§ 1113. — Fees.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 15USC1113]
TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
CHAPTER 22--TRADEMARKS
SUBCHAPTER III--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 1113. Fees
(a) Applications; services; materials
The Director shall establish fees for the filing and processing of
an application for the registration of a trademark or other mark and for
all other services performed by and materials furnished by the Patent
and Trademark Office related to trademarks and other marks. Fees
established under this subsection may be adjusted by the Director once
each year to reflect, in the aggregate, any fluctuations during the
preceding 12 months in the Consumer Price Index, as determined by the
Secretary of Labor. Changes of less than 1 percent may be ignored. No
fee established under this section shall take effect until at least 30
days after notice of the fee has been published in the Federal Register
and in the Official Gazette of the Patent and Trademark Office.
(b) Waiver; Indian products
The Director may waive the payment of any fee for any service or
material related to trademarks or other marks in connection with an
occasional request made by a department or agency of the Government, or
any officer thereof. The Indian Arts and Crafts Board will not be
charged any fee to register Government trademarks of genuineness and
quality for Indian products or for products of particular Indian tribes
and groups.
(July 5, 1946, ch. 540, title V, Sec. 31, 60 Stat. 437; Pub. L. 85-609,
Sec. 1(e), Aug. 8, 1958, 72 Stat. 540; Pub. L. 89-83, Sec. 3, July 24,
1965, 79 Stat. 260; Pub. L. 93-596, Sec. 1, Jan. 2, 1975, 88 Stat. 1949;
Pub. L. 96-517, Sec. 5, Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 3018; Pub. L. 97-247,
Sec. 3(f), Aug. 27, 1982, 96 Stat. 319; Pub. L. 97-256, title I,
Sec. 103, Sept. 8, 1982, 96 Stat. 816; Pub. L. 102-204, Sec. 5(f)(1),
Dec. 10, 1991, 105 Stat. 1640; Pub. L. 105-330, title II,
Sec. 201(a)(7), Oct. 30, 1998, 112 Stat. 3070; Pub. L. 106-113, div. B,
Sec. 1000(a)(9) [title IV, Sec. 4732(b)(1)(B)], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat.
1536, 1501A-583.)
Prior Provisions
Acts Feb. 20, 1905, ch. 592, Secs. 14, 15, 33 Stat. 728; Mar. 19,
1920, ch. 104, Sec. 8, 41 Stat. 535; Apr. 11, 1930, ch. 132, Sec. 4, 46
Stat. 155.
Amendments
1999--Pub. L. 106-113 substituted ``Director'' for ``Commissioner''
wherever appearing.
1998--Pub. L. 105-330 made technical amendment relating to section
catchline.
1991--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102-204 amended subsec. (a) generally.
Prior to amendment, subsec. (a) read as follows: ``The Commissioner will
establish fees for the filing and processing of an application for the
registration of a trademark or other mark and for all other services
performed by and materials furnished by the Patent and Trademark Office
related to trademarks and other marks. However, no fee for the filing or
processing of an application for the registration of a trademark or
other mark or for the renewal or assignment of a trademark or other mark
will be adjusted more than once every three years. No fee established
under this section will take effect prior to sixty days following notice
in the Federal Register.''
1982--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97-256 struck out ``of Patents'' after
``Commissioner''.
Pub. L. 97-247 struck out provisions directing that fees be set and
adjusted by the Commissioner to recover in aggregate 50 per centum of
the estimated average cost to the Office of processing and that fees for
all other services or materials related to trademarks and other marks
recover the estimated average cost to the Office of performing the
service or furnishing the material.
1980--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 96-517 in revising fee provisions
required the Commissioner to establish fees based on recovery of
estimated average cost of processing applications, performing services
and providing material; authorized triennial adjustments; and prescribed
an effective date for fees; deleted prior provisions containing
statutory schedule covering fees for filing: applications for
registration and renewals, affidavits, revival petitions for abandoned
applications, opposition or application for cancellation, disclaimers,
and notice of benefits for a mark to be published; and fees covering:
appeals from examiners in charge of registration, certificates of
amendment, certifying, printed copies of registered marks, and
recordation of documents and papers relating to property in a
registration or application.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 96-517 added subsec. (b) and struck out former
subsec. (b) authorizing Commissioner to establish charges for copies of
records, publications, or services of Patent and Trademark Office. See
subsec. (a).
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 96-517 in revising fee provisions struck out
subsec. (c) authorizing Commissioner to refund any mistaken or excessive
payments.
1975--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 93-596 substituted ``Patent and Trademark
Office'' for ``Patent Office''.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 93-596 substituted ``Patent and Trademark
Office'' for ``Patent Office''.
1965--Pub. L. 89-83 increased fees for filing an application for
registration of a mark from $25 to $35; for issuance of a new
certificate of registration following a change of ownership of a mark or
correction of a registrant's mistake from $10 to $15; for a certificate
of correction of registrant's mistake from $10 to $15; for filing a
disclaimer from $10 to $15; and for recording an assignment, agreement,
or other paper relating to the property in a registration or application
from $3 for documents not exceeding six pages plus $1 for each
additional two pages or less and 50 cents additional for each additional
registration or application included in one writing, to a $20 fee for
every document plus an additional fee of $3 for each additional item
where the document relates to more than one application or registration;
eliminated provisions which established fees for the surrender or
cancellation of a registration, for an abstract of title, for a title
report required for office use, for certificates that marks have not
been registered, and for copies of various specified records and
documents; added the fees for filing and affidavit under section 1058(a)
or (b) of this title and for filing a petition for the revival of an
abandoned application; empowered the Commissioner to establish charges
for copies of records, publications or services furnished by the Patent
Office; and made the provisions relating to refunds of sums paid by
mistake permissive.
1958--Pub. L. 85-609 struck out ``to the Commissioner'' after ``on
appeal from an examiner in charge of the registration of marks'', and
provisions which required payment of a $25 fee on appeals from an
examiner in charge of interferences to the Commissioner.
Effective Date of 1999 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 106-113 effective 4 months after Nov. 29, 1999,
see section 1000(a)(9) [title IV, Sec. 4731] of Pub. L. 106-113, set out
as a note under section 1 of Title 35, Patents.
Effective Date of 1998 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 105-330 effective Oct. 30, 1998, and applicable
only to any civil action filed or proceeding before the United States
Patent and Trademark Office commenced on or after such date relating to
the registration of a mark, see section 201(b) of Pub. L. 105-330, set
out as a note under section 1051 of this title.
Effective Date of 1982 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 97-247 effective Oct. 1, 1982, see section
17(a) of Pub. L. 97-247, set out as a note under section 41 of Title 35,
Patents.
Effective Date of 1980 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 96-517 effective Dec. 12, 1980, with provision
for continuation of fees in effect as of such date until corresponding
fees are established under this section, see section 8(a), (d) of Pub.
L. 96-517, set out as a note under section 41 of Title 35, Patents.
Effective Date of 1975 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 93-596 effective Jan. 2, 1975, see section 4 of
Pub. L. 93-596, set out as a note under section 1111 of this title.
Effective Date of 1965 Amendment
For effective date and applicability of amendment by Pub. L. 89-83,
see section 7(a), (d) of Pub. L. 89-83, set out as a note under section
41 of Title 35, Patents.
Effective Date of 1958 Amendment
For effective date and applicability of amendment by Pub. L. 85-609,
see section 3 of Pub. L. 85-609, set out as a note under section 1067 of
this title.
Repeal and Effect on Existing Rights
Repeal of inconsistent provisions, effect of this chapter on pending
proceedings and existing registrations and rights under prior acts, see
notes set out under section 1051 of this title.
Transfer of Functions
For transfer of functions of other officers, employees, and agencies
of Department of Commerce, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of
Commerce, with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 5 of 1950,
Secs. 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1263, set out in
the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
Appropriations and Fees Authorized To Be Carried Over
For provisions authorizing fees collected under this chapter, and
certain appropriations, to remain available until expended, see section
2 of Pub. L. 99-607, set out as a note under section 42 of Title 35,
Patents.
Trademark Fees
Pub. L. 106-113, div. B, Sec. 1000(a)(9) [title IV, Sec. 4203], Nov.
29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A-554, as amended by Pub. L. 107-273, div.
C, title III, Sec. 13208, Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1908, provided that:
``Notwithstanding the second sentence of section 31(a) of the Trademark
Act of 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1113(a)), the Under Secretary of Commerce for
Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and
Trademark Office is authorized in fiscal year 2000 to adjust trademark
fees without regard to fluctuations in the Consumer Price Index during
the preceding 12 months.''
Pub. L. 103-179, Sec. 4, Dec. 3, 1993, 107 Stat. 2040, provided
that: ``Effective on the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 3,
1993], the fee under section 31(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946 (15
U.S.C. 1113(a)) for filing an application for the registration of a
trademark shall be $245. Any adjustment of such fee under the second
sentence of such section may not be effective before October 1, 1994.''
Pub. L. 102-204, Sec. 5(f)(2), Dec. 10, 1991, 105 Stat. 1640,
provided that fees established by Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks
under 15 U.S.C. 1113(a) during fiscal year 1992 could reflect
fluctuations during the preceding 3 years in the Consumer Price Index
and could take effect on or after 1 day after such fees are published in
the Federal Register and that the last sentence of 31 U.S.C. 31(a) and 5
U.S.C. 553 did not apply to the establishment of such fees.
Similar provisions were contained in the following prior
appropriation acts:
Pub. L. 100-703, title I, Sec. 103(a), Nov. 19, 1988, 102 Stat.
4674.
Pub. L. 99-607, Sec. 3(a), Nov. 6, 1986, 100 Stat. 3470.
Reorganization Plan No. 5 of 1950
Amendment by Pub. L. 85-609 as subject to Reorganization Plan No. 5
of 1950, see note set out under section 1067 of this title.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in title 35 section 42.
