Request for Comments on Southeast Regional Office and Community Outreach Office Locations, 38847-38849 [2023-12824]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 114 / Wednesday, June 14, 2023 / Notices implementing AMLRCA are at 50 CFR part 300, subpart G. The record keeping and reporting requirements at 50 CFR part 300 form the basis for this collection of information. This collection of information concerns research in, and the harvesting and importation of, marine living resources from waters regulated by CCAMLR related to ecosystem research, U.S. harvesting permit application and/or harvesting vessel operators and to importers and re-exporters of Antarctic marine living resources. The collection is necessary in order for the United States to meet its treaty obligations as a contracting party to the Convention. Affected Public: Business or other for profit organizations; not-for-profit institutions; individuals or households. Frequency: Annually and on occasion. Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory. Legal Authority: Public Law 98–623, Sec. 2439 Antarctic Marine Living Resources Convention Act. This information collection request may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of Commerce collections currently under review by OMB. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/ public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or by using the search function and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB Control Number 0648–0194. Sheleen Dumas, Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, Commerce Department. [FR Doc. 2023–12691 Filed 6–13–23; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Patent and Trademark Office [Docket No. PTO–C–2023–0022] ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 Request for Comments on Southeast Regional Office and Community Outreach Office Locations United States Patent and Trademark Office, U.S. Department of Commerce. ACTION: Request for comments. AGENCY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) is seeking information to inform the planning and design of the USPTO SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:24 Jun 13, 2023 Jkt 259001 satellite offices (regional offices) and newly-authorized community outreach offices (COOs). The USPTO is also seeking information on potential locations for a future USPTO regional office in the southeast region of the United States (Southeast Regional Office or SERO) and a COO in the northern New England (NNE) region (Northern New England Community Outreach Office) that the USPTO was directed to establish under the Unleashing American Innovators Act of 2022 (UAIA), signed into law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 on December 29, 2022. DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be received by 5 p.m. ET on or before July 17, 2023, and should be submitted in accordance with the instructions in the ADDRESSES and SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION sections. No public hearing will be held. ADDRESSES: For reasons of government efficiency, comments must be submitted electronically by completing the form at https://tinyurl.com/27srysh4. Complete the required fields using the preformatted response form that will allow you to comment on each topic of interest or question you choose to address. You may enter your responses directly into the form or cut and paste your responses from a MICROSOFT WORD® or ADOBE® portable document format (PDF) document into the field provided for each question. You must submit any attachments that provide additional support to a question through the electronic form. Attachments to the form will be accepted as ADOBE® PDF or MICROSOFT WORD® documents. To be considered, comments must be submitted through the electronic form. 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. If submission of comments through the electronic form 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, based on the public’s ability to obtain access to USPTO facilities at the time. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shirin Bidel-Niyat, Chief of Staff, Office of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, at 571–272–8600 or NewOffices@uspto.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 38847 I. Background Enabled by the 2011 America Invents Act (AIA), the USPTO currently has four regional offices that are located in Detroit, Michigan; San Jose, California (Silicon Valley); Denver, Colorado; and Dallas, Texas. The purposes of the regional offices (ROs), as originally defined in the AIA and amended by the UAIA, are to: • RO1: Better connect patent filers and innovators with the Office, including by increasing outreach activities to individual innovators, small businesses, veterans, low-income populations, students, rural populations, and any geographic group of innovators that the Director may determine to be underrepresented in patent filings; • RO2: Enhance patent examiner and administrative patent judge retention, including patent examiners and administrative patent judges from economically, geographically, and demographically diverse backgrounds; • RO3: Improve recruitment of patent examiners; • RO4: Decrease the number of patent applications waiting for examination; and • RO5: Improve the quality of patent examination. The USPTO has been focused on outreach and impact, and is working on ways to better support those new to the innovation ecosystem, bringing more people in America into the fold. The USPTO is also studying the role of the regional offices in serving both the public and the needs of our colleagues across the agency. The UAIA supports the USPTO’s expanded outreach efforts by requiring the USPTO to establish, within three years of enactment (i.e., no later than December 29, 2025), a Southeast Regional Office in the geographic region comprised of the states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas. The UAIA requires the Office to consider the following when selecting the site for the SERO: • SERO1: Number of patent-intensive industries that are located near the site; • SERO2: How many researchintensive institutions, including higher education institutions, are located near the site; • SERO3: Governmental and business frameworks, at both the State and local levels, that support intellectual property-intensive industries that are located near the site; and • SERO4: The proximity of the office to anchor institutions (such as hospitals E:\FR\FM\14JNN1.SGM 14JNN1 ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 38848 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 114 / Wednesday, June 14, 2023 / Notices primarily serving veterans and institutions of higher education), individual inventors, small businesses, veterans, low-income populations, students, rural populations, and any geographic group of innovators that the Director may determine to be underrepresented in patent filings. The Act also requires the USPTO to report out within two years on whether additional offices are necessary to further increase participation in the patent system by individuals who have historically been underrepresented in patent filings. In addition to regional offices, the UAIA requires the USPTO to establish at least four COOs within five years from enactment of the Act (i.e., no later than December 29, 2027). The purposes of the COOs are to: • COO1: Further achieve the purposes described above for the regional offices; • COO2: Develop partnerships with local community organizations, institutions of higher education and/or research, and businesses to create tailored community-based programs that provide education regarding the patent system and promote the career benefits of innovation and entrepreneurship; and • COO3: Educate prospective inventors, including individual inventors, small businesses, veterans, low-income populations, students, rural populations, and any geographic group of innovators that the Director may determine to be underrepresented in patent filings, about all public and private resources available to potential patent applicants, including the patent pro bono programs. The UAIA prohibits the establishment of a COO in the same state as the principal location of the USPTO (Virginia), or in a state that has a regional office (California, Colorado, Michigan, or Texas). The UAIA also requires that at least one of the COOs be established in the NNE region and serve the states of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Under the Act, the Office must give preference to locations where: • NNECOO1: There is at least one private institution of higher education and at least one public institution of higher education; • NNECOO2: There are no more than 15 registered patent attorneys based on information from the USPTO’s Office of Enrollment and Discipline; and • NNECOO3: According to data from the 2012 Survey of Business Owners conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, less than 45% of the firms are owned by women, minorities, or veterans. The USPTO will use quantitative metrics and criteria to inform the VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:24 Jun 13, 2023 Jkt 259001 location selection for future ROs and COOs. The Office plans to consider the following classes of data (D) at a minimum: • D1: Business demographics. • D2: Concentration of research- and IP-intensive industries. • D3: Socioeconomic and demographic metrics of the regional/ local population. • D4: Availability and concentration of existing business development resources. • D5: Overall geographic diversity of office locations. The USPTO welcomes input from all stakeholders on any matter that they believe is relevant to the overall planning and design of the USPTO RO and COOs, or the selection of locations for the new SERO or NNECOO. Commenters are encouraged to address any or all of the statutory considerations listed in the UAIA and summarized above, any other considerations they believe the USPTO should consider, and the questions listed below. Commenting Instructions: To be considered, comments must be submitted through the electronic form available at https://tinyurl.com/ 27srysh4. Please cite any public data that relates to or supports your responses. If data is available but nonpublic, describe such data to the extent permissible. II. Specific Request for Comments: Planning and Design of Regional Offices and Community Outreach Offices With the addition of COOs to the agency’s footprint, the USPTO envisions the joint mission of the ROs and COOs to be the cultivation and expansion of a vibrant and inclusive innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem supported by intellectual property across the United States. To accomplish this mission, the offices will conduct broad stakeholder engagement with innovators ranging from individual inventors to multinational business entities; establish and leverage partnerships and relationships to scale the USPTO’s work; incentivize regional innovation and entrepreneurship, especially in key emerging areas; and promote full participation by innovators and entrepreneurs of all backgrounds, including in rural areas and from our military, to support U.S. innovation and jobs. The USPTO invites responses to the following questions: Regional offices 1. Considering the envisioned mission above, what essential services— including outreach, education, customer PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 service, convening space, and employee support—should a RO provide to achieve the statutory purposes? a. Do you prefer to have the services you identified delivered virtually? Why or why not? b. Do you prefer to have the services you identified delivered in person? Why or why not? 2. What types of organizations should the RO pursue relationships and collaborations with to better leverage and scale its services? Community Outreach Offices 3. Considering the envisioned mission above, what essential services— including outreach, education, and customer service—should a COO provide to achieve the statutory purposes? a. Do you prefer to have the services you identified delivered virtually? Why or why not? b. Do you prefer to have the services you identified delivered in person? Why or why not? 4. What types of organizations should the COO pursue relationships and collaborations with to better leverage and scale its services? 5. Would you support a COO being co-located with other public sector entities/services? a. If so, please describe the added value of having a shared location. b. Which public sector entities/ services would you suggest for the shared location(s)? c. If not, please describe the benefit of having a unique location for a COO. General Comments Regarding Regional and Community Outreach Offices 6. What unique services should the ROs and COOs individually provide, and how should the full range of services complement each other? 7. Considering the potential classes of data listed in part I above, what additional key indicators or data would support future RO and COO site selection? 8. What else should the USPTO consider when planning for the ROs and COOs? III. Specific Request for Comments: Location of the Southeast Regional Office Given the statutory purposes and considerations of ROs, including those specific to the SERO, as discussed in part I, and the planning and design considerations identified in part II: 9. What data would assist in assessing potential locations for the SERO site? 10. What is an ideal location for the SERO? Describe how this location meets E:\FR\FM\14JNN1.SGM 14JNN1 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 114 / Wednesday, June 14, 2023 / Notices the statutory purposes and considerations. 11. What State or local government, legal, and business frameworks that support intellectual property-intensive industries are located near the recommended site? 12. What else should the USPTO consider when determining the ideal location for the SERO? IV. Specific Request for Comments: Location of the Northern New England Community Outreach Office Given the statutory purposes and considerations of COOs, including those specific to the NNECOO, as discussed in part I, and the planning and design considerations identified in part II: 13. What data would assist in assessing potential locations for the NNECOO site? 14. What is an ideal location for the NNECOO? Describe how this location meets the statutory purposes and considerations. 15. What community organizations/ businesses near the recommended office location could the USPTO collaborate with to help provide intellectual property education and promote the career benefits of innovation and entrepreneurship? 16. What else should the USPTO consider when determining the ideal NNECOO? While the Office welcomes and values all comments from the public in response to this request, the comments submitted do not bind the Office to any further actions related to the comments, and the Office may not respond to any or every comment that is submitted. The Office will, however, consider all written submissions. Any and all decisions made with regard to the future locations of the RO and COOs will be made consistent with the criteria outlined in the UAIA and the goals and mission of the USPTO. Katherine K. Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. [FR Doc. 2023–12824 Filed 6–13–23; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–16–P ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Air Force [23–RI–L–04] Notice of Intent To Grant an Exclusive Patent License Department of the Air Force, Department of Defense. AGENCY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:24 Jun 13, 2023 Jkt 259001 ACTION: Authority: 35 U.S.C. 209; 37 CFR 404. Notice of intent. Pursuant to the Bayh-Dole Act and implementing regulations, the Department of the Air Force hereby gives notice of its intent to grant an exclusive patent license to Datalytica, LLC. duly organized, validly existing, and in good standing in the State of Delaware having a place of business at 8823 Boulder Hill, Laurel, MD 20723. SUMMARY: Tommy W. Lee, Acting Air Force Federal Register Liaison Officer. [FR Doc. 2023–12654 Filed 6–13–23; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 5001–10–P DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Air Force Written objections must be filed no later than fifteen (15) calendar days after the date of publication of this notice. [Docket ID: USAF–2023–HQ–0012] Submit written objections to Stephen Colenzo, AFRL/RI, 525 Brooks Road, Rome, New York 13441; or email: stephen.colenzo@us.af.mil. Include Docket No. 23–RI–L–04 in the subject line of the message. AGENCY: DATES: ADDRESSES: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen Colenzo, AFRL/RI, 525 Brooks Road, Rome, New York 13441; or email: stephen.colenzo@us.af.mil; Office: 315– 330–7665. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Abstract of Patent Application(s) Method and apparatus for object or event of interest detection which minimizes the level of false alarms and maximizes the level of detections as defined on a per event or object basis by the analyst. The invention allows for the minimization of false alarms for objects or events of interest which have a close resemblance to all other objects or events mapped to the same multidimensional feature space, and allows for the per event or per object adjustment on false alarms for objects or events of higher interest. Intellectual Property —BLOWERS ET AL, U.S. Patent No. 8,732,100, issued on 20 May 2014, and entitled ‘‘Method and Apparatus for Event Detection Permitting per Event Adjustment of False Alarm Rate.’’ The Department of the Air Force may grant the prospective license unless a timely objection is received that sufficiently shows the grant of the license would be inconsistent with the Bayh-Dole Act or implementing regulations. A competing application for a patent license agreement, completed in compliance with 37 CFR 404.8 and received by the Air Force within the period for timely objections, will be treated as an objection and may be considered as an alternative to the proposed license. PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 38849 Proposed Collection; Comment Request Department of the Air Force, Department of Defense (DoD). ACTION: 60-Day information collection notice. In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Department of the Air Force announces a proposed public information collection and seeks public comment on the provisions thereof. Comments are invited on: whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by August 14, 2023. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number and title, by any of the following methods: Federal eRulemaking Portal: https:// www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Mail: Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Privacy, Civil Liberties, and Transparency, 4800 Mark Center Drive, Mailbox #24, Suite 08D09, Alexandria, VA 22350–1700. Instructions:: All submissions received must include the agency name, docket number and title for this Federal Register document. The general policy for comments and other submissions from members of the public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on the internet at https:// www.regulations.gov as they are received without change, including any personal identifiers or contact information. SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\14JNN1.SGM 14JNN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38847-38849]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12824]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office

[Docket No. PTO-C-2023-0022]


Request for Comments on Southeast Regional Office and Community 
Outreach Office Locations

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

ACTION: Request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or 
Office) is seeking information to inform the planning and design of the 
USPTO satellite offices (regional offices) and newly-authorized 
community outreach offices (COOs). The USPTO is also seeking 
information on potential locations for a future USPTO regional office 
in the southeast region of the United States (Southeast Regional Office 
or SERO) and a COO in the northern New England (NNE) region (Northern 
New England Community Outreach Office) that the USPTO was directed to 
establish under the Unleashing American Innovators Act of 2022 (UAIA), 
signed into law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 on 
December 29, 2022.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be received by 5 
p.m. ET on or before July 17, 2023, and should be submitted in 
accordance with the instructions in the ADDRESSES and SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION sections. No public hearing will be held.

ADDRESSES: For reasons of government efficiency, comments must be 
submitted electronically by completing the form at https://tinyurl.com/27srysh4. Complete the required fields using the pre-formatted response 
form that will allow you to comment on each topic of interest or 
question you choose to address. You may enter your responses directly 
into the form or cut and paste your responses from a MICROSOFT 
WORD[supreg] or ADOBE[supreg] portable document format (PDF) document 
into the field provided for each question. You must submit any 
attachments that provide additional support to a question through the 
electronic form. Attachments to the form will be accepted as 
ADOBE[supreg] PDF or MICROSOFT WORD[supreg] documents. To be 
considered, comments must be submitted through the electronic form. 
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.
    If submission of comments through the electronic form 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, based on the public's ability to obtain access to USPTO 
facilities at the time.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shirin Bidel-Niyat, Chief of Staff, 
Office of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and 
Director of the USPTO, at 571-272-8600 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Enabled by the 2011 America Invents Act (AIA), the USPTO currently 
has four regional offices that are located in Detroit, Michigan; San 
Jose, California (Silicon Valley); Denver, Colorado; and Dallas, Texas. 
The purposes of the regional offices (ROs), as originally defined in 
the AIA and amended by the UAIA, are to:
     RO1: Better connect patent filers and innovators with the 
Office, including by increasing outreach activities to individual 
innovators, small businesses, veterans, low-income populations, 
students, rural populations, and any geographic group of innovators 
that the Director may determine to be underrepresented in patent 
filings;
     RO2: Enhance patent examiner and administrative patent 
judge retention, including patent examiners and administrative patent 
judges from economically, geographically, and demographically diverse 
backgrounds;
     RO3: Improve recruitment of patent examiners;
     RO4: Decrease the number of patent applications waiting 
for examination; and
     RO5: Improve the quality of patent examination.
    The USPTO has been focused on outreach and impact, and is working 
on ways to better support those new to the innovation ecosystem, 
bringing more people in America into the fold. The USPTO is also 
studying the role of the regional offices in serving both the public 
and the needs of our colleagues across the agency.
    The UAIA supports the USPTO's expanded outreach efforts by 
requiring the USPTO to establish, within three years of enactment 
(i.e., no later than December 29, 2025), a Southeast Regional Office in 
the geographic region comprised of the states of Virginia, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, 
Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas. The UAIA requires the Office to 
consider the following when selecting the site for the SERO:
     SERO1: Number of patent-intensive industries that are 
located near the site;
     SERO2: How many research-intensive institutions, including 
higher education institutions, are located near the site;
     SERO3: Governmental and business frameworks, at both the 
State and local levels, that support intellectual property-intensive 
industries that are located near the site; and
     SERO4: The proximity of the office to anchor institutions 
(such as hospitals

[[Page 38848]]

primarily serving veterans and institutions of higher education), 
individual inventors, small businesses, veterans, low-income 
populations, students, rural populations, and any geographic group of 
innovators that the Director may determine to be underrepresented in 
patent filings.
    The Act also requires the USPTO to report out within two years on 
whether additional offices are necessary to further increase 
participation in the patent system by individuals who have historically 
been underrepresented in patent filings.
    In addition to regional offices, the UAIA requires the USPTO to 
establish at least four COOs within five years from enactment of the 
Act (i.e., no later than December 29, 2027). The purposes of the COOs 
are to:
     COO1: Further achieve the purposes described above for the 
regional offices;
     COO2: Develop partnerships with local community 
organizations, institutions of higher education and/or research, and 
businesses to create tailored community-based programs that provide 
education regarding the patent system and promote the career benefits 
of innovation and entrepreneurship; and
     COO3: Educate prospective inventors, including individual 
inventors, small businesses, veterans, low-income populations, 
students, rural populations, and any geographic group of innovators 
that the Director may determine to be underrepresented in patent 
filings, about all public and private resources available to potential 
patent applicants, including the patent pro bono programs.
    The UAIA prohibits the establishment of a COO in the same state as 
the principal location of the USPTO (Virginia), or in a state that has 
a regional office (California, Colorado, Michigan, or Texas). The UAIA 
also requires that at least one of the COOs be established in the NNE 
region and serve the states of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Under 
the Act, the Office must give preference to locations where:
     NNECOO1: There is at least one private institution of 
higher education and at least one public institution of higher 
education;
     NNECOO2: There are no more than 15 registered patent 
attorneys based on information from the USPTO's Office of Enrollment 
and Discipline; and
     NNECOO3: According to data from the 2012 Survey of 
Business Owners conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, less than 45% of 
the firms are owned by women, minorities, or veterans.
    The USPTO will use quantitative metrics and criteria to inform the 
location selection for future ROs and COOs. The Office plans to 
consider the following classes of data (D) at a minimum:
     D1: Business demographics.
     D2: Concentration of research- and IP-intensive 
industries.
     D3: Socioeconomic and demographic metrics of the regional/
local population.
     D4: Availability and concentration of existing business 
development resources.
     D5: Overall geographic diversity of office locations.
    The USPTO welcomes input from all stakeholders on any matter that 
they believe is relevant to the overall planning and design of the 
USPTO RO and COOs, or the selection of locations for the new SERO or 
NNECOO. Commenters are encouraged to address any or all of the 
statutory considerations listed in the UAIA and summarized above, any 
other considerations they believe the USPTO should consider, and the 
questions listed below.
    Commenting Instructions: To be considered, comments must be 
submitted through the electronic form available at https://tinyurl.com/27srysh4. Please cite any public data that relates to or supports your 
responses. If data is available but non-public, describe such data to 
the extent permissible.

II. Specific Request for Comments: Planning and Design of Regional 
Offices and Community Outreach Offices

    With the addition of COOs to the agency's footprint, the USPTO 
envisions the joint mission of the ROs and COOs to be the cultivation 
and expansion of a vibrant and inclusive innovation and 
entrepreneurship ecosystem supported by intellectual property across 
the United States. To accomplish this mission, the offices will conduct 
broad stakeholder engagement with innovators ranging from individual 
inventors to multinational business entities; establish and leverage 
partnerships and relationships to scale the USPTO's work; incentivize 
regional innovation and entrepreneurship, especially in key emerging 
areas; and promote full participation by innovators and entrepreneurs 
of all backgrounds, including in rural areas and from our military, to 
support U.S. innovation and jobs.
    The USPTO invites responses to the following questions:

Regional offices

    1. Considering the envisioned mission above, what essential 
services--including outreach, education, customer service, convening 
space, and employee support--should a RO provide to achieve the 
statutory purposes?
    a. Do you prefer to have the services you identified delivered 
virtually? Why or why not?
    b. Do you prefer to have the services you identified delivered in 
person? Why or why not?
    2. What types of organizations should the RO pursue relationships 
and collaborations with to better leverage and scale its services?

Community Outreach Offices

    3. Considering the envisioned mission above, what essential 
services--including outreach, education, and customer service--should a 
COO provide to achieve the statutory purposes?
    a. Do you prefer to have the services you identified delivered 
virtually? Why or why not?
    b. Do you prefer to have the services you identified delivered in 
person? Why or why not?
    4. What types of organizations should the COO pursue relationships 
and collaborations with to better leverage and scale its services?
    5. Would you support a COO being co-located with other public 
sector entities/services?
    a. If so, please describe the added value of having a shared 
location.
    b. Which public sector entities/services would you suggest for the 
shared location(s)?
    c. If not, please describe the benefit of having a unique location 
for a COO.

General Comments Regarding Regional and Community Outreach Offices

    6. What unique services should the ROs and COOs individually 
provide, and how should the full range of services complement each 
other?
    7. Considering the potential classes of data listed in part I 
above, what additional key indicators or data would support future RO 
and COO site selection?
    8. What else should the USPTO consider when planning for the ROs 
and COOs?

III. Specific Request for Comments: Location of the Southeast Regional 
Office

    Given the statutory purposes and considerations of ROs, including 
those specific to the SERO, as discussed in part I, and the planning 
and design considerations identified in part II:
    9. What data would assist in assessing potential locations for the 
SERO site?
    10. What is an ideal location for the SERO? Describe how this 
location meets

[[Page 38849]]

the statutory purposes and considerations.
    11. What State or local government, legal, and business frameworks 
that support intellectual property-intensive industries are located 
near the recommended site?
    12. What else should the USPTO consider when determining the ideal 
location for the SERO?

IV. Specific Request for Comments: Location of the Northern New England 
Community Outreach Office

    Given the statutory purposes and considerations of COOs, including 
those specific to the NNECOO, as discussed in part I, and the planning 
and design considerations identified in part II:
    13. What data would assist in assessing potential locations for the 
NNECOO site?
    14. What is an ideal location for the NNECOO? Describe how this 
location meets the statutory purposes and considerations.
    15. What community organizations/businesses near the recommended 
office location could the USPTO collaborate with to help provide 
intellectual property education and promote the career benefits of 
innovation and entrepreneurship?
    16. What else should the USPTO consider when determining the ideal 
NNECOO?
    While the Office welcomes and values all comments from the public 
in response to this request, the comments submitted do not bind the 
Office to any further actions related to the comments, and the Office 
may not respond to any or every comment that is submitted. The Office 
will, however, consider all written submissions.
    Any and all decisions made with regard to the future locations of 
the RO and COOs will be made consistent with the criteria outlined in 
the UAIA and the goals and mission of the USPTO.

Katherine K. Vidal,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2023-12824 Filed 6-13-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P


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