United States Patent and Trademark Office OG Notices: 03 July 2007
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Institute of Standards and Technology
15 CFR Part 280
Docket No: [070404076-7077-01]
RIN: 0693-AB57
Fastener Quality Act
AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, United States
Department of Commerce
ACTION: Final Rule.
SUMMARY: The Director of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST), United States Department of Commerce, and the Director
of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), United States
Department of Commerce, are amending the rules that implement the Fastener
Quality Act of 1999 to provide that all documents submitted in connection
with the recordal of fastener insignia must be mailed to a particular postal
box maintained by United States Patent and Trademark Office.
DATES: This final rule is effective on June 4, 2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Chicoski, Office of the
Commissioner for Trademarks, P.O. Box 1451, Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1451,
telephone number (571) 272-8943, e-mail address jennifer.chicoski@uspto.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Fastener Quality Act of 1999, Pub. L. 101-592 (as amended
by Pub. L. 104-113, Pub. L. 105-234 and Pub. L. 106-34) requires the
Secretary of Commerce to establish a program for the recordation of the
identifying insignia of certain fasteners. The rules set forth at
Subpart D of 15 C.F.R. Sections 280.300 et seq. accordingly provide for
a recordation system, and that system is maintained at the United
States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). One of the rules, 15 C.F.R.
Section 280.310(d), provides that all documents pertaining to
recordation must be mailed to a particular postal box maintained by the
USPTO in Arlington, VA. A second rule, Section 280.323(a), requires
copies of documentation of transfers or assignments of trademark
applications or registrations which form the basis of a recorded
insignia be sent to a postal box in Washington, D.C.
The efficiency of the insignia recordation program will be
enhanced if documents submitted in connection with the program are
mailed to a postal box that is at the USPTO's headquarters in
Alexandria, Virginia. Accordingly, Sections 280.300 et seq. are amended
to provide that these documents be mailed to that postal box.
This final rule amends section 280.310, Application for
Insignia, and section 280.323, Transfer or Assignment of the Trademark
Registration or Recorded Insignia, to identify the postal box to which
all documents pertaining to recordation should be sent. The United
States Postal Service has provided a separate routing +4 zip code to
distinguish mail relating to the Fastener Quality Act (FQA) from other
USPTO mail, and all such correspondence should now be sent to the
USPTO's main headquarters, addressed with the separate routing +4 zip
code.
The USPTO appreciates that it will take some period of time for
all persons filing correspondence relating to the FQA to become
accustomed to the address change. Although the address change is
effective immediately, the USPTO plans to arrange for continued
delivery of correspondence addressed to the former Arlington, Virginia
22215 address as a courtesy for a limited period of time. The USPTO
cannot ensure the availability of the Arlington, Virginia Post Office
Box for receipt of FQA correspondence after October 31, 2007.
List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 280, Subpart D
Application for Insignia
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the National
Institute of Standards and Technology and the United States Patent and
Trademark Office amend 15 CFR Part 280, Subpart D, as follows:
Part 280, Subpart D - Recordal of Insignia
1. The authority citation for Part 280 continues to read:
AUTHORITY: 15 U.S.C. 5401 et seq.
2. Section 280.310 is amended by revising paragraph (d) to read
as follows:
Sec. 280.310 Application for Insignia.
* * * * *
(d) Applications and other documents should be addressed to:
Director, United States Patent and Trademark Office,
ATTN: FQA, 600 Dulany Street, MDE-10A71, Alexandria VA 22314-5793.
3. Section 280.323 is amended by revising paragraph (a) to read
as follows:
Sec. 280.323 Transfer or assignment of the trademark registration or
recorded insignia.
(a) A trademark application or registration which forms the
basis of a fastener recordal may be transferred or assigned. Any
transfer or assignment of such an application or registration must be
recorded in the United States Patent and Trademark Office within three
months of the transfer or assignment. A copy of such transfer or
assignment must also be sent to: Director, United States Patent and
Trademark Office, ATTN: FQA, 600 Dulany Street, MDE-10A71,
Alexandria VA 22314-5793.
May 24, 2007 JON W. DUDAS
Under Secretary of Commerce for
Intellectual Property and Director of the
United States Patent and Trademark Office
May 29, 2007 JAMES M. TURNER
Deputy Director
National Institute of Standards and Technology