[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 239 (Thursday, December 13, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64099-64100]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-27012]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

December 10, 2018.
    The Department of Agriculture will submit the following information 
collection requirement(s) to OMB for review and clearance under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 on or after the date 
of publication of this notice. Comments are requested regarding: (1) 
Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the 
information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the 
agency's estimate of burden including the validity of the methodology 
and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility and 
clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize 
the burden of the collection of information on those who are to 
respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology should be addressed to: Desk 
Officer for Agriculture, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), New Executive Office Building, 
Washington, DC; New Executive Office Building, 725 17th Street NW, 
Washington, DC, 20503. Commenters are encouraged to submit their 
comments to OMB via email to: [email protected] or fax (202) 
395-5806 and to Departmental

[[Page 64100]]

Clearance Office, USDA, OCIO, Mail Stop 7602, Washington, DC 20250-
7602.
    Comments regarding these information collections are best assured 
of having their full effect if received by January 14, 2019. Copies of 
the submission(s) may be obtained by calling (202) 720-8681.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information 
unless the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB 
control number and the agency informs potential persons who are to 
respond to the collection of information that such persons are not 
required to respond to the collection of information unless it displays 
a currently valid OMB control number.

Agricultural Marketing Service

    Title: Application for Plant Variety Protection Certificate and 
Objective Description of Variety.
    OMB Control Number: 0581-0055.
    Summary of Collection: The Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA) 
(December 24, 1970; 84 Stat. 1542, 7 U.S.C. 2321 et seq.) was 
established to encourage the development of novel varieties of 
sexually-reproduced plants and make them available to the public, 
providing intellectual property rights (IPR) protection to those who 
breed, develop, or discover such novel varieties, and thereby promote 
progress in agriculture in the public interest. The PVPA is a voluntary 
user funded program that grants intellectual property ownership rights 
to breeders of new and novel seed-and tuber-reproduced plant varieties. 
To obtain these rights the applicant must provide information that 
shows the variety is eligible for protection and that it is indeed new, 
distinct, uniform, and stable, as the law requires. Applicants are 
provided with applications to identify the information that is required 
to issue a certificate of protection.
    Need and Use of the Information: Applicants must complete the ST-
470,
    ``Application for Plant Variety Protection Certificate,'' and the 
ST-470 series of forms, ``Objective Description of Variety'' along with 
other forms. The Agricultural Marketing Service will use the 
information from the applicant to be evaluated by examiners to 
determine if the variety is eligible for protection under the PVPA. If 
this information were not collected there will be no basis for issuing 
certificate of protection, and no way for applicants to request 
protection.
    Description of Respondents: Business or other for profit.
    Number of Respondents: 93.
    Frequency of Responses: Reporting: On occasion; Other (when forms 
are requested).
    Total Burden Hours: 2,062.

Kimble Brown,
Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018-27012 Filed 12-12-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P