[Federal Register: April 15, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 72)]
[Notices]
[Page 18176-18177]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15ap02-34]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Electronic Publication of the Trademark Manual of Examining
Procedure
AGENCY: Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
announces its intention to disseminate all future editions of the
Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) solely in electronic
format.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 15, 2002, to ensure
consideration.
ADDRESSES: Mail comments to the Commissioner for Trademarks, 2900
Crystal Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22202-3513, attention: Sharon Marsh;
fax comments to (703) 872-9282, attention Sharon Marsh; or e-mail
comments to eTMEP@uspto.gov.
Copies of all comments will be available for public inspection in
Suite 10B10, South Tower Building, 10th floor, 2900 Crystal Drive,
Arlington, Virginia 22202-3513, from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, and will be posted on the www.uspto.gov Web site.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharon Marsh, Office of the
Commissioner for Trademarks, (703) 308-8910, extension 145; or e-mail
to sharon.marsh@uspto.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure
(TMEP) is a reference work that sets forth the practices and procedures
that are followed in connection with the prosecution of applications to
register marks at the USPTO. In the past, the USPTO has provided the
text of the TMEP to the Government Printing Office (GPO) for paper
publication, distribution and sale. The USPTO, as well as private
practitioners and others, bought copies of the TMEP from the GPO. The
GPO also provided deposit copies to libraries through its Federal
Depository Library Program.
Currently, the TMEP is available on the Internet at the USPTO Web
site (http://www.uspto.gov), and is also provided in paper and DVD-ROM
formats. The USPTO hereby announces its intention to disseminate all
future editions of the TMEP solely in electronic form. Electronic
distribution of the TMEP will enable the USPTO to provide more frequent
updates of the TMEP, thereby benefiting external and internal
customers. Additionally, electronic dissemination will result in
substantial cost savings.
A Federal agency that disseminates information electronically must
do so in a manner consistent with guidelines set forth in OMB Circular
A-130. Dissemination of the TMEP solely in electronic format is
consistent with those guidelines.
The guidelines require that ``[a] change to electronic
dissemination, as
[[Page 18177]]
the sole means of disseminating the product, will not impose
substantial acquisition or training costs on users, especially State
and local governments and small business entities.'' OMB Circular A-
130, paragraph 8a(8)(e). Elimination of the paper version of the TMEP
will not result in any significant acquisition costs. The Internet
version of the TMEP can be accessed without any special equipment or
software. Free access to the TMEP will continue to be provided on DVD-
ROM and via the Internet at all eighty-seven Patent and Trademark
Depository Library (PTDL) locations throughout the United States.
Elimination of the paper version of the TMEP is unlikely to
significantly increase the demand for computer capacity at the PTDLs or
otherwise impose a burden on them. PTDLs routinely provide reference
assistance and training in the access and use of this and other
trademark information. However, the electronic version of the TMEP is
highly user-friendly, and therefore, its use requires little or no
training. In addition, commercial vendors currently provide the TMEP in
paper form, and the USPTO anticipates that availability through this
channel will continue.
The guidelines also provide that use of electronic media is proper
if ``[t]he agency develops and maintains the information
electronically.'' OMB Circular A-130, paragraph 8a(8)(a). The
information set forth in the TMEP is both developed and maintained
electronically.
A further requirement for use of electronic means to disseminate
information is that the ``[e]lectronic media or formats are practical
and cost effective ways to provide public access to a large, highly
detailed volume of information.'' OMB Circular A-130, paragraph
8a(8)(b). Electronic dissemination of the TMEP is both cost-effective
and practical. Non-electronic dissemination of the TMEP is fairly
costly. For example, when the TMEP was last reissued, the USPTO
expended over $20,000.00 in printing and binding costs. Electronic
dissemination would eliminate these costs. Additionally, electronic
dissemination is highly practical; such dissemination will allow the
USPTO to issue updates whenever required by statutory, regulatory or
policy changes. Additionally, the electronic format allows users to
conduct electronic searches of the nineteen chapters and numerous
subsections that comprise the TMEP.
The guidelines also require that ``[t]he agency disseminates the
product frequently.'' OMB Circular A-130, paragraph 8a(8)(c). The TMEP
is disseminated to users on demand. Currently, the product is updated
every few years because of the burden involved in printing and
disseminating a several-hundred-page paper document. Moving to
electronic dissemination only will permit the USPTO to issue much more
frequent updates and keep the TMEP current with changes in statute,
regulation, and procedure.
The guidelines also provide that information should not be
disseminated electronically unless ``[t]he agency knows a substantial
portion of users have ready access to the necessary information
technology and training to use electronic information dissemination
products.'' OMB Circular A-130, paragraph 8a(8)(d). The USPTO is
confident that a substantial proportion of its customers have ready
access to the Internet, the forum on which the TMEP is posted, and that
its customers have the necessary training to utilize the TMEP.
At this time, at least one publisher offers a paper TMEP in a
slightly different format than that offered by the GPO. Thus, the USPTO
is confident that, if there is a demand for a paper TMEP, an
entrepreneurial publisher exists who will offer a paper publication.
Dated: April 9, 2002.
James E. Rogan,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, Director, United
States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 02-9017 Filed 4-12-02; 8:45 am]
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