Patent and Trademark Public Advisory Committees
| Published date | 17 June 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 36568 |
| Record Number | 2020-13043 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Patent And Trademark Office |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 117 (Wednesday, June 17, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 117 (Wednesday, June 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36568-36569]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-13043]
[[Page 36568]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No. PTO-C-2020-0024]
Patent and Trademark Public Advisory Committees
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice and request for nominations for the Patent and Trademark
Public Advisory Committees.
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SUMMARY: On November 29, 1999, the President signed into law the Patent
and Trademark Office Efficiency Act (``1999 Act''), which, among other
things, established two Public Advisory Committees to review the
policies, goals, performance, budget, and user fees of the United
States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) with respect to patents, in
the case of the Patent Public Advisory Committee, and trademarks, in
the case of the Trademark Public Advisory Committee, and to advise the
Director on these matters (now codified in the United States Code). The
America Invents Act Technical Corrections Act made several amendments
to the 1999 Act, including the requirement that the terms of the USPTO
Public Advisory Committee members be realigned by 2014 so that December
1 would be used as the start and end date, with terms staggered so that
each year, three existing terms expire and three new terms begin on
December 1. With this notice, the USPTO is requesting nominations for
up to three members of the Patent Public Advisory Committee and for up
to three members of the Trademark Public Advisory Committee, for terms
of three years beginning on December 1, 2020.
DATES: Nominations must be postmarked or emailed on or before July 31,
2020.
ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to submit nominations should send the
nominee's r[eacute]sum[eacute] by postal mail to Coke Stewart, Office
of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and
Director of the USPTO, Post Office Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia
22313-1450, or by email to [email protected] for the Patent
Public Advisory Committee or [email protected] for the
Trademark Public Advisory Committee.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Coke Stewart, Office of the Under
Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the
USPTO, at 571-272-8600.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Advisory Committees' duties include:
Reviewing and advising 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)
Preparing an annual report on matters listed above; (2) transmitting
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) publishing the report in the Official Gazette
of the USPTO. Id.
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 and
are chosen to represent the interests of diverse stakeholders of the
USPTO with respect to patents, in the case of the Patent Public
Advisory Committee, and trademarks, in the case of the Trademark Public
Advisory Committee. Members must represent small and large entity
applicants located in the United States in proportion to the number of
applications filed by such applicants. The committees must include
individuals with ``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. Administration policy discourages
the appointment of federally registered lobbyists to agency advisory
boards and commissions (Lobbyists on Agency Boards and Commissions,
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2009/09/23/lobbyists-agency-boards-and-commissions (Sept. 23, 2009)); cf. E.O. 13490, 74 FR 4673
(Jan. 21, 2009) (While Executive Order 13490 does not specifically
apply to federally registered lobbyists appointed by agency or
department heads, it sets forth the Administration's general policy of
decreasing the influence of special interests in the Federal
Government).
Procedures and Guidelines of the Patent and Trademark Public Advisory
Committees
Each newly appointed member of the Patent and Trademark Public
Advisory Committees will serve for a three-year term that begins on
December 1, 2020, and ends on December 1, 2023. As required by the 1999
Act, members of the Patent and Trademark Public Advisory Committees
will receive compensation for each day (including travel time) they are
attending meetings or engaging in the business of that 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 section 5314 of
title 5 of the United States Code. Committee members are compensated on
an hourly basis, which is based on the daily rate. While away from home
or regular place of business, each member shall be allowed travel
expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by
section 5703 of title 5 of the United States Code.
Applicability of Certain Ethics Laws
Public Advisory Committee Members are Special Government Employees
within the meaning of section 202 of title 18 of the United States
Code. 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 for 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 came before the member's committee and that
involved at least one specific party. 18 U.S.C. 205(c); see also 18
U.S.C. 207 for post-membership bars. A member also 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 Patent and Trademark Public Advisory Committees
Meetings of each Public Advisory Committee will take place at the
call of the respective Committee Chair to
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consider an agenda set by that Chair. Meetings may be conducted in
person, by telephone, online, or by other appropriate means. The
meetings of each advisory committee will be open to the public, but
each advisory committee may, by majority vote, meet in executive
session when considering personnel, privileged, or other confidential
information. Nominees must have the ability to participate in committee
business via the internet.
Andrei Iancu,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2020-13043 Filed 6-16-20; 8:45 am]
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