[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 81 (Friday, April 26, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17809-17810]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-08437]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

[Docket No.: PTO-C-2019-0010]


Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearings on the Report 
Required by the Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering 
and Science Success Act of 2018

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

ACTION: Request for comments; notice of public hearings.

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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (``USPTO'') is 
interested in gathering information on the participation of women, 
minorities, and veterans in entrepreneurship activities and the patent 
system for purposes of preparing a study on the subject as required by 
the Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science 
(SUCCESS) Act. To assist in gathering this information, the USPTO 
invites the public to provide comments and to attend public hearings 
addressing the participation of women, minorities, and veterans in 
entrepreneurship activities and the patent system.

DATES: The USPTO will hold three (3) public hearings in support of the 
SUCCESS Act study in locations that provide broad coverage of the 
Nation. The first public hearing will be held in Alexandria, Virginia, 
on Wednesday, May 8, 2019, beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at 4 p.m., 
Eastern Standard Time (EST). The second public hearing will be held in 
Detroit, Michigan, on Thursday, May 16, 2019, beginning at 9 a.m. and 
ending at 4 p.m., EST. The third public hearing will be held in San 
Jose, California, on Monday, June 3, 2019, beginning at 9 a.m. and 
ending at 4 p.m., Pacific Standard Time.
    Oral Testimony: Those wishing to present oral testimony at one of 
the hearings must request an opportunity to do so in writing no later 
than May 1, 2019. Speakers providing oral testimony at the hearings 
should submit a written copy of their testimony for inclusion in the 
record of the proceedings no later than June 30, 2019.
    Written Comments: The deadline for receipt of written comments is 
June 30, 2019. Written comments should be identified in the subject 
line of the email or postal mailing as ``SUCCESS Act Study.''

ADDRESSES: The first public hearing will be held at the United States 
Patent and Trademark Office in the Clara Barton Auditorium (formerly 
the Madison Auditorium), which is located on the concourse level of the 
USPTO Madison Building, located at 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, 
Virginia 22314.
    The second public hearing will be held at the Elijah J. McCoy 
Midwest Regional Office of the USPTO, located in the Stroh Building at 
300 River Place Drive, Detroit, Michigan 48207.
    The third public hearing will be held at the Silicon Valley United 
States Patent and Trademark Office, located in the Wing Building of San 
Jose City Hall at 26 South 4th Street, San Jose, California 95113.
    Oral Testimony: Requests to testify must be submitted by email to 
[email protected].
    Written Comments: Written comments should be sent by email to 
[email protected]. Comments may also be submitted by postal mail 
addressed to Office of the Chief Economist, Mail Stop OPIA, Director of 
the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 
22313-1450. Although comments may be submitted by postal mail, the 
USPTO prefers to receive comments via email.
    Because written comments and testimony will be made available for 
public inspection, information that a respondent does not desire to be 
made public, such as a phone number, should not be included in the 
testimony or written comments.
    The public hearings will be available via Webcast. Information 
about the Webcast will be posted on the USPTO's internet website 
(address: www.uspto.gov/successact) before the public hearing.
    Transcripts of the hearings will be available on the USPTO internet 
website (www.uspto.gov/successact) shortly after the hearings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Laura Pope, Office of the Chief 
Economist by telephone at (571) 272-9880, or by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3 of the Study of Underrepresented 
Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success Act (SUCCESS Act) 
requires the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and 
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), in 
consultation with the Administrator of the U.S. Small Business 
Administration (SBA), with delivering to Congress a report on the 
results of a study on the participation of women, minorities, and 
veterans in the U.S. patent system. This report is due no later than 
one year after the enactment of the Act (i.e., by October 31, 2019).
    Congress has mandated that the study: (1) Identify publicly 
available data on the number of patents annually applied for and 
obtained by, and the benefits of increasing the number of patents 
applied for and obtained by women, minorities, and veterans and small 
businesses owned by women, minorities, and veterans and (2) provide 
legislative recommendations for how to: (A) Promote the participation 
of women, minorities, and veterans in entrepreneurship activities and 
(B) increase the number of women, minorities, and veterans who apply 
for and obtain patents.
    The USPTO understands that significant information gaps exist for 
documenting the number of and benefits from patents applied for and 
obtained by women, minorities, and veterans. This type of information 
is not collected by the USPTO as part of the patent application or 
granting process. The lack of information hampers efforts to assess the 
interrelationship of participation in the patent process and 
entrepreneurship activities by these groups, and inhibits analysis of 
whether and how participation could be enhanced through education, 
Federal program funding, coordination with universities and industry 
stakeholders, and other means. To overcome this limitation, the USPTO 
is engaging with other bureaus within the Department of Commerce and 
consulting with other U.S. government agencies, such as the SBA, U.S. 
Department of Treasury and the U.S. Army Office of Economic and 
Manpower Analysis, about possible data sharing or analysis, and are in 
the process of collecting information regarding legislative proposals 
or recommendations to increase entrepreneurship and utilization of the 
patent process by women, minorities, and veterans. In addition to these 
efforts, the USPTO believes that individuals, businesses and non-profit 
organizations outside government have relevant information on the 
number of and benefits from patents applied for and obtained by women, 
minorities, and veterans as well as small businesses owned by these 
groups. To assist in gathering this information, the USPTO invites the 
public to provide comments and to participate in any of three public 
hearings to be held in support of the SUCCESS Act study. The diversity 
and inclusiveness of the U.S. IP system is a national issue with 
stakeholders all across the U.S. With this in mind, we determined that 
three public hearings, located in Alexandria, VA, Detroit, MI, and San 
Jose, CA, would provide broad coverage of the Nation that would be

[[Page 17810]]

helpful in reaching members of the public who might have valuable 
information to assist in these efforts and helpful in USPTO's ultimate 
preparation of the report.
    Issues for Comment: The USPTO seeks comments on the participation 
of women, minorities, and veterans in entrepreneurship activities and 
the patent system. The questions enumerated below are a preliminary 
guide to aid the USPTO in collecting relevant information and to 
evaluate possible administrative or legislative recommendations that 
may be provided to Congress. The tenor of the following questions 
should not be taken as an indication that the USPTO has taken a 
position or is predisposed to any particular views. USPTO welcomes 
comments from the public on any issues that they believe are relevant 
to the scope of the study, and is particularly interested in answers to 
the following questions:
    (1) What public data are available to identify the number of 
patents applied for and obtained by women, minorities and veterans?
    (2) What public data are available to assess the social and private 
benefits that result from increasing the number of patents applied for 
and obtained by women, minorities, and veterans, as well as small 
businesses owned by these groups?
    (3) What social and private benefits would you identify as 
resulting from increasing the number of patents applied for and 
obtained by women, minorities, and veterans?
    (4) What social and private benefits to small businesses owned by 
women, minorities, and veterans would you identify as resulting from 
increasing the number of patents applied for and obtained by those 
businesses?
    (5) Should the USPTO collect demographic information on patent 
inventors at the time of patent application, and why?
    (6) To what extent, if at all, do educational and professional 
circumstances affect the ability of women, minorities, and veterans to 
apply for and obtain patents or to pursue entrepreneurial activities?
    (7) To what extent, if at all, do socioeconomic factors facilitate 
or hinder the ability of women, minorities, and veterans to apply for 
and obtain patents or to pursue entrepreneurial activities?
    (8) What entities or institutions, if any, should or should not 
play an active role in promoting the participation of women, 
minorities, and veterans in the patent system and entrepreneurial 
activities?
    (9) What public policies, if any, should the Federal Government 
explore in order to promote the participation of women, minorities, and 
veterans in the patent system and entrepreneurial activities? Are there 
any public policies that the Federal Government should not explore?
    (10) What action could USPTO take to address the participation of 
women, minorities, and veterans in the patent system and 
entrepreneurial activities?
    (11) Are there policies, programs, or other targeted activities 
shown to be effective at recruiting and retaining women, minorities, 
and veterans in innovative and entrepreneurial activities? Are there 
policies, programs, or other targeted activities that have proved 
ineffective?
    Oral Testimony: Members of the public are invited to present oral 
testimony at any scheduled hearing date. Those wishing an opportunity 
to do so must submit a request in writing via email no later than May 
1, 2019.
    Requests to testify must be submitted by email to 
[email protected] and 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; (4) an indication of the amount of time 
needed for the testimony; and (5) a preliminary written copy of the 
testimony. 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/successact).

    Dated: April 22, 2019.
Andrei Iancu,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2019-08437 Filed 4-25-19; 8:45 am]
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