[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 92 (Friday, May 12, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30726-30727]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10148]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office

[Docket No. PTO-P-2023-0015]


Patent and Trademark Public Advisory Committees

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.

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

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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)--
America's Innovation Agency--seeks nominations for up to three members 
of its Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC) to advise the Under 
Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the 
USPTO on patent policy, and for up to three members of its Trademark 
Public Advisory Committee (TPAC) to advise the Director on trademark 
policy. Each new member, who can serve remotely, will serve a three-
year term starting December 1, 2023. The members represent the 
interests of the public and the stakeholders of the USPTO.

DATES: Nominations must be electronically submitted on or before July 
3, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to submit nominations will be required to 
electronically complete the appropriate Public Advisory Committee 
application form by entering detailed information and qualifications at 
https://tinyurl.com/ynae4a67 for the PPAC, and https://tinyurl.com/hcux6462 for the TPAC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shirin Bidel-Niyat, Chief of Staff, 
Office of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and 
Director of the USPTO, at 571-272-8600.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 29, 1999, the President signed 
into law the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act (Act). The Act 
established two Public Advisory Committees--the PPAC and TPAC--to 
review the policies, goals, performance, budget, and user fees of the 
USPTO. The America Invents Act Technical Corrections set staggered 
terms for members of the Advisory Committees, with each term starting 
and ending on December 1.
    The PPAC and TPAC members shall:
     Advise 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) 
prepare an annual report on matters listed above; (2) transmit 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) publish the report in the Official Gazette of 
the USPTO. Id.

Public 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. 
Members must also certify that they are not required to register with 
the Department of Justice as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents 
Registration Act of 1938, as amended, and that they are not a federally 
registered lobbyist. Members are chosen to represent the interests of 
diverse users of the USPTO and must represent small- and large-entity 
applicants located in the United States in proportion to the number of 
applications filed by such applicants. In no case, however, shall 
members who represent small-entity patent applicants, including small 
business concerns, independent inventors, and nonprofit organizations, 
constitute less than 25% of the members of the Patent Public Advisory 
Committee. There must also be at least one independent inventor on the 
Patent Public Advisory Committee. The Committees must include 
individuals with a ``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.

[[Page 30727]]

Procedures and Guidelines of the PPAC and TPAC

    Each newly appointed member of the PPAC and TPAC will serve for a 
three-year term that begins on December 1, 2023, and ends on December 
1, 2026. As required by the 1999 Act, members of the PPAC and TPAC will 
receive compensation for each day (including travel time) they attend 
meetings or engage in the business of their 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 5 U.S.C. 5314. Committee members are 
compensated on an hourly basis, calculated at the daily rate. While 
away from home or their regular place of business, each member shall be 
allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as 
authorized by 5 U.S.C. 5703.

Applicability of Certain Ethics Laws

    Public Advisory Committee members are Special Government Employees 
within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. 202. 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 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 comes before the member's Committee and that 
involves at least one specific party. 18 U.S.C. 205(c); see also 18 
U.S.C. 207 for post-membership bars. Also, a member 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 PPAC and TPAC

    Meetings of each Public Advisory Committee will take place at the 
call of the respective Committee Chair to consider an agenda set by 
that Chair. Meetings may be conducted in person, telephonically, 
online, or by other appropriate means. The meetings of each Public 
Advisory Committee will be open to the public, except each Public 
Advisory Committee may, by majority vote, meet in an executive session 
when considering personnel, privileged, or other confidential 
information. Nominees must have the ability to participate in Public 
Advisory Committee business through the internet.

Katherine K. Vidal,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2023-10148 Filed 5-11-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P