Plant Variety Protection Office: Notice of Request for Extension and Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection
| Citation | 86 FR 66515 |
| Record Number | 2021-25470 |
| Published date | 23 November 2021 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Agricultural Marketing Service |
Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 223 (Tuesday, November 23, 2021)
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 223 (Tuesday, November 23, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66515-66516]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25470]
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Notices
Federal Register
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or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 223 / Tuesday, November 23, 2021 /
Notices
[[Page 66515]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
[Doc. No. AMS-ST-21-0083]
Plant Variety Protection Office: Notice of Request for Extension
and Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. Chapter 35), this notice announces the Agricultural Marketing
Service's (AMS) intention to request approval, from the Office of
Management and Budget, for an extension of and revision to the
currently approved information collection ``Application for Plant
Variety Protection Certification and Objective Description of
Variety.''
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by January 24, 2022 to
be assured of consideration.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments concerning
this notice by using the electronic process available at
www.regulations.gov. Written comments may also be submitted to the
Plant Variety Protection Office (PVPO), Science and Technology,
Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Room
2915-S, Stop 0274, Washington, DC 20250 or by email to
[email protected]. All comments should reference the docket number
AMS-ST-21-0083, the date, and the page number of this issue of the
Federal Register. All comments received will be posted without change,
including any personal information provided, at www.regulations.gov and
will be included in the record and made available to the public.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mara Sanders, Plant Variety Protection
Office, Science and Technology Program, AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence
Avenue SW, STOP 0274, Washington, DC 20250-0274; Telephone: (202) 720-
0859, or Email: [email protected] or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: ``Application for Plant Variety Protection Certification and
Objective Description of Variety''.
OMB Number: 0581-0055.
Expiration Date of Approval: January 31, 2022.
Type of Request: Extension and revision of a currently approved
information collection.
Abstract: The Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA) (7 U.S.C. 2321 et
seq.) was established ``To encourage the development of novel varieties
of sexually reproduced plants and make them available to the public,
providing protection available to those who breed, develop, or discover
them, and thereby promote progress in agriculture in the public
interest.''
The PVPA is a voluntary user funded program which grants
intellectual property rights protection to breeders of new, distinct,
uniform, and stable seed reproduced, asexually reproduced, and tuber
propagated plant varieties. To obtain these rights, the applicant must
provide information which shows that the variety is eligible for
protection and that it is indeed new, distinct, uniform, and stable as
the law requires.
Application forms, descriptive forms, and ownership forms are
furnished to applicants to identify the information which is required
to be furnished by the applicant in order to legally issue a
certificate of protection (ownership). The certificate is based on
claims of the breeder and cannot be issued based on reports in
publications not submitted by the applicant. Regulations implementing
the PVPA appear at 7 CFR part 92.
Currently approved forms ST-470, Application for Plant Variety
Protection Certificate, ST-470 A, Origin and Breeding History, ST-470
B, Statement of Distinctness, Form ST-470 series, Objective Description
of Variety (Exhibit C), Form ST-470-E, Basis of Applicant's Ownership,
are the basis by which the determination, by experts at PVPO, is made
as to whether a new, distinct, uniform, and stable seed reproduced or
tuber-propagated variety in fact exists and is entitled to protection.
The ST 470 application form combines Exhibits A, B, and E into one
form. The information received on applications, with certain
exceptions, is required by law to remain confidential until the
certificate is issued (7 U.S.C. 2426).
Section 10108 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Pub. L.
115-334) (2018 Farm Bill) amended the Plant Variety Protection Act of
1970, as amended (7 U.S.C. 2321-2582) (Act), by adding a definition for
the term ``asexually reproduced'' as it pertains to plant propagation
and adding authority to offer intellectual property protection to
breeders of new varieties of plants developed through asexual
reproduction.
OMB 0581-0322 ``Application for Plant Variety Protection
Certification and Objective Description of Variety-Asexually Reproduced
Varieties'' was approved by OMB February 4, 2021, and includes the
collection of application forms, descriptive forms, and ownership forms
for asexually reproduced varieties. The combination of collections
0581-0055 and 0581-0322 will simplify the data collection for the Plant
Variety Protection Office.
In addition to the incorporation of the forms in OMB 0581-0322,
there have been 48 new crops added, 22 reinstated from a previous
approval, and 14 added via additional approvals of 0581-0055 since
2018.
The information collection requirements in this request are
essential to carry out the intent of the PVPA, to provide applicants
with certificates of protection, to provide the respondents the type of
service they request, and to administer the program.
Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of
information is estimated to average 1 hour per response.
Respondents: Businesses or other for profit, not-for-profit
institutions, and Federal Government.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 95.
Estimated Total Annual Responses: 1,950.5.
Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 20.5.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 2,045.9.
Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the proposed collection of
information
[[Page 66516]]
is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the
accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed
collection of information including the validity of the methodology and
assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity
of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden
of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including
the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other
technological collection techniques or other forms of information
technology. Comments may be sent to the person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT by or before the deadline. All comments received
will be available for public inspection during regular business hours
at the same address.
All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the
request for OMB approval. All comments will become a matter of public
record.
Melissa Bailey,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-25470 Filed 11-22-21; 8:45 am]
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