Trademark Office Wants Feedback on Feedback Forms
Published Date: 7/17/2026
Notice
Summary
The USPTO is asking for public feedback on updating forms used to respond to trademark office actions and make voluntary changes. This affects anyone applying for or managing trademarks and could streamline the process without extra costs. Comments are open until September 15, 2026, so don’t miss your chance to weigh in!
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 1 mixed.
Estimated time and labor burden
The USPTO estimates 431,900 annual responses with an estimated total annual respondent burden of 309,962 hours. The agency estimates an annual respondent hourly labor cost burden of $170,479,100 (using a $550/hour average billing rate) and estimates each response will take about 5 minutes (0.08 hours) to 50 minutes (0.83 hours).
Filing fees and non-hourly costs listed
The USPTO lists estimated non-hour costs (filing fees and postage) totaling $28,816,690 annually. Specific fees shown include: $100 (fee code 7018) for insufficient information per class; $200 (fee code 7019) for using free-form text instead of the Trademark ID Manual per class; $400 (fee code 7005) for Petition to Amend Basis Post-Publication; $500 (fee code 6005) for a paper Petition to Amend Basis Post-Publication; and $125 (fee code 7016) for an extension of time to file a response. The fee table shows estimated annual response counts for each fee (for example, 110,000 uses of fee code 7019).
Who is affected: trademark filers
You are affected if you apply for or manage trademarks with the USPTO. This information collection covers responses and amendments using forms such as PTO-1957 (Response to Office Action), PTO-1966 (Voluntary Amendment), PTO-1960 (Request for Reconsideration), PTO-1771, PTO-1772, PTO-1822, and PTO-2313. Filing these items is required to obtain or retain trademark registration benefits.
Electronic filing preferred; paper limited
The USPTO prefers submissions be filed electronically through Trademark Center and TEAS; in limited circumstances you may submit paper filings by mail or hand delivery. The agency estimates only 120 items may be mailed and calculates an average postage cost of $13.25 per mailed submission.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
Related Federal Register Documents
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The USPTO is asking for public feedback on its paperwork rules for patent attorneys and agents who want to practice before the office. This helps keep the process smooth and fair without making people fill out too many forms. If you have thoughts, send them in by August 17, 2026—no fees or big changes are happening right now, just a review.
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