[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 52 (Friday, March 15, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18907-18911]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05504]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office

[Docket No.: PTO-C-2024-0004]


Request for Comments: Unlocking the Full Potential of 
Intellectual Property by Translating More Innovation to the Marketplace

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: American innovation is a cornerstone of our strong, vibrant 
economy, with robust development of emerging and early-stage innovation 
spurring entrepreneurship and other economic activity. Intellectual 
property (IP) forms the bridge that moves innovation to impact for the 
benefit of society. The United States Patent and Trademark Office 
(USPTO, or the Agency) is committed to supporting translation of 
innovations to the marketplace through commercialization and is seeking 
public comment on how the agency can build on current initiatives to 
advance this commitment. The USPTO, with support from the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Institute 
of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the National Science Foundation 
(NSF), seeks input on new

[[Page 18908]]

ways to unlock the potential of intellectual property for the public 
good by fostering pathways for innovation to reach the marketplace, 
with particular attention to green, critical, and emerging 
technologies.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be received by 
May 14, 2024. Please note that comments submitted after May 14, 2024 
will not be considered.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments as follows. 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-2024-0004 on the homepage and select 
``Search.'' The site will provide a search results page listing all 
documents associated with this docket. Find a reference to this request 
for comments and select the ``Comment'' 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 in the comments.
    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 USPTO using the contact information below 
for special instructions regarding how to submit comments by mail or by 
hand delivery.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Parikha Mehta, USPTO, Office of the 
Under Secretary, at 571-272-3248 or [email protected]. Please 
direct media inquiries to the USPTO's Office of the Chief 
Communications Officer at 571-272-8400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Intellectual property rights create a 
critical engine that powers our economy and supports our nation as a 
global leader in innovation and entrepreneurship. For example, patents 
drive our nation's technological progress and achievement by 
incentivizing and protecting new ideas, encouraging investment in 
creative problem solving, and promoting knowledge sharing to inspire 
others to engage in follow on innovation. When brought to the market 
through commercialization, patented products save lives, improve our 
standard of living, and address some of the pressing issues to solve 
global challenges.
    Through this request for comment, the USPTO seeks input on what 
more the Agency can do to accelerate and incentivize commercialization 
of innovation. The USPTO also invites specific input on what the Agency 
can do to accelerate and incentivize the commercialization of green, 
critical, and emerging technologies. We seek to better understand how 
the USPTO might build on and expand our current initiatives in this 
space, detailed below, through direct agency work, through 
collaboration with other agencies or institutions such as NOAA, NIST, 
and NSF, as the principal advisor to the President and the 
Administration on IP through the Secretary of Commerce, and as a 
technical advisor to Congress on IP. While the USPTO is proud of our 
recent initiatives to ensure robustness and reliability of IP, as well 
as the role the agency is playing in the current dialogue on Bayh-Dole 
rights, pandemic preparedness, and Trade-Related aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights waivers, those topics are beyond the scope 
of this request for comment. Here, we specifically focus on 
opportunities for positive public impact by bringing innovation to 
market through commercialization, for example via the licensing of IP 
rights. Public comments on this notice will be used to evaluate 
possibilities for amplifying the impact of our current work, and to 
explore new ways to support the transfer of innovation to the 
marketplace.
    As used here, ``technology transfer,'' ``tech transfer,'' and 
``commercialization'' interchangeably refer to the cycle of bringing 
new technologies to the public through the marketplace, which is often 
made possible by the licensing of IP rights such as patents.

Patents Lead to Positive Public Impact Through Commercialization

    Bringing innovation to the marketplace through commercialization 
serves the greater good by creating jobs, improving economic 
prosperity, and solving world problems. IP rights such as patents play 
a key role in our economy, creating a mutually beneficial risk-
tolerance paradigm for both patent holders and commercialization 
partners. Patents allow innovators to retain ownership and integrity of 
their technology while also incentivizing partners to provide the 
critical resources and support needed to bring that new technology to 
market through licensing. The societal benefits of this IP rights 
commercialization paradigm are directly evident in the success of the 
U.S. economy. For example, in 2019, the U.S. industries that relied 
most heavily on intellectual property (``IP-intensive'' industries) 
accounted for $7.8 trillion in gross domestic product or 41% of 
domestic economic activity and account for 63 million jobs, or 44% of 
all U.S. jobs.\1\ These industries also provided 79% (or $1.31 
trillion) of all U.S. commodity exports in that year.
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    \1\ USPTO Intellectual Property and the U.S. Economy report, 
third edition. https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/uspto-ip-us-economy-third-edition.pdf.
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    Without IP commercialization, we might not have internet search 
algorithms, the artificial lung, or life-saving COVID-19 therapies. By 
continuing to build a strong IP system that encourages the transfer of 
technological advances to the marketplace, we can foster the emerging 
technologies of the future, such as those that will mitigate the 
effects of climate change or prepare us for future global health 
challenges. We also recognize the importance of balancing IP 
commercialization and innovation with work to increase competition and 
prevent unnecessary barriers for new entrants into the market.

Current Initiatives

    The following examples of current initiatives illustrate our 
existing efforts in the tech transfer space, as a reference point for 
considering ways we might expand or add to this work for greater 
impact.

I. General Innovation and Technology Transfer

    The USPTO continues to prioritize the development of ecosystems 
that can unlock IP to create jobs and solutions by translating that IP 
to the market across sectors, including key technology areas such as 
healthcare, manufacturing, and climate resilience. The USPTO has built 
tech transfer into its 2022-2026 strategic plan, making it one of the 
five overarching goals driving the USPTO's work to ``bring innovation 
to impact for the public good''.\2\ As explained in the strategic plan, 
the USPTO is focused on driving innovation for long-term economic 
growth, supply chain resiliency, prosperity, and national security. 
Getting IP-protected goods and services into the hands of those who can 
benefit from them via the marketplace is a critical component of U.S. 
innovation, inclusive capitalism, and global competitiveness.
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    \2\ USPTO 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, p 26-29 (2023). https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USPTO_2022-2026_Strategic_Plan.pdf.

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    We are expanding our efforts to help those pursuing IP protection 
identify available funding sources--public and private--to bring their 
innovations to impact for the public good. To further promote U.S. 
competitiveness and economic growth, we are partnering with other 
government agencies to provide IP education for federally funded 
innovators, and to strategize and explore the commercialization of 
innovation for job creation. We are advocating for policies that 
support the creation, protection, and enforcement of IP rights, 
domestically and abroad. As a leader in the global IP ecosystem, the 
USPTO is providing expertise to IP stakeholders to facilitate best 
practices.
    The USPTO is working closely with colleges and universities, 
including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and 
Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), as well as professionals and 
organizations focused on tech transfer, to explore ways in which the 
USPTO can collaborate with other agencies and with the private sector 
to improve and enhance the conversion of IP developed through research 
into impactful real-world solutions.
    The USPTO recognizes the need for tools that help connect IP rights 
owners with funders, so that IP can be realized in the marketplace. For 
example, during the recent pandemic, we launched an IP marketplace 
platform that connects the owners of COVID-19 related technologies with 
funders seeking to commercialize those types of solutions. The Patents 
4 Partnerships platform is a voluntary listing of patents and patent 
application publications indicated as ``available for licensing'' on 
external public websites or in the USPTO Official Gazette Notices. It 
also includes links to sources that include the licensing information.
    The USPTO recognizes that it will take joint efforts across the 
entire innovation and commercialization ecosystem to optimally 
facilitate getting great ideas to impact. For that reason, the USPTO 
has been working across the U.S. government and with the private sector 
and universities--including through the USPTO's work with other 
agencies such as NOAA, NIST, and NSF, through its Council for Inclusive 
Innovation (CI\2\) \3\ and through the Economic Development 
Administration's Entrepreneurship \4\--on identifying challenges and 
opportunities related to innovation and commercialization.
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    \3\ Council for Inclusive Innovation. https://www.uspto.gov/initiatives/equity/ci2.
    \4\ National Advisory Council on Innovation and 
Entrepreneurship. https://www.eda.gov/strategic-initiatives/national-advisory-council-on-innovation-and-entrepreneurship.
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    NIST plays a critical role in the facilitation of federal 
technology transfer by analyzing, planning, coordinating, reporting, 
and exercising general oversight of technology transfer 
responsibilities under section 5 of the Federal Technology Transfer Act 
of 1986 (15 U.S.C. 3710(g)) and Executive Order (E.O.) 12591 of April 
10, 1987. NIST co-chairs the National Science and Technology Council's 
Lab-to-Market Subcommittee, which establishes goals, measures 
performance, streamlines administrative processes and facilitates local 
and regional partnerships to help foster a healthier environment for 
R&D commercialization. NIST also convenes the Interagency Working Group 
for Technology Transfer to identify and disseminate creative approaches 
to technology transfer from Federal laboratories, advises and assists 
on federal technology transfer studies, and identifies and coordinates 
responses to technology transfer policy issues through an interagency 
task force. NIST also acts as the host agency for the Federal 
Laboratory Consortium (FLC). The FLC is the nationwide network of 
federal laboratories that fosters commercialization, best practice 
strategies, and opportunities for accelerating federal technologies out 
of the labs and into the marketplace.

II. Innovation and Tech Transfer for Green Technology

    In addition to its focus on tech transfer in general, the USPTO 
also recognizes the more specific and immediate need to accelerate the 
transfer of green technology and climate innovations to the 
marketplace. In January 2022, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA), a sister bureau within the Department of 
Commerce, reported that 2021 was the fourth warmest year on record for 
the United States, with 20 separate climate- and weather-related 
disasters costing over $1 billion each in the United States alone.\5\ 
Last year, 2023, fared no better, registering as the hottest year on 
record for the planet.\6\
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    \5\ https://www.noaa.gov/news/us-saw-its-4th-warmest-year-on-record-fueled-by-record-warm-december.
    \6\ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/01/01/2023-was-earths-hottest-year-experts-say/71882923007/.
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    That is why, under the Biden Administration, the USPTO has been 
focused on initiatives to incentivize the advancement and 
commercialization of climate innovations. In June 2022, the USPTO 
launched the Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program,\7\ which 
expedites initial examination of certain patent applications for 
innovations that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Qualifying patent 
applications are advanced out of turn (that is, granted special status) 
until first action on the merits by a patent examiner with no charge 
for the petition to make special. The program \8\ supports President 
Biden's January 27, 2021 Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis 
at Home and Abroad \9\ and ties directly into the administration's 
priority to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.\10\ In June 2023, 
the USPTO extended and expanded the program to also include innovations 
that are designed to remove, prevent, and/or monitor greenhouse gas 
emissions.\11\
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    \7\ Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program, 87 FR 33750 (June 
3, 2022). See also https://www.uspto.gov/patents/laws/patent-related-notices/climate-change-mitigation-pilot-program.
    \8\ https://www.uspto.gov/patents/laws/patent-related-notices/climate-change-mitigation-pilot-program.
    \9\ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/27/executive-order-on-tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad/.
    \10\ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/11/04/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-makes-historic-investment-in-americas-national-labs-announces-net-zero-game-changers-initiative/.
    \11\ Expansion and Extension of the Climate Change Mitigation 
Pilot Program, 88 FR 35841 (June 1, 2023).
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    The USPTO has also worked with innovators in the green tech space 
to promote the use of intellectual property to protect and 
commercialize innovations on major tech platforms in the U.S. and 
abroad.\12\ As part of that work, the USPTO hosted its first ever Green 
Energy Innovation Expo \13\ in May 2023, in collaboration with the 
Federal Laboratory Consortium and the Association of University 
Technology Managers The event facilitated partnerships between 
businesses and federal laboratories, universities, and private-sector 
innovators--including government-funded startups--offering a wide range 
of green energy technologies for licensing, including green hydrogen, 
energy storage, and wind energy.
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    \12\ See, for example, the May 2022 Remarks by USPTO Director 
Kathi Vidal at the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit available at 
https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/news-updates/remarks-uspto-director-kathi-vidal-arpa-e-energy-innovation-summit.
    \13\ https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/events/green-energy-innovation-expo.
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    To bring more green tech and climate innovation to impact, the 
USPTO is also engaging in several collaborative partnerships. In July 
2022, the USPTO became a technology partner to the global green-
technology platform of the World Intellectual Property

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Organization (WIPO), WIPO GREEN.\14\ WIPO GREEN is a public-private 
partnership established by WIPO in 2013, with more than 145 
international partners including major technology companies, 
intellectual property offices, business groups, research institutes, 
and nongovernmental organizations. The partnership provides an online 
platform for technology exchange, connecting providers and seekers of 
environmentally friendly technologies, and organizing acceleration 
projects, conferences, and international events that highlight the 
availability of green technologies.
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    \14\ https://www3.wipo.int/wipogreen/en/.
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    The USPTO is also collaborating across government, including with 
the Department of Energy, the NSF, and NOAA to jointly promote the 
commercialization of green technologies. The USPTO engaged in a detail 
exchange program 15 16 with NOAA that focuses on the 
intersection of IP and climate and environmental technologies. USPTO 
expertise helps NOAA raise awareness and understanding of intellectual 
property concepts across its research workforce, to achieve a shared 
organizational understanding of the importance of IP. In return, NOAA 
is overseeing climate science training for USPTO patent examiners and 
advising the USPTO on future green initiatives. This collaboration is 
ongoing and has already resulted in positive outcomes, including a 
formal memorandum of understanding between USPTO and NOAA that defines 
areas for future work to encourage sustainable economic development 
while supporting climate and environmental stewardship.\17\
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    \15\ https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/news-updates/noaa-us-patent-and-trademark-office-create-work-sharing-program-advance-green.
    \16\ https://www.uspto.gov/blog/director/entry/patenting-innovation-in-climate-science.
    \17\ https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/noaa-uspto-sign-collaborative-agreement-to-advance-climate-technology.
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    Internationally, the USPTO hosted and led the 2023 annual meeting 
of the largest IP offices in the world--the European Patent Office, the 
Japan Patent Office, the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and the 
China National Intellectual Property Administration (collectively with 
USPTO referred to as the IP5)--along with WIPO, which focused on 
sustainability and green tech along with finding ways to work across 
the offices to bring more green tech innovations to market. The USPTO 
recently hosted a sustainable innovation dialogue \18\ during which the 
offices discussed how we can work together towards a goal of net-zero 
carbon emissions to help mitigate climate change and preserve our 
environment. The IP5 leaders also shared information on initiatives 
that encourage patent filings in climate technologies in their 
countries, streamline examination, and encourage eco-friendly efforts, 
such as paperless filing and energy efficiency. The USPTO brought 
together innovators, accelerators, and funders, as well as NOAA, to 
determine how we can be a catalyst to bring climate change technologies 
from research to the marketplace.
    To memorialize the IP5 offices' commitment to sustainability, the 
offices adopted a new vision statement: ``Building a sustainable future 
by fostering innovation and economic growth through an inclusive and 
accessible patent system. Promoting patent protection through 
harmonization of practices and procedures, high[hyphen]quality and 
timely search and examination results, worksharing and access to patent 
information, and achieving an efficient, cost[hyphen]effective and 
user[hyphen]friendly international patent landscape.'' \19\ And, to 
ensure the work done at the gathering had maximum impact, the Offices 
compiled and published a ``Climate Initiatives Booklet.'' \20\
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    \19\ https://link.epo.org/ip5/IP5%20Vision%20Statement%2006152023%20FINAL.pdf.
    \20\ https://link.epo.org/ip5/IP5%20Climate%20Initiatives%20Booklet%20%20July%2020%202023.pdf. 
More information can be found at https://www.fiveipoffices.org/20220609.
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III. Innovation and Tech Transfer for Critical and Emerging 
Technologies

    The White House issued an updated list of critical and emerging 
technologies in February 2022. The list includes ``a subset of advanced 
technologies that are potentially significant to the U.S. national 
security. The 2021 Interim National Security Strategic Guidance defines 
three national security objectives: protect the security of the 
American people, expand economic prosperity and opportunity, and 
realize and defend democratic values.'' The list includes everything 
from AI to quantum information technologies to semiconductors and 
microelectronics.\21\
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    \21\ https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/02-2022-Critical-and-Emerging-Technologies-List-Update.pdf.
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    The USPTO has been actively involved with the Biden Administration 
on policies related to critical and emerging technologies, including 
artificial intelligence \22\ and standards policies.\23\ To support the 
Biden Administration and U.S. Department of Commerce's work on supply 
chain resiliency in the semiconductor space, and enhance the impact of 
the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Act, 
the USPTO launched the Semiconductor Technology Pilot Program in 
December 2023.\24\ The pilot program is designed to accelerate 
improvements in the semiconductor industry by expediting examination of 
patent applications for certain semiconductor manufacturing 
innovations.
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    \22\ See for example the Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, 
and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, 
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/10/30/executive-order-on-the-safe-secure-and-trustworthy-development-and-use-of-artificial-intelligence/.
    \23\ See for example the United States Government National 
Standards Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technologies, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/US-Gov-National-Standards-Strategy-2023.pdf, the Request for Information on 
Implementation of the United States Government National Standards 
Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technologies, https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2023-19245.pdf, and the Joint ITA-
NIST-USPTO Collaboration Initiative Regarding Standards; Notice of 
Public Listening Session and Request for Comments, https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/09/11/2023-19667/joint-ita-nist-uspto-collaboration-initiative-regarding-standards-notice-of-public-listening-session.
    \24\ Semiconductor Technology Pilot Program, 88 FR 83926 
(December 1, 2023). See also https://www.uspto.gov/SemiconductorTechnology.
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    Under the Biden Administration, the USPTO additionally launched its 
first artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technology (ET) 
partnership, an ongoing cooperative effort between the USPTO and the 
AI/ET community, including academia, independent inventors, small 
businesses, industry, other government agencies, nonprofits, and civil 
society. Through the AI/ET Partnership, the USPTO engages the AI/ET 
community on USPTO AI/ET efforts, such as using AI and ET to enhance 
the quality and efficiency of patent and trademark examination. The 
USPTO's Office of the Chief Economist has also published reports on AI 
diffusion, and the Agency is actively collaborating with other agencies 
on AI-related issues.

Request for Comment

    The USPTO requests comment from all interested parties, including 
innovators, patent holders, patent applicants, patent licensees, 
academic personnel (faculty, researchers, administrators), 
entrepreneurs, consumers of patented products, public interest groups, 
and other parties interested in and engaged in innovation, research, 
development, licensing, or commercialization of technology. Responses 
may address direct agency work, USPTO collaboration with other agencies 
or institutions such as NOAA, NIST, or NSF, USPTO's role as a

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principal advisor to the President and the Administration on IP through 
the Secretary of Commerce, and/or USPTO's role as a technical advisor 
to Congress on IP.
    Respondents may address any (or none) of the following questions. 
When possible, respondents should identify which question(s) relate to 
their comments. Respondents may organize their submissions in any 
manner.
    In particular, the USPTO seeks the following information:
    1. Please identify the biggest challenges to, and opportunities 
for, commercialization of innovation through use of the intellectual 
property system. Please identify what concrete measures the USPTO can 
take to help.
    2. Are there any IP-related challenges or opportunities that are 
specific to commercializing green technology and climate technologies? 
Please identify what concrete measures the USPTO can take to help.
    3. Are there any IP-related challenges or opportunities that are 
specific to commercializing critical and emerging technologies? Please 
identify what concrete measures the USPTO can take to help.
    4. Please identify any changes to IP policies and practices that 
may help streamline or accelerate commercialization of IP in general.
    5. Please identify any changes to IP policies and practices that 
may help streamline or accelerate commercialization of green technology 
and climate technologies.
    6. Please identify any changes to IP policies and practices that 
may help streamline or accelerate commercialization of critical and 
emerging technologies.
    7. Please identify any IP-related challenges that interested 
parties face when licensing or acquiring technologies and identify any 
changes in the law, policies or practices which could help alleviate 
these challenges.
    8. Please identify challenges that interested parties face when 
attempting to identify potential licensees, and when licensing 
intellectual property. Please identify any changes in the law, policies 
or practices that could help alleviate these challenges.
    9. Please provide any feedback on the USPTO's Patents 4 
Partnerships \25\ platform, including any experience with the same, 
whether it should be expanded to include patents across all sectors, 
and any comments on how it can otherwise be improved. Please also 
identify what additional, concrete measures the USPTO can take to 
better facilitate connections between innovators and funders.
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    \25\ https://developer.uspto.gov/ipmarketplace/search/platform.
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    10. Please provide any feedback on the WIPO GREEN \26\ initiative 
including any experience with the same and any comments on how the 
USPTO may better leverage its role as a partner to enhance the success 
and influence of the initiative.
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    \26\ https://www3.wipo.int/wipogreen/en/.
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    11. Please identify opportunities for the USPTO to minimize any 
current challenges related to commercialization for certain persons, 
technologies, industries, or companies. If available, please provide 
supporting data that illustrates the impact of these challenges on 
those select groups.
    12. Please identify opportunities for the USPTO to help 
underrepresented groups, individual inventors, and small and medium-
sized enterprises to gain enhanced awareness of and access to resources 
for commercializing their innovations and suggest ways to overcome 
existing challenges that undermine the realization of this goal.
    13. Please identify opportunities for the USPTO to expand research 
commercialization opportunities through IP rights for MSIs, and HBCUs, 
including any data or information related to the development of 
research commercialization at these institutions.
    14. Please identify any role that the USPTO can play in 
incentivizing innovations in commercially viable technologies.
    15. Are there any laws or practices in other countries that are 
effective in bringing IP to market? If so, please identify, explain, 
and indicate how they can be adapted to be applied within the framework 
of the U.S. patent law, or explain what new legislation would be 
needed.

Katherine K. Vidal,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2024-05504 Filed 3-14-24; 8:45 am]
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