United States Patent and Trademark Office OG Notices: 02 November 2004
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
37 CFR Part 2
Docket No. 2004-T-046
RIN 0651-AB82
Waiver of Pixel Requirement for
Drawings Filed Electronically
AGENCY: Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.
ACTIONS: Waiver of rule requiring certain specified pixel count for
drawings submitted electronically.
SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office ("Office") is
waiving the requirement that drawings filed through the Trademark
Electronic Application System ("TEAS") have a length and width of no less
than 250 pixels and no more than 944 pixels.
DATES: Applicability Date: The requirement of 37 CFR 2.53(c) are hereby
waived as of October 6, 2004.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cheryl L. Black, Office of the
Commissioner for Trademarks, by telephone at (703) 308-8910, ext. 153, or
by e-mail to cheryl.black@uspto.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
A final rule amending the Trademark Rules of Practice was published on
September 26, 2003, at 68 FR 55748. The purpose of the final rule was
to clarify and improve the procedures for processing trademark
applications, and to implement the Madrid Protocol Implementation Act
of 2002, Public Law 107-273, 116 Stat. 1758, 1913-1921 ("MPIA"),
which provide a system for obtaining an international registration. The
MPIA amended the Trademark Act of 1946 to implement the provisions of
the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the
International Registration of Marks ("Madrid Protocol"). The final
rule added a new Sec. 2.53, setting forth the requirements for a
drawing filed through TEAS. Section 2.53(c) provides as follows:
(c) Requirements for digitized image: The image must be in .jpg and
scanned at no less than 300 dots per inch and no more than 350 dots per
inch with a length and width of no less than 250 pixels and no more than
944 pixels. All lines must be clean, sharp and solid, not fine or crowded,
and produce a high quality image when copied.
These requirements were deemed necessary to ensure that the Office's
database contains a clear and accurate reproduction of the mark and meets
the 8 cm by 8 cm size limit that is required for an international
application under the Madrid Protocol.
The Office has determined that it is not always necessary to have the
pixel count required by the rule in order to produce a clear and accurate
reproduction of a mark.
Partial Waiver of Sec. 2.53(c)
Accordingly, until further notice, the Office hereby waives the
requirement of Sec. 2.53(c) that drawings filed through TEAS must have a
length and width of no less than 250 pixels and no more than 944 pixels.
Although the requirement is hereby waived, the Office encourages applicants
to continue to submit drawings with a length and width of no less than 250
pixels and no more than 944 pixels.
The other requirements of Sec. 2.53(c) remain in effect. That is, a
drawing filed through TEAS must be in .jpg format and scanned at no less
than 300 dots per inch and no more than 350 dots per inch. All lines must
be clean, sharp and solid, not fine or crowded, and produce a high quality
image when copied.
Other Considerations
The change addressed in this rule is limited to waiving a requirement
that drawings filed through TEAS have a length and width of no less than
250 pixels and no more than 944 pixels. This change involves rules of
agency practice and procedure under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A). Therefore, prior
notice and opportunity for public comment, and thirty-day advance
publication, are not required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 (or any other law).
As a result, a regulatory flexibility analysis under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is not required. See 5 U.S.C. 603.
September 24, 2004 JON W. DUDAS
Under Secretary of Commerce for
Intellectual Property and Director of the
United States Patent and Trademark Office