[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 9 (Friday, January 13, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4314-4315]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-00671]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office

[Docket No. PTO-P-2016-0046]


Reopening of the Period for Comments on a Preliminary Draft 
Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments 
Currently Being Negotiated at The Hague Conference on Private 
International Law

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Reopening of the comment period.

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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office is publishing 
this notice to reopen the comment period provided in its notice of 
November 18, 2016, entitled Request for Comments and Notice of Public 
Meeting on a Preliminary Draft Convention on the Recognition and 
Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Currently Being Negotiated at the 
Hague Conference on Private International Law. The new deadline for 
public comments is January 18, 2017.

DATES: Written Comments: Written comments must be received on or before 
January 18, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Written Comments: Interested parties are encouraged to file 
written comments electronically by email to [email protected]. 
Comments submitted by email should be machine-searchable and should not 
be copy-protected. Written comments also may be submitted by mail to 
the Office of Policy and International Affairs, United States Patent 
and Trademark Office, Mail Stop International Affairs, P.O. Box 1450, 
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450. Responders should include the name of 
the person or organization filing the comment, as well as a page 
number, on each page of their submissions. Paper submissions should 
also include a CD or DVD containing the submission in MS Word[supreg], 
WordPerfect[supreg], or pdf format. CDs or DVDs should be labeled with 
the name and organizational affiliation of the filer, and the name of 
the word processing program used to create the document. All personally 
identifiable information (for example, name, address, etc.) voluntarily 
submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit 
confidential business information or otherwise sensitive or protected 
information. The USPTO will accept anonymous written comments (enter 
``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).
    All comments received are part of the public record and will be 
available for public inspection without change via the USPTO's Web site 
at www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/ip-policy/hague-conference-private-international-law and at the Office of the Director, Policy and 
International Affairs, located in Madison West, Tenth Floor, 600 Dulany 
Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, upon request. Because comments will 
be available for public inspection, information that is not desired to 
be made public, such as name, an address or phone number, etc., should 
not be included in the written comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to the attention of Michael Shapiro, Senior Counsel, 
Office of Policy and International Affairs, USPTO, by telephone at 571-
272-9300, or by email to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Hague Conference on Private International Law (``The Hague 
Conference''), an international organization in the Netherlands, is 
sponsoring negotiations for a convention on the recognition and 
enforcement of foreign judgments in civil and commercial matters. In 
February 2016, the Council on General Affairs and Policy of The Hague 
Conference created a Special Commission on the Recognition and 
Enforcement of Foreign Judgments (``the Special Commission'') to 
prepare a preliminary draft text of the convention, which is subject to 
a formal diplomatic negotiation open to member States of The Hague 
Conference. At its first session in June 2016, the Special Commission 
produced a Preliminary Draft Convention that includes general and 
specific provisions that would apply to the recognition and enforcement 
of judgments arising from transnational intellectual property disputes.
    On November 18, 2016, the United States Patent and Trademark Office 
(USPTO) requested public comments on the June 2016 Preliminary Draft 
Convention (the ``Preliminary Draft'') as it relates to intellectual 
property matters (81 FR 81741 (Nov. 18, 2016)), with the comment period 
ending on January 9, 2017. The USPTO is now reopening the comment 
period to ensure that all stakeholders have sufficient opportunity to 
submit comments. The new deadline for submitting public comments is 
January 18, 2017. Any comments received between the close of the 
previous deadline of January 9, 2017, and January 13, 2017 will be 
treated as timely and given full consideration.
    Further information about the Preliminary Draft, as well as 
questions about the draft that the USPTO presented for consideration, 
are set forth in the earlier notice requesting comments (81 FR 81741 
(Nov, 18, 2016)).


[[Page 4315]]


    Dated: January 9, 2017.
Michelle K. Lee,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2017-00671 Filed 1-12-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-16-P