[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]
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