[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 244 (Wednesday, December 21, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78090-78091]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27694]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

 Copyright Office

[Docket No. PTO-C-2022-0035]


Study on Non-Fungible Tokens and Related Intellectual Property 
Law Issues

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of 
Commerce; United States Copyright Office, Library of Congress.

ACTION: Notice of inquiry; extension of written comment period and date 
change for public roundtables.

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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and 
United States Copyright Office (USCO) (collectively, the Offices) 
published a request for comments in the Federal Register on November 
23, 2022, seeking comments from the public on various intellectual 
property (IP) law and policy issues associated with non-fungible tokens 
(NFTs). Through this notice, the Offices are extending the period for 
written public comment until February 3, 2023. In addition, the Offices 
are changing the dates of the public roundtables in this study.

DATES: 
    Written comments: Written comments must be received by 11:59 p.m. 
Eastern Time on February 3, 2023.
    Public roundtables: The roundtable on Trademarks and NFTs will now 
be held on Tuesday, January 24, 2023; the roundtable on Patents and 
NFTs will now be held on Thursday, January 26, 2023; and the roundtable 
on Copyrights and NFTs will now be held on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. 
The deadline for requests to participate as a panelist in one or more 
of the roundtables is unchanged. Such requests must be

[[Page 78091]]

received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on December 21, 2022.

ADDRESSES: 
    Submission of written comments: 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-C-2022-0035 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 (PDF) 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. Visit the Federal eRulemaking Portal 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 Offices 
using the contact information below for special instructions on how to 
submit comments by other means.
    Submission of business confidential information: Any submissions 
containing business confidential information must be marked 
``confidential treatment requested'' and submitted through the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal. Submitters should provide an index listing the 
document(s) or information they would like the Offices to withhold. The 
index should identify the confidential document(s) by document 
number(s) and document title(s) and should identify the confidential 
information by description(s) and relevant page number(s) and/or 
section number(s) within a document. Submitters should provide a 
statement explaining their grounds for requesting non-disclosure of the 
information to the public as well. The Offices also request that 
submitters of business confidential information include a non-
confidential version (either redacted or summarized) that will be 
posted on www.regulations.gov and available for public viewing. In the 
event that the submitter cannot provide a non-confidential version of 
their submission, the Offices request that the submitter post a notice 
in the docket stating that they have provided the Offices with business 
confidential information. Should a submitter fail either to docket a 
non-confidential version of their submission or to post a notice that 
they have provided business confidential information, the Offices 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 Offices will accept anonymous 
submissions. Enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous.
    Public roundtables: The roundtables will be conducted virtually. 
Requests to participate as a panelist at one or more of these 
roundtables must be submitted via email to 
[email protected] and must be received by 11:59 p.m. 
Eastern Time on December 21, 2022. Requests to participate as a 
panelist at a roundtable made in any other form, including as part of 
comments submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal, will not be 
considered. If email submission of requests to participate as a 
panelist is not feasible, please contact the Offices using the contact 
information below for special instructions. The submission of written 
comments in response to this notice is not a prerequisite to 
participation as a panelist in a roundtable. Please note that the 
Offices will review all requests to participate and will endeavor to 
invite participants representing diverse viewpoints on the subject 
matter discussed at each roundtable. The Offices may not be able to 
accommodate all requests.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin R. Amer, Senior Level Attorney, 
USPTO, [email protected], 571- 272-9300; Branden Ritchie, Senior 
Level Attorney, USPTO, [email protected], 571-272-9300; Andrew 
Foglia, Senior Counsel, USCO, [email protected], 202-707-8350; or 
Jen[eacute]e Iyer, Counsel, USCO, [email protected], 202-707-8350.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 23, 2022, the Offices published 
a notice in the Federal Register announcing that the Offices are 
conducting a joint study regarding issues of intellectual property (IP) 
law and policy associated with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in response 
to a June 9, 2022 request from Senators Patrick Leahy and Thom Tillis. 
See Notice of inquiry; notice of public roundtables, 87 FR 71584 (Nov. 
23, 2022). In that notice, the Offices indicated that they are seeking 
public comments on these matters to assist in their work on IP policy 
related to NFTs and in conducting the study. To assist in gathering 
public input, the Offices published questions and sought focused 
written public comments on various (IP) law and policy issues 
associated with NFTs. The notice requested written public comments be 
submitted on or before January 9, 2023. In addition, the Offices 
announced a series of three public roundtables to allow them to gather 
further input.
    Through this notice, the Offices are extending the period for 
written public comments until February 3, 2023, to give interested 
members of the public additional time to submit comments. Previously 
submitted written comments do not need to be resubmitted.
    The Offices are also changing the dates of the three public 
roundtables. The roundtable on Trademarks and NFTs will now be held on 
Tuesday, January 24, 2023; the roundtable on Patents and NFTs will now 
be held on Thursday, January 26, 2023; and the roundtable on Copyrights 
and NFTs will now be held on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. The deadline 
for requests to participate as a panelist in one or more of the 
roundtables is unchanged. Such requests must be received by 11:59 p.m. 
Eastern Time on December 21, 2022.
    All other information and instructions to commenters provided in 
the November 23, 2022, notice remain unchanged.

Katherine K. Vidal,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Shira Perlmutter,
Register of Copyrights and Director, United States Copyright Office.
[FR Doc. 2022-27694 Filed 12-20-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P; 1410-30-P