Does the presumption under the American Rule that 'each litigant pays his own attorneys' fees, win or lose, unless a statute or contract provides otherwise' apply to Section 1071(b)(3)?

QUESTIONS PRESENTED Applicants for trademark registration dissatisfied with a decision of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board can commence a civil action seeking de novo review in a United States District Court. 15 U.S.C. § 1071(b)(8). 1. Does the presumption under the American Rule that “lelach litigant pays his own attorneys’ fees, win or lose, unless a statute or contract provides otherwise,” Baker Botts LLP v ASARCO LLC, 135 8.Ct 2158, 2164 (2015), apply to Section 1071(b)(3)? 2. Is the language “all expenses of the proceeding” sufficiently “specific and explicit” to demonstrate Congressional intent to depart from the American Rule? 3. Are fixed costs of the government attorneys that would have been paid irrespective of any specific litigation sufficiently “of the proceeding” to be encompassed by Section 1071(b)(3)? 4. Does requiring litigants seeking to vindicate their statutory rights under Section 1071 to pay the government’s attorneys’ fees, win or lose, infringe their rights under the First Amendment to i petition the government for redress of grievances? ii