Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearings on the Report Required by the Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success Act of 2018, 17809-17810 [2019-08437]
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 81 / Friday, April 26, 2019 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[Docket No.: PTO–C–2019–0010]
Request for Comments and Notice of
Public Hearings on the Report
Required by the Study of
Underrepresented Classes Chasing
Engineering and Science Success Act
of 2018
United States Patent and
Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Request for comments; notice of
public hearings.
AGENCY:
The United States Patent and
Trademark Office (‘‘USPTO’’) is
interested in gathering information on
the participation of women, minorities,
and veterans in entrepreneurship
activities and the patent system for
purposes of preparing a study on the
subject as required by the Study of
Underrepresented Classes Chasing
Engineering and Science (SUCCESS)
Act. To assist in gathering this
information, the USPTO invites the
public to provide comments and to
attend public hearings addressing the
participation of women, minorities, and
veterans in entrepreneurship activities
and the patent system.
DATES: The USPTO will hold three (3)
public hearings in support of the
SUCCESS Act study in locations that
provide broad coverage of the Nation.
The first public hearing will be held in
Alexandria, Virginia, on Wednesday,
May 8, 2019, beginning at 9 a.m. and
ending at 4 p.m., Eastern Standard Time
(EST). The second public hearing will
be held in Detroit, Michigan, on
Thursday, May 16, 2019, beginning at 9
a.m. and ending at 4 p.m., EST. The
third public hearing will be held in San
Jose, California, on Monday, June 3,
2019, beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at
4 p.m., Pacific Standard Time.
Oral Testimony: Those wishing to
present oral testimony at one of the
hearings must request an opportunity to
do so in writing no later than May 1,
2019. Speakers providing oral testimony
at the hearings should submit a written
copy of their testimony for inclusion in
the record of the proceedings no later
than June 30, 2019.
Written Comments: The deadline for
receipt of written comments is June 30,
2019. Written comments should be
identified in the subject line of the
email or postal mailing as ‘‘SUCCESS
Act Study.’’
ADDRESSES: The first public hearing will
be held at the United States Patent and
Trademark Office in the Clara Barton
Auditorium (formerly the Madison
amozie on DSK9F9SC42PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
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17:28 Apr 25, 2019
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Auditorium), which is located on the
concourse level of the USPTO Madison
Building, located at 600 Dulany Street,
Alexandria, Virginia 22314.
The second public hearing will be
held at the Elijah J. McCoy Midwest
Regional Office of the USPTO, located
in the Stroh Building at 300 River Place
Drive, Detroit, Michigan 48207.
The third public hearing will be held
at the Silicon Valley United States
Patent and Trademark Office, located in
the Wing Building of San Jose City Hall
at 26 South 4th Street, San Jose,
California 95113.
Oral Testimony: Requests to testify
must be submitted by email to
successact@uspto.gov.
Written Comments: Written comments
should be sent by email to successact@
uspto.gov. Comments may also be
submitted by postal mail addressed to
Office of the Chief Economist, Mail Stop
OPIA, Director of the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450,
Alexandria, VA 22313–1450. Although
comments may be submitted by postal
mail, the USPTO prefers to receive
comments via email.
Because written comments and
testimony will be made available for
public inspection, information that a
respondent does not desire to be made
public, such as a phone number, should
not be included in the testimony or
written comments.
The public hearings will be available
via Webcast. Information about the
Webcast will be posted on the USPTO’s
internet website (address:
www.uspto.gov/successact) before the
public hearing.
Transcripts of the hearings will be
available on the USPTO internet website
(www.uspto.gov/successact) shortly
after the hearings.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.
Laura Pope, Office of the Chief
Economist by telephone at (571) 272–
9880, or by email at successact@
uspto.gov.
Section 3
of the Study of Underrepresented
Classes Chasing Engineering and
Science Success Act (SUCCESS Act)
requires the Under Secretary of
Commerce for Intellectual Property and
Director of the United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO), in
consultation with the Administrator of
the U.S. Small Business Administration
(SBA), with delivering to Congress a
report on the results of a study on the
participation of women, minorities, and
veterans in the U.S. patent system. This
report is due no later than one year after
the enactment of the Act (i.e., by
October 31, 2019).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
17809
Congress has mandated that the study:
(1) Identify publicly available data on
the number of patents annually applied
for and obtained by, and the benefits of
increasing the number of patents
applied for and obtained by women,
minorities, and veterans and small
businesses owned by women,
minorities, and veterans and (2) provide
legislative recommendations for how to:
(A) Promote the participation of women,
minorities, and veterans in
entrepreneurship activities and (B)
increase the number of women,
minorities, and veterans who apply for
and obtain patents.
The USPTO understands that
significant information gaps exist for
documenting the number of and benefits
from patents applied for and obtained
by women, minorities, and veterans.
This type of information is not collected
by the USPTO as part of the patent
application or granting process. The
lack of information hampers efforts to
assess the interrelationship of
participation in the patent process and
entrepreneurship activities by these
groups, and inhibits analysis of whether
and how participation could be
enhanced through education, Federal
program funding, coordination with
universities and industry stakeholders,
and other means. To overcome this
limitation, the USPTO is engaging with
other bureaus within the Department of
Commerce and consulting with other
U.S. government agencies, such as the
SBA, U.S. Department of Treasury and
the U.S. Army Office of Economic and
Manpower Analysis, about possible data
sharing or analysis, and are in the
process of collecting information
regarding legislative proposals or
recommendations to increase
entrepreneurship and utilization of the
patent process by women, minorities,
and veterans. In addition to these
efforts, the USPTO believes that
individuals, businesses and non-profit
organizations outside government have
relevant information on the number of
and benefits from patents applied for
and obtained by women, minorities, and
veterans as well as small businesses
owned by these groups. To assist in
gathering this information, the USPTO
invites the public to provide comments
and to participate in any of three public
hearings to be held in support of the
SUCCESS Act study. The diversity and
inclusiveness of the U.S. IP system is a
national issue with stakeholders all
across the U.S. With this in mind, we
determined that three public hearings,
located in Alexandria, VA, Detroit, MI,
and San Jose, CA, would provide broad
coverage of the Nation that would be
E:\FR\FM\26APN1.SGM
26APN1
amozie on DSK9F9SC42PROD with NOTICES
17810
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 81 / Friday, April 26, 2019 / Notices
helpful in reaching members of the
public who might have valuable
information to assist in these efforts and
helpful in USPTO’s ultimate
preparation of the report.
Issues for Comment: The USPTO
seeks comments on the participation of
women, minorities, and veterans in
entrepreneurship activities and the
patent system. The questions
enumerated below are a preliminary
guide to aid the USPTO in collecting
relevant information and to evaluate
possible administrative or legislative
recommendations that may be provided
to Congress. The tenor of the following
questions should not be taken as an
indication that the USPTO has taken a
position or is predisposed to any
particular views. USPTO welcomes
comments from the public on any issues
that they believe are relevant to the
scope of the study, and is particularly
interested in answers to the following
questions:
(1) What public data are available to
identify the number of patents applied
for and obtained by women, minorities
and veterans?
(2) What public data are available to
assess the social and private benefits
that result from increasing the number
of patents applied for and obtained by
women, minorities, and veterans, as
well as small businesses owned by these
groups?
(3) What social and private benefits
would you identify as resulting from
increasing the number of patents
applied for and obtained by women,
minorities, and veterans?
(4) What social and private benefits to
small businesses owned by women,
minorities, and veterans would you
identify as resulting from increasing the
number of patents applied for and
obtained by those businesses?
(5) Should the USPTO collect
demographic information on patent
inventors at the time of patent
application, and why?
(6) To what extent, if at all, do
educational and professional
circumstances affect the ability of
women, minorities, and veterans to
apply for and obtain patents or to
pursue entrepreneurial activities?
(7) To what extent, if at all, do
socioeconomic factors facilitate or
hinder the ability of women, minorities,
and veterans to apply for and obtain
patents or to pursue entrepreneurial
activities?
(8) What entities or institutions, if
any, should or should not play an active
role in promoting the participation of
women, minorities, and veterans in the
patent system and entrepreneurial
activities?
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Jkt 247001
(9) What public policies, if any,
should the Federal Government explore
in order to promote the participation of
women, minorities, and veterans in the
patent system and entrepreneurial
activities? Are there any public policies
that the Federal Government should not
explore?
(10) What action could USPTO take to
address the participation of women,
minorities, and veterans in the patent
system and entrepreneurial activities?
(11) Are there policies, programs, or
other targeted activities shown to be
effective at recruiting and retaining
women, minorities, and veterans in
innovative and entrepreneurial
activities? Are there policies, programs,
or other targeted activities that have
proved ineffective?
Oral Testimony: Members of the
public are invited to present oral
testimony at any scheduled hearing
date. Those wishing an opportunity to
do so must submit a request in writing
via email no later than May 1, 2019.
Requests to testify must be submitted
by email to successact@uspto.gov and
should indicate the following: (1) The
name of the person wishing to testify;
(2) the person’s contact information
(telephone number and email address);
(3) the organization(s) the person
represents, if any; (4) an indication of
the amount of time needed for the
testimony; and (5) a preliminary written
copy of the testimony. Based upon the
requests received, an agenda for witness
testimony will be sent to testifying
requesters and posted on the USPTO
internet website (address:
www.uspto.gov/successact).
Dated: April 22, 2019.
Andrei Iancu,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual
Property and Director of the United States
Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2019–08437 Filed 4–25–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–16–P
COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM
PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR
SEVERELY DISABLED
Procurement List; Proposed Additions
and Deletions
Committee for Purchase From
People Who Are Blind or Severely
Disabled.
ACTION: Proposed additions to and
deletions from the Procurement List.
AGENCY:
The Committee is proposing
to add products and services to the
Procurement List that will be furnished
by nonprofit agencies employing
persons who are blind or have other
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00039
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
severe disabilities, and deletes products
and services previously furnished by
such agencies.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before: May 26, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Committee for Purchase
From People Who Are Blind or Severely
Disabled, 1401 S Clark Street, Suite 715,
Arlington, Virginia, 22202–4149.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
further information or to submit
comments contact: Michael R.
Jurkowski, Telephone: (703) 603–2117,
Fax: (703) 603–0655, or email
CMTEFedReg@AbilityOne.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
notice is published pursuant to 41
U.S.C. 8503(a)(2) and 41 CFR 51–2.3. Its
purpose is to provide interested persons
an opportunity to submit comments on
the proposed actions.
Additions
If the Committee approves the
proposed additions, the entities of the
Federal Government identified in this
notice will be required to procure the
products and services listed below from
nonprofit agencies employing persons
who are blind or have other severe
disabilities.
The following products and services
are proposed for addition to the
Procurement List for production by the
nonprofit agencies listed:
Products
NSNs—Product Names:
MR 11087—Bowl, Collapsible, Pet
MR 11088—Blanket, Pet, Large
MR 11089—Blanket, Pet, Small
MR 11090—Disc, Toy, Dog
Mandatory Source of Supply: Winston-Salem
Industries for the Blind, Inc., WinstonSalem, NC
Contracting Activity: Military Resale-Defense
Commissary Agency
Services
Service Type: Records digitization
Mandatory for: Ohio Army Reserve National
Guard Element, Joint Forces
Headquarters, Columbus, Ohio
Mandatory Source of Supply: Coleman
Professional Services, Kent, OH
Contracting Activity: DEPT OF THE ARMY,
W7NU USPFO ACTIVITY OH ARNG
Service Type: Messenger Service
Mandatory for: U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, Area Port St. Thomas, St.
Thomas, VI
Mandatory Source of Supply: The Corporate
Source, Inc., New York, NY
Contracting Activity: U.S. CUSTOMS AND
BORDER PROTECTION, BORDER
ENFORCEMENT CTR DIV
Deletions
The following products and services
are proposed for deletion from the
Procurement List:
E:\FR\FM\26APN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 81 (Friday, April 26, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17809-17810]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-08437]
[[Page 17809]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[Docket No.: PTO-C-2019-0010]
Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearings on the Report
Required by the Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering
and Science Success Act of 2018
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Request for comments; notice of public hearings.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (``USPTO'') is
interested in gathering information on the participation of women,
minorities, and veterans in entrepreneurship activities and the patent
system for purposes of preparing a study on the subject as required by
the Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science
(SUCCESS) Act. To assist in gathering this information, the USPTO
invites the public to provide comments and to attend public hearings
addressing the participation of women, minorities, and veterans in
entrepreneurship activities and the patent system.
DATES: The USPTO will hold three (3) public hearings in support of the
SUCCESS Act study in locations that provide broad coverage of the
Nation. The first public hearing will be held in Alexandria, Virginia,
on Wednesday, May 8, 2019, beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at 4 p.m.,
Eastern Standard Time (EST). The second public hearing will be held in
Detroit, Michigan, on Thursday, May 16, 2019, beginning at 9 a.m. and
ending at 4 p.m., EST. The third public hearing will be held in San
Jose, California, on Monday, June 3, 2019, beginning at 9 a.m. and
ending at 4 p.m., Pacific Standard Time.
Oral Testimony: Those wishing to present oral testimony at one of
the hearings must request an opportunity to do so in writing no later
than May 1, 2019. Speakers providing oral testimony at the hearings
should submit a written copy of their testimony for inclusion in the
record of the proceedings no later than June 30, 2019.
Written Comments: The deadline for receipt of written comments is
June 30, 2019. Written comments should be identified in the subject
line of the email or postal mailing as ``SUCCESS Act Study.''
ADDRESSES: The first public hearing will be held at the United States
Patent and Trademark Office in the Clara Barton Auditorium (formerly
the Madison Auditorium), which is located on the concourse level of the
USPTO Madison Building, located at 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria,
Virginia 22314.
The second public hearing will be held at the Elijah J. McCoy
Midwest Regional Office of the USPTO, located in the Stroh Building at
300 River Place Drive, Detroit, Michigan 48207.
The third public hearing will be held at the Silicon Valley United
States Patent and Trademark Office, located in the Wing Building of San
Jose City Hall at 26 South 4th Street, San Jose, California 95113.
Oral Testimony: Requests to testify must be submitted by email to
[email protected].
Written Comments: Written comments should be sent by email to
[email protected]. Comments may also be submitted by postal mail
addressed to Office of the Chief Economist, Mail Stop OPIA, Director of
the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA
22313-1450. Although comments may be submitted by postal mail, the
USPTO prefers to receive comments via email.
Because written comments and testimony will be made available for
public inspection, information that a respondent does not desire to be
made public, such as a phone number, should not be included in the
testimony or written comments.
The public hearings will be available via Webcast. Information
about the Webcast will be posted on the USPTO's internet website
(address: www.uspto.gov/successact) before the public hearing.
Transcripts of the hearings will be available on the USPTO internet
website (www.uspto.gov/successact) shortly after the hearings.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Laura Pope, Office of the Chief
Economist by telephone at (571) 272-9880, or by email at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3 of the Study of Underrepresented
Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success Act (SUCCESS Act)
requires the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), in
consultation with the Administrator of the U.S. Small Business
Administration (SBA), with delivering to Congress a report on the
results of a study on the participation of women, minorities, and
veterans in the U.S. patent system. This report is due no later than
one year after the enactment of the Act (i.e., by October 31, 2019).
Congress has mandated that the study: (1) Identify publicly
available data on the number of patents annually applied for and
obtained by, and the benefits of increasing the number of patents
applied for and obtained by women, minorities, and veterans and small
businesses owned by women, minorities, and veterans and (2) provide
legislative recommendations for how to: (A) Promote the participation
of women, minorities, and veterans in entrepreneurship activities and
(B) increase the number of women, minorities, and veterans who apply
for and obtain patents.
The USPTO understands that significant information gaps exist for
documenting the number of and benefits from patents applied for and
obtained by women, minorities, and veterans. This type of information
is not collected by the USPTO as part of the patent application or
granting process. The lack of information hampers efforts to assess the
interrelationship of participation in the patent process and
entrepreneurship activities by these groups, and inhibits analysis of
whether and how participation could be enhanced through education,
Federal program funding, coordination with universities and industry
stakeholders, and other means. To overcome this limitation, the USPTO
is engaging with other bureaus within the Department of Commerce and
consulting with other U.S. government agencies, such as the SBA, U.S.
Department of Treasury and the U.S. Army Office of Economic and
Manpower Analysis, about possible data sharing or analysis, and are in
the process of collecting information regarding legislative proposals
or recommendations to increase entrepreneurship and utilization of the
patent process by women, minorities, and veterans. In addition to these
efforts, the USPTO believes that individuals, businesses and non-profit
organizations outside government have relevant information on the
number of and benefits from patents applied for and obtained by women,
minorities, and veterans as well as small businesses owned by these
groups. To assist in gathering this information, the USPTO invites the
public to provide comments and to participate in any of three public
hearings to be held in support of the SUCCESS Act study. The diversity
and inclusiveness of the U.S. IP system is a national issue with
stakeholders all across the U.S. With this in mind, we determined that
three public hearings, located in Alexandria, VA, Detroit, MI, and San
Jose, CA, would provide broad coverage of the Nation that would be
[[Page 17810]]
helpful in reaching members of the public who might have valuable
information to assist in these efforts and helpful in USPTO's ultimate
preparation of the report.
Issues for Comment: The USPTO seeks comments on the participation
of women, minorities, and veterans in entrepreneurship activities and
the patent system. The questions enumerated below are a preliminary
guide to aid the USPTO in collecting relevant information and to
evaluate possible administrative or legislative recommendations that
may be provided to Congress. The tenor of the following questions
should not be taken as an indication that the USPTO has taken a
position or is predisposed to any particular views. USPTO welcomes
comments from the public on any issues that they believe are relevant
to the scope of the study, and is particularly interested in answers to
the following questions:
(1) What public data are available to identify the number of
patents applied for and obtained by women, minorities and veterans?
(2) What public data are available to assess the social and private
benefits that result from increasing the number of patents applied for
and obtained by women, minorities, and veterans, as well as small
businesses owned by these groups?
(3) What social and private benefits would you identify as
resulting from increasing the number of patents applied for and
obtained by women, minorities, and veterans?
(4) What social and private benefits to small businesses owned by
women, minorities, and veterans would you identify as resulting from
increasing the number of patents applied for and obtained by those
businesses?
(5) Should the USPTO collect demographic information on patent
inventors at the time of patent application, and why?
(6) To what extent, if at all, do educational and professional
circumstances affect the ability of women, minorities, and veterans to
apply for and obtain patents or to pursue entrepreneurial activities?
(7) To what extent, if at all, do socioeconomic factors facilitate
or hinder the ability of women, minorities, and veterans to apply for
and obtain patents or to pursue entrepreneurial activities?
(8) What entities or institutions, if any, should or should not
play an active role in promoting the participation of women,
minorities, and veterans in the patent system and entrepreneurial
activities?
(9) What public policies, if any, should the Federal Government
explore in order to promote the participation of women, minorities, and
veterans in the patent system and entrepreneurial activities? Are there
any public policies that the Federal Government should not explore?
(10) What action could USPTO take to address the participation of
women, minorities, and veterans in the patent system and
entrepreneurial activities?
(11) Are there policies, programs, or other targeted activities
shown to be effective at recruiting and retaining women, minorities,
and veterans in innovative and entrepreneurial activities? Are there
policies, programs, or other targeted activities that have proved
ineffective?
Oral Testimony: Members of the public are invited to present oral
testimony at any scheduled hearing date. Those wishing an opportunity
to do so must submit a request in writing via email no later than May
1, 2019.
Requests to testify must be submitted by email to
[email protected] and should indicate the following: (1) The name of
the person wishing to testify; (2) the person's contact information
(telephone number and email address); (3) the organization(s) the
person represents, if any; (4) an indication of the amount of time
needed for the testimony; and (5) a preliminary written copy of the
testimony. Based upon the requests received, an agenda for witness
testimony will be sent to testifying requesters and posted on the USPTO
internet website (address: www.uspto.gov/successact).
Dated: April 22, 2019.
Andrei Iancu,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2019-08437 Filed 4-25-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P
