Department of Commerce
                          Patent and Trademark Office

                     Renewal and Amendment of the Charter
                       of the Public Advisory Committee
                             for Trademark Affairs

Agency: Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.
Action: Notice.
Summary: In accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App. (1976), and after consultation with GSA, it
has been determined that the renewal and amendment of the charter of the
Public Advisory Committee for Trademark Affairs is in the public
interest in connection with the performance of duties imposed on the
Department by law. The charter was renewed on May 23, 1996. Charter
amendments will allow the Assistant Secretary of Commerce and
Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks (Assistant Secretary) to select
organizations which are representative of the Intellectual Property
community. Each selected organization will, in turn, be able to appoint
a designated number of members to the Committee. Committee membership
will be limited to no more than 15 members. These members will serve
staggered 3-year terms.
Supplementary Information: The Committee was first chartered in January
1973 and is now being renewed and its charter amended. The Committee's
purpose is to advise the Patent and Trademark Office (Office) on ways to
increase the Office's efficiency and effectiveness and to provide a
continuing flow of knowledge from the private sector to the Office in
the areas of international and domestic trademark law.
   The Office is amending the charter of the Committee to make the
Committee more diverse and more representative of trademark owners,
trademark practitioners and the Intellectual Property community as a
whole. The Assistant Secretary will select representative organizations
from among intellectual property organizations, bar groups,
business-related organizations and academia, and determine the number of
Committee members each organization can choose.
   Allowing each representative organization to select its own Committee
member(s) will ensure that the Committee represents the concern of each
member organization. Member will serve staggered three-year terms. No
member may serve more than two consecutive terms.
   The size of the Committee is being reduced from its former level of
18 members to 15 members. After experience with both an 18-member and
15-member Committee, the smaller number seems to work better.
   The Committee Chair will be selected by the Assistant Secretary and
will serve a one-year term. No individual may be the Chair for more than
two consecutive terms.
For Further Information Contact: Lynne G. Beresford at (703) 308-8900,
by fax at (703) 308-7220, or by mail marked to her attention and
addressed to:

Assistant Commissioner for Trademarks, 2900 Crystal Drive, Arlington,
Virginia 22202-3513.

Any organization which has an interest in the Committee should contact
Ms. Beresford. A list of interested organizations will be maintained in
the Office of the Assistant Commissioner for Trademarks.

June 26, 1996                                           BRUCE A. LEHMAN
                                    Assistant Secretary of Commerce and
                                 Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks