[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 1, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37487-37488]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-16432]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

United States Patent and Trademark Office

[Docket No. PTO-P-2018-0046]


Patent Public Advisory Committee Public Hearing on the Proposed 
Patent Fee Schedule

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

ACTION: Notice of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: Under Section 10 of the America Invents Act (AIA), the United 
States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) may set or adjust by rule 
any patent or trademark fee established, authorized, or charged, 
respectively.
    The USPTO currently is planning to propose to set or adjust patent 
fees pursuant to its Section 10 fee setting authority. As part of the 
rulemaking process to set or adjust patent fees, the Patent Public 
Advisory Committee (PPAC) is required under Section 10 of the AIA to 
hold a public hearing about any proposed patent fees, and the USPTO is 
required to assist PPAC in carrying out that hearing. To that end, the 
USPTO will make its proposed patent fees available as set forth in the 
Supplementary Information section of this Notice before any PPAC 
hearing and will help the PPAC to notify the public about the hearing. 
Accordingly, this document announces the dates and logistics for the 
PPAC public hearing regarding USPTO proposed patent fees. Interested 
members of the public are invited to testify at the hearing and/or 
submit written comments about the proposed patent fees and the 
questions posed on PPAC's website about the proposed fees.

DATES: Public hearing: September 6, 2018.
    Comments: For those wishing to submit written comments on the fee 
proposal that will be published by August 29, 2018, the deadline for 
receipt of those written comments is September 13, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Public hearing: The PPAC will hold a public hearing on 
September 6, 2018 beginning at 9:00 a.m., Eastern Standard Time (EST), 
and ending at 11:00 a.m., EST, at the USPTO, Madison Auditorium North, 
Concourse Level, Madison Building, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, 
Virginia 22314.
    Written comments may be submitted by email addressed to 
[email protected] or by postal mail to United States Patent and 
Trademark Office, Mail Stop CFO, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-
1450, ATTN: Brendan Hourigan.
    Although comments may be submitted by postal mail, the USPTO 
prefers to receive comments via email. Written comments should be 
identified in the subject line of the email or postal mailing as ``Fee 
Setting.''
    Because comments will be made available for public inspection, 
information that is not desired to be made public, such as an address 
or telephone number, should not be included in the comments.
    Web cast: The public hearing will be available via Web cast. 
Information about the Web cast will be posted on the USPTO's internet 
website (www.uspto.gov/about-us/performance-and-planning/fee-setting-and-adjusting) before the public hearing.
    Transcripts: Transcript of the hearing will be available on the 
USPTO internet website (www.uspto.gov/about-us/performance-and-planning/fee-setting-and-adjusting) shortly after the hearing.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brendan Hourigan, Office of the Chief 
Financial Officer, by phone (571) 272-8966, or by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Effective September 16, 2011, with the 
passage of the AIA, the USPTO is authorized under Section 10 of the AIA 
to set or adjust by rule all patent and trademark fees established, 
authorized, or charged under Title 35 of the United States Code and the 
Trademark Act of 1946, respectively. Patent and trademark fees set or 
adjusted by rule under Section 10 of the AIA may only recover the 
aggregate estimated costs to the Office for processing, activities, 
services, and materials relating to patents and trademarks, 
respectively, including administrative costs of the Office with respect 
to each as the case may be. Congress set forth the process for the 
USPTO to follow in setting or adjusting patent and trademark fees by 
rule under Section 10 of the AIA, including additional procedural steps 
in the rulemaking proceeding for the issuance of regulations under this 
section. In particular, Congress requires the relevant advisory 
committee to hold a public hearing about the USPTO fee proposals after 
receiving them from the agency. Congress likewise requires the relevant 
advisory committee to prepare a written report on the proposed fees and 
the USPTO to consider the relevant advisory committee's report before 
finally setting or adjusting the fees.
    Presently, the USPTO is planning to exercise its fee setting 
authority to set or adjust patent fees. As part of the rulemaking 
proceeding for the issuance of regulations under Section 10, the USPTO 
will publish a proposed patent fee schedule and related supplementary 
information for public viewing no later than August 29, 2018, on the 
USPTO internet website (address: www.uspto.gov/about-us/performance-and-planning/fee-setting-and-adjusting). In turn, the PPAC will hold a 
public hearing about the proposed patent fee schedule on the date 
indicated herein. The USPTO will assist the PPAC in holding the hearing 
by providing

[[Page 37488]]

resources to organize the hearing and by notifying the public about the 
hearing, such as through this notice. Following the PPAC public 
hearing, the USPTO will publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the 
Federal Register, setting forth its proposed patent fees.

Requests to Present Oral Testimony

    Interested members of the public are invited to testify at the PPAC 
hearing about the proposed patent fees and the questions posed on 
PPAC's website about the proposed fees. Those wishing to present oral 
testimony at the hearing must submit a request in writing no later than 
August 29, 2018. Requests to testify should indicate the following: (1) 
The name of the person wishing to testify; (2) the person's contact 
information (telephone number and email address); (3) the 
organization(s) the person represents, if any; and (4) an indication of 
the amount of time needed for the testimony. Requests to testify must 
be submitted by email to Jennifer Lo at [email protected]. Speakers 
providing testimony at the hearing should submit a written copy of 
their testimony for inclusion in the record of the proceedings no later 
than September 13, 2018.
    Based upon the requests received, an agenda for witness testimony 
will be sent to testifying requesters and posted on the USPTO internet 
website (address: www.uspto.gov/about-us/performance-and-planning/fee-setting-and-adjusting). If time permits, the PPAC may permit 
unscheduled testimony as well.

    Dated: July 25, 2018.
Andrei Iancu,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2018-16432 Filed 7-31-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-16-P