028.

Further information can be obtained by:

• Email: InformationCollection@uspto.gov. Include “0651-0028 information request” in the subject line of the message.
• Mail: Kimberly Hardy, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313- 1450.