[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 117 (Wednesday, June 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36568-36569]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-13043]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office

[Docket No. PTO-C-2020-0024]


Patent and Trademark Public Advisory Committees

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice and request for nominations for the Patent and Trademark 
Public Advisory Committees.

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SUMMARY: On November 29, 1999, the President signed into law the Patent 
and Trademark Office Efficiency Act (``1999 Act''), which, among other 
things, established two Public Advisory Committees to review the 
policies, goals, performance, budget, and user fees of the United 
States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) with respect to patents, in 
the case of the Patent Public Advisory Committee, and trademarks, in 
the case of the Trademark Public Advisory Committee, and to advise the 
Director on these matters (now codified in the United States Code). The 
America Invents Act Technical Corrections Act made several amendments 
to the 1999 Act, including the requirement that the terms of the USPTO 
Public Advisory Committee members be realigned by 2014 so that December 
1 would be used as the start and end date, with terms staggered so that 
each year, three existing terms expire and three new terms begin on 
December 1. With this notice, the USPTO is requesting nominations for 
up to three members of the Patent Public Advisory Committee and for up 
to three members of the Trademark Public Advisory Committee, for terms 
of three years beginning on December 1, 2020.

DATES: Nominations must be postmarked or emailed on or before July 31, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to submit nominations should send the 
nominee's r[eacute]sum[eacute] by postal mail to Coke Stewart, Office 
of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and 
Director of the USPTO, Post Office Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia 
22313-1450, or by email to [email protected] for the Patent 
Public Advisory Committee or [email protected] for the 
Trademark Public Advisory Committee.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Coke Stewart, Office of the Under 
Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the 
USPTO, at 571-272-8600.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Advisory Committees' duties include:
     Reviewing and advising the Under Secretary of Commerce for 
Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO on matters relating to 
the policies, goals, performance, budget, and user fees of the USPTO 
regarding patents and trademarks, respectively (35 U.S.C. 5); and
     Within 60 days after the end of each fiscal year: (1) 
Preparing an annual report on matters listed above; (2) transmitting 
the report to the Secretary of Commerce (``Secretary''), the President, 
and the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the House of 
Representatives; and (3) publishing the report in the Official Gazette 
of the USPTO. Id.

Advisory Committees

    The Public Advisory Committees are each composed of nine voting 
members who are appointed by the Secretary and serve at the pleasure of 
the Secretary for three-year terms. Members are eligible for 
reappointment for a second consecutive three-year term. The Public 
Advisory Committee members must be citizens of the United States and 
are chosen to represent the interests of diverse stakeholders of the 
USPTO with respect to patents, in the case of the Patent Public 
Advisory Committee, and trademarks, in the case of the Trademark Public 
Advisory Committee. Members must represent small and large entity 
applicants located in the United States in proportion to the number of 
applications filed by such applicants. The committees must include 
individuals with ``substantial background and achievement in finance, 
management, labor relations, science, technology, and office 
automation.'' 35 U.S.C. 5(b)(3). Each of the Public Advisory Committees 
also includes three non-voting members representing each labor 
organization recognized by the USPTO. Administration policy discourages 
the appointment of federally registered lobbyists to agency advisory 
boards and commissions (Lobbyists on Agency Boards and Commissions, 
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2009/09/23/lobbyists-agency-boards-and-commissions (Sept. 23, 2009)); cf. E.O. 13490, 74 FR 4673 
(Jan. 21, 2009) (While Executive Order 13490 does not specifically 
apply to federally registered lobbyists appointed by agency or 
department heads, it sets forth the Administration's general policy of 
decreasing the influence of special interests in the Federal 
Government).

Procedures and Guidelines of the Patent and Trademark Public Advisory 
Committees

    Each newly appointed member of the Patent and Trademark Public 
Advisory Committees will serve for a three-year term that begins on 
December 1, 2020, and ends on December 1, 2023. As required by the 1999 
Act, members of the Patent and Trademark Public Advisory Committees 
will receive compensation for each day (including travel time) they are 
attending meetings or engaging in the business of that advisory 
committee. The enabling statute states that members are to be 
compensated at the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay in 
effect for level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of 
title 5 of the United States Code. Committee members are compensated on 
an hourly basis, which is based on the daily rate. While away from home 
or regular place of business, each member shall be allowed travel 
expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by 
section 5703 of title 5 of the United States Code.

Applicability of Certain Ethics Laws

    Public Advisory Committee Members are Special Government Employees 
within the meaning of section 202 of title 18 of the United States 
Code. The following additional information includes several, but not 
all, of the ethics rules that apply to members and assumes that members 
are not engaged in Public Advisory Committee business for more than 60 
days during any period of 365 consecutive days.
     Each member will be required to file a confidential 
financial disclosure form within 30 days of appointment. 5 CFR 
2634.202(c), 2634.204, 2634.903, and 2634.904(b).
     Each member will be subject to many of the public 
integrity laws, including criminal bars against representing a party in 
a particular matter that came before the member's committee and that 
involved at least one specific party. 18 U.S.C. 205(c); see also 18 
U.S.C. 207 for post-membership bars. A member also must not act on a 
matter in which the member (or any of certain closely related entities) 
has a financial interest. 18 U.S.C. 208.
     Representation of foreign interests may also raise issues. 
35 U.S.C. 5(a)(1) and 18 U.S.C. 219.

Meetings of the Patent and Trademark Public Advisory Committees

    Meetings of each Public Advisory Committee will take place at the 
call of the respective Committee Chair to

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consider an agenda set by that Chair. Meetings may be conducted in 
person, by telephone, online, or by other appropriate means. The 
meetings of each advisory committee will be open to the public, but 
each advisory committee may, by majority vote, meet in executive 
session when considering personnel, privileged, or other confidential 
information. Nominees must have the ability to participate in committee 
business via the internet.

Andrei Iancu,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2020-13043 Filed 6-16-20; 8:45 am]
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