[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 13 (Friday, January 22, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6636-6637]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-01305]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No. PTO-T-2020-0043]
Sovereign Immunity Study
AGENCY: Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Request for information.
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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
published a notice in the Federal Register on November 5, 2020,
requesting information on the extent to which patent or trademark
rights holders are experiencing infringement by state entities without
adequate remedies under state law, and the extent to which such
infringements appear to be based on intentional or reckless conduct.
With this new notice, the USPTO is supplementing the previous notice
with additional questions.
DATES: Comment date: Written comments must be received on or before
February 22, 2021.
ADDRESSES: For reasons of government efficiency, comments must be
submitted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at
www.regulations.gov. To submit comments via the portal, enter docket
number PTO-T-2020-0043 on the homepage and click ``search.'' The site
will provide a search results page listing all documents associated
with this docket. Find a reference to this Request for Information and
click on the ``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and
enter or attach your comments. Attachments to electronic comments will
be accepted in ADOBE[supreg] portable document format or MICROSOFT
WORD[supreg] format. Because comments will be made available for public
inspection, information that the submitter does not desire to make
public, such as an address or phone number, should not be included in
the comments.
Visit the Federal eRulemaking Portal (www.regulations.gov) for
additional instructions on providing comments via the portal. If
electronic submission of comments is not feasible due to a lack of
access to a computer and/or the internet, please contact the USPTO
using the contact information below for special instructions regarding
how to submit comments by mail or by hand delivery, based on the
public's ability to obtain access to USPTO facilities at the time.
Submissions of Business Confidential Information: Any submissions
containing business confidential information must be marked
``confidential treatment requested'' and submitted through
www.regulations.gov. Submitters should provide an index listing the
document(s) or information they would like the USPTO to withhold. The
index should include information such as numbers used to identify the
relevant document(s) or information, document title and description,
and relevant page numbers and/or section numbers within a document.
Submitters should provide a statement explaining their grounds for
objecting to the disclosure of the information to the public as well.
The USPTO also requests that submitters of business confidential
[[Page 6637]]
information include a non-confidential version (either redacted or
summarized) that will be available for public viewing and posted on
www.regulations.gov. In the event that the submitter cannot provide a
non-confidential version of its submission, the USPTO requests that the
submitter post a notice in the docket stating that it has provided the
USPTO with business confidential information. Should a submitter either
fail to docket a non-confidential version of its submission or to post
a notice that business confidential information has been provided, the
USPTO will note the receipt of the submission on the docket with the
submitter's organization or name (to the degree permitted by law) and
the date of submission.
Anonymous submissions: The USPTO will accept anonymous submissions.
Enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Hammel, by telephone at 571-272-
9300.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: At the request of Senators Thom Tillis and
Patrick Leahy, the USPTO is undertaking a study of the extent to which
patent or trademark rights holders are experiencing infringement by
state entities without adequate remedies under state law, and the
extent to which such infringements appear to be based on intentional or
reckless conduct.
On November 5, 2020, the USPTO published a notice in the Federal
Register seeking public input on these matters. See 85 FR 70589 (Nov.
5, 2020). That notice set forth various questions relevant to the
study. The USPTO appreciates the submissions received to date in
response to that notice and will consider them in preparing the study.
In addition, the USPTO now invites interested members of the public to
respond to questions posed in that notice, and/or to the below
questions. The public can also provide any other information it
believes to be relevant.
1. If you are a patent or trademark right holder, has a state
government or state entity ever used your patent or trademark without
permission? If yes: (a) Did you pursue legal action for that use? Why
or why not? (b) Were you able to seek relief under state law? (c) Did
the availability of the defense of sovereign immunity deter you from
litigating the matter in federal court?
2. As a state or state entity, do you believe that (a) your state
or state entity has policies or practices that provide safeguards
against the intentional or reckless infringement of patents and
trademarks, and (b) relevant state laws provide adequate remedies if
infringement occurs?
Andrei Iancu,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2021-01305 Filed 1-21-21; 8:45 am]
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