January 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of the Air Force announces its decision to accept alternative arrangements approved by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) for the Air Force's interim beddown of the F-22 Formal Training Unit at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

Notice is hereby given of the following determinations: I hereby determine that certain objects to be included in the exhibition ``Monumental Journey: The Daguerreotypes of Girault de Prangey,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The objects are imported pursuant to loan agreements with the foreign owners or custodians. I also determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, from on or about January 29, 2019, until on or about May 12, 2019, and at possible additional exhibitions or venues yet to be determined, is in the national interest. I have ordered that Public Notice of these determinations be published in the Federal Register.

Notice is hereby given of the following determinations: I hereby determine that the objects to be exhibited in the exhibition ``The Tale of Genji: A Japanese Classic Illuminated,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The objects are imported pursuant to loan agreements with the foreign owners or custodians. I also determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, from on or about March 5, 2019, until on or about June 16, 2019, and at possible additional exhibitions or venues yet to be determined, is in the national interest. I have ordered that Public Notice of these determinations be published in the Federal Register.

This is a Notice of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for Public Assistance Only for the Commonwealth of VIRGINIA (FEMA-4411-DR), dated 12/18/2018. Incident: Tropical Storm Michael. Incident Period: 10/09/2018 through 10/16/2018.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) received and is considering approval of three amendment requests. The amendment requests are for Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3; Braidwood Station, Units 1 and 2; and Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 3 and 4. For each amendment request, the NRC proposes to determine that they involve no significant hazards consideration. Because each amendment request contains sensitive unclassified non- safeguards information (SUNSI), an order imposes procedures to obtain access to SUNSI for contention preparation.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels using hook-and-line gear in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2019 Pacific cod total allowable catch apportioned to catcher vessels using hook-and-line gear in the Western Regulatory Area of the GOA.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has prepared revised guidance (2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance) for use by USPTO personnel in evaluating subject matter eligibility. The 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance revises the procedures for determining whether a patent claim or patent application claim is directed to a judicial exception (laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas) under Step 2A of the USPTO's Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance in two ways. First, the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance explains that abstract ideas can be grouped as, e.g., mathematical concepts, certain methods of organizing human activity, and mental processes. Second, this guidance explains that a patent claim or patent application claim that recites a judicial exception is not ``directed to'' the judicial exception if the judicial exception is integrated into a practical application of the judicial exception. A claim that recites a judicial exception, but is not integrated into a practical application, is directed to the judicial exception under Step 2A and must then be evaluated under Step 2B (inventive concept) to determine the subject matter eligibility of the claim. The USPTO is seeking public comment on its subject matter eligibility guidance, and particularly the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance.