[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 219 (Wednesday, November 13, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68030-68032]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-27157]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology

[Docket No. 131023883-3883-01]


Draft Guidance on Intellectual Property Rights for the National 
Network for Manufacturing Innovation and Draft Institute Performance 
Metrics for the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office (AMNPO), 
hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 
announces the release for public comment of two AMNPO draft documents 
entitled Draft Guidance on Intellectual Property Rights for the 
National Network for Manufacturing Innovation and Draft Institute 
Performance Metrics for the National Network for Manufacturing 
Innovation. The first document describes draft guidance pertaining to 
intellectual property (IP) management, and the second document 
describes draft institute performance metrics, for the proposed 
National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) and the individual 
manufacturing innovation institutes that compose the network. These two 
documents were produced by the federal interagency AMNPO, hosted by 
NIST. The AMNPO seeks public comments on the two documents. All 
comments received will be made publicly available.

DATES: Comments must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time December 
13, 2013.

[[Page 68031]]


ADDRESSES: Comments on each document should be provided separately. 
Comments should be sent to [email protected] with the Subject, ``NNMI 
DRAFT IP'' or ``NNMI DRAFT Metrics.'' Comments will only be accepted by 
email.
    The AMNPO draft documents are available on the web at the addresses 
shown below:
     Draft Guidance on Intellectual Property Rights for the 
National Network for Manufacturing Innovation at: http://www.manufacturing.gov/docs/nnmi_draft_ip.pdf, and
     Draft Institute Performance Metrics for the National 
Network for Manufacturing Innovation at: http://www.manufacturing.gov/docs/nnmi_draft_metrics.pdf.
    An electronic version of the Comment Form that is to be used to 
provide comment for either report is available on the web at: http://www.manufacturing.gov/docs/comment_matrix.pdf. The Web site for the 
AMNPO is http://www.manufacturing.gov/welcome.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about this 
announcement, contact Frank Gayle, Advanced Manufacturing National 
Program Office, National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 100 Bureau Drive, Mailstop 4040, Gaithersburg, 
MD 20899, telephone (301) 975-8280; email [email protected]. Please direct 
media inquiries to Mark Bello, NIST Office of Public Affairs, telephone 
(301) 975-3776; email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The President's manufacturing agenda 
includes his vision for an NNMI, first announced on March 9, 2012.\1\ 
The NNMI focuses on strengthening and ensuring the long-term 
competitiveness and job-creating power of U.S. manufacturing by 
creating a network of individual manufacturing innovation institutes. 
Each institute would serve as a regional hub designed to bridge the gap 
between basic research and product development, bringing together 
companies, universities and community colleges, and Federal agencies to 
co-invest in technology areas that encourage investment and production 
in the U.S. This type of innovation infrastructure provides a unique 
``teaching factory'' that allows for education and training of students 
and workers at all levels, while providing the shared assets to help 
companies, most importantly small and medium-sized manufacturers, 
access the cutting-edge capabilities and equipment to design, test, and 
pilot new products and manufacturing processes.
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    \1\ President Obama to Announce New Efforts to Support 
Manufacturing Innovation, Encourage Insourcing; http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/03/09/president-obama-announce-new-efforts-support-manufacturing-innovation-en.
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    Each institute will serve as a regional hub of manufacturing 
excellence, providing the innovation infrastructure to support regional 
manufacturing and ensuring that our manufacturing sector is a key 
pillar in an economy that is built to last. Each institute also will 
have a well-defined focus to address industrially relevant 
manufacturing challenges on a large scale and to provide the 
capabilities and facilities required to reduce the cost and risk of 
commercializing new technologies.
    On December 15, 2011, Commerce Secretary John Bryson announced the 
establishment of a national program office within the Department of 
Commerce to coordinate and help implement the President's advanced 
manufacturing partnership.\2\ The AMNPO, hosted by NIST, is charged 
with convening and enabling industry-led, private-public partnerships 
focused on manufacturing innovation, engaging U.S. universities, and 
designing and implementing an integrated national advanced 
manufacturing initiative to facilitate collaboration and information-
sharing across Federal agencies. AMNPO partner agencies include 
Department of Commerce's NIST, Department of Defense, Department of 
Education, Department of Energy's Advanced Manufacturing Office, 
Department of Labor, National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
(NASA), and National Science Foundation.
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    \2\ http://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2011/12/16/commerce-secretary-john-bryson-lays-out-vision-department-commerce.
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    On May 4, 2012, the AMNPO issued a Request for Information (RFI), 
seeking public comment on specific questions related to the structure 
and operations of the NNMI and the individual Institutes for 
Manufacturing Innovation. The RFI was published in the Federal Register 
(77 FR 26509) and may be found at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-05-04/pdf/2012-10809.pdf. Comments in response to the RFI were due 
on or before 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on October 25, 2012. All comments 
received in response to the RFI are available online at http://www.manufacturing.gov/rfi_responses.html. In August of 2013, NISTIR 
G2013-1050, entitled Request for Information: Response Summary for the 
National Network for Manufacturing Innovation, was published and is 
available at: http://www.manufacturing.gov/docs/RFI_summary.pdf.
    The AMNPO also held four NNMI workshops as part of its strategy for 
soliciting nation-wide input on building the NNMI in conjunction with 
the published RFI. The first workshop was held on April 25, 2012, at 
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, the second on July 
9, 2012, at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio, the third on 
September 27, 2012, at the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center of the 
National Academies of Sciences and Engineering in Irvine, California, 
and the fourth on October 18, 2012, at the Millennium Harvest House in 
Boulder, Colorado. A final workshop was held on January 16, 2013, at 
the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Davidson Center for Space 
Exploration, Huntsville, Alabama, after the conclusion of the RFI 
solicitation period, and included review of the comments received. 
Summary reports for all five workshops are available on the web at: 
http://www.manufacturing.gov/pubs_resources.html.
    As part of his We Can't Wait efforts, President Obama announced in 
March of 2012, that immediate steps would be taken to launch a pilot 
institute to serve as a proof-of concept demonstration for the NNMI 
Institutes.\3\ A collaborative inter-agency team of technical experts 
led by the Department of Defense, in partnership with the Department of 
Energy, NASA, National Science Foundation, and the Department of 
Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology, determined 
that Additive Manufacturing showed great promise for the defense, 
energy, space and commercial sectors of the Nation. In August, 2012, 
the selection of the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation 
Institute (NAMII), a partnership that includes manufacturing firms, 
universities, community colleges, and nonprofit organizations from the 
Ohio-Pennsylvania-West Virginia ``Tech Belt,'' was announced.\4\
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    \3\ http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/03/09/president-obama-announce-new-efforts-support-manufacturing-innovation-en.
    \4\ http://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2012/08/16/obama-administration-announces-new-public-private-partnership-support.
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    On January 16, 2013, the National Science and Technology Council 
(NSTC) released a report based on the input of nearly 900 stakeholders 
that describes an approach for implementing and managing the proposed 
NNMI. The development of the report, National Network for Manufacturing 
Innovation: A Preliminary Design, was informed by

[[Page 68032]]

public comment received.\5\ Most recently, on May 9, 2013, the 
President announced competitions to create three new manufacturing 
innovation institutes, and the Administration continues to call on 
Congress to act on the President's proposal and FY 2014 Budget that 
includes a one-time $1 billion investment at the Department of Commerce 
to create the NNMI.\6\
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    \5\ http://manufacturing.gov/docs/NNMI_prelim_design.pdf.
    \6\ http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/09/obama-administration-launches-competition-three-new-manufacturing-innova.
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    Request for Comments: The AMNPO requests public comments from all 
interested parties on two AMNPO draft documents, entitled Draft 
Guidance on Intellectual Property Rights for the National Network for 
Manufacturing Innovation and Draft Institute Performance Metrics for 
the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation. These documents 
address topics identified by stakeholders, as high priorities for the 
NNMI identified in the RFI and in the four NNMI workshops. Documents 
related to additional high priority NNMI matters may be issued in this 
manner in the future. Public comments must be submitted by email, using 
the template that can be found at http://www.manufacturing.gov/docs/comment_matrix.pdf, to the address given above in the ADDRESSES 
section of this notice. Comments on each document should be provided 
separately using the template referenced within the ADDRESSES section 
of this notice. All comments will be made publicly available without 
redaction, so the public should not include personal or proprietary 
information in comments. See the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section of this notice should problems be encountered submitting 
comments.

    Dated: November 6, 2013.
Phillip Singerman,
Associate Director for Innovation and Industry Services.
[FR Doc. 2013-27157 Filed 11-12-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P