Agency Information Collection Activities; Extension and Revision of Collection; Consumer Focus Groups and Other Qualitative Studies, 10051-10052 [2024-02901]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 13, 2024 / Notices G. Benefit/Priority Claims to Prior-Filed Applications statement should be filed on behalf of an AI system, even if the AI system made contributions to one or more claims in a patent application. F. Applicant and Ownership The word ‘‘applicant,’’ when used in 37 CFR, refers to the inventor or all joint inventors, or to the person applying for a patent as provided in 37 CFR 1.43, 1.45, or 1.46.87 The original applicant is presumed to be the owner of the patent application unless there is an assignment.88 As the ownership of a patent or application for a patent initially vests in the named inventors 89 and is thereafter transferrable through assignments, there is no change in practice for AI-assisted inventions with regard to the applicant or assignment of ownership rights.90 The named inventor or joint inventors may seek patent rights as the applicant under § 1.45. Alternatively, the named inventor or joint inventors may assign their ownership rights to an assignee (e.g., employer, owner or developer of the AI system, or other appropriate party), who may then file a patent application under § 1.46 or take action in a patent matter under § 3.73. ‘‘Assignment,’’ in general, is the act of transferring to another the ownership of one’s property, i.e., the interest and rights to the property.91 Because an AI system cannot be a named inventor, it has no rights to assign; therefore, assignments from AI systems should not be recorded with the USPTO. This guidance only applies to recording the assignments and other documents related to interests in patent applications and patents in the USPTO and does not apply to contractual or licensing agreements between parties owning and using AI systems in the invention creation process. Applicants should keep in mind that the recording of assignments and other related documents by the USPTO is a ministerial act, and assignments and other related documents are contracts that are governed by the relevant jurisdictional law.92 87 37 CFR 1.42(a). 37 CFR 3.73(a); see also MPEP 301(I). 89 See Beech Aircraft, 990 F.2d at 1248 (‘‘At the heart of any ownership analysis lies the question of who first invented the subject matter at issue, because the patent right initially vests in the inventor who may then, barring any restrictions to the contrary, transfer that right to another, and so forth.’’). 90 See MPEP 301. 91 See MPEP 301 (subsection II). 92 See MPEP 301 (subsections II and V). lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1 88 See VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:57 Feb 12, 2024 Jkt 262001 Applications and patents claiming the benefit of, or priority to, a prior application filed in the United States or a foreign country under 35 U.S.C. 119, 120, 121, 365, or 386 must name the same inventor or have at least one joint inventor in common with the prior-filed application.93 For all applications and patents, including those that cover AIassisted inventions, the prior-filed application and the United States application or patent claiming the benefit of, or priority to, the prior-filed application must name the same natural person as the inventor, or have at least one joint inventor who is a natural person in common. Therefore, a priority claim to a foreign application that names an AI system as the sole inventor will not be accepted. This policy also applies to U.S. patent applications and patents claiming priority to foreign applications that allow the naming of non-natural persons as joint inventors. For a U.S. application claiming priority to a foreign application that names both a natural person(s) and a non-natural person as a joint inventor, the application data sheet accompanying the application filed in the United States must list as inventor(s) only the natural person(s) who significantly contributed to the invention, including one in common with the foreign application. Similarly, for an application entering the national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371 where the international application indicates a joint inventor that is not a natural person, applicants can comply with the U.S. inventorship requirement by naming the natural person(s) who significantly contributed to the invention in an application data sheet accompanying the initial submission under 35 U.S.C. 371.94 Katherine Kelly Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. 10051 CFTC Headquarters Conference Center, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street NW, Washington, DC. STATUS: Open. MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (‘‘Commission’’ or ‘‘CFTC’’) will hold this meeting to consider the following matters: • Proposed Rule: Requirements for Designated Contract Markets and Swap Execution Facilities Regarding Governance and the Mitigation of Conflicts of Interest Impacting Market Regulation Functions; • Proposed Rule: Foreign Boards of Trade; • Proposed Rule: Regulations to Address Margin Adequacy and to Account for the Treatment of Separate Accounts by Futures Commission Merchants; • Application of Taiwan Futures Exchange Corporation for an Exemption from Registration as a DCO; and • ICE NGX Petition for Amended DCO Registration Order. The agenda for this meeting will be available to the public and posted on the Commission’s website at https:// www.cftc.gov. Members of the public are free to attend the meeting in person, or have the option to listen by phone or view a live stream. Instructions for listening to the meeting by phone and connecting to the live video stream will be posted on the Commission’s website. In the event that the time, date, or place of this meeting changes, an announcement of the change, along with the new time, date, or place of the meeting, will be posted on the Commission’s website. CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: Christopher Kirkpatrick, Secretary of the Commission, 202–418–5964. PLACE: (Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552b) Dated: February 8, 2024. Christopher Kirkpatrick, Secretary of the Commission. [FR Doc. 2024–02997 Filed 2–9–24; 11:15 am] BILLING CODE 6351–01–P [FR Doc. 2024–02623 Filed 2–12–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–16–P CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION Sunshine Act Meetings 12:30 p.m. EST, Thursday, February 15, 2024. TIME AND DATE: 93 See MPEP 213.02 (subsection II), 211.01, 1895, 2920.05(e). 94 See 37 CFR 1.76; MPEP 1893.01(e). PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 [Docket No. CPSC–2010–0046] Agency Information Collection Activities; Extension and Revision of Collection; Consumer Focus Groups and Other Qualitative Studies Consumer Product Safety Commission. ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment. AGENCY: E:\FR\FM\13FEN1.SGM 13FEN1 10052 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 13, 2024 / Notices As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC or Commission) announces that the Commission has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for extension of approval of a collection of information from persons who may voluntarily participate in consumer focus groups. CPSC has also requested a revision of that collection. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) previously approved the collection of information under Control Number 3041–0136. OMB’s most recent extension of approval will expire on March 31, 2024. On November 28, 2023, CPSC published a notice in the Federal Register to announce the agency’s intention to seek extension of approval of the collection of information. The Commission received no comments. Therefore, by publication of this notice, the Commission announces that CPSC has submitted to the OMB a request for extension of approval of that collection of information. DATES: Submit comments on the collection of information by March 14, 2024. ADDRESSES: Submit comments about this request by email: OIRA_ submission@omb.eop.gov or fax: 202– 395–6881. Comments by mail should be sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for the CPSC, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503. In addition, written comments that are sent to OMB also should be submitted electronically at https:// www.regulations.gov, under Docket No. CPSC–2010–0046. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Gillham, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; (301) 504–7791, or by email to: pra@cpsc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: CPSC seeks to extend the following currently approved collection of information, and to revise it to include additional forms of qualitative studies: Title: Focus Groups and Other Qualitative Studies. OMB Number: 3041–0136. Type of Review: Extension and revision of collection. Frequency of Response: On occasion. Affected Public: Consumers. Estimated Number of Respondents: CPSC estimates that this collection will involve 2,620 participants, including prospective focus group participants who are screened but ultimately not selected for participation. lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1 SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:57 Feb 12, 2024 Jkt 262001 Estimated Time per Response: We estimate that the average response time for each participant will be 1.1 hours. Total Estimated Annual Burden: Based on CPSC’s estimates that 2,620 participants will each spend an average of 1.1 hours responding to the collection, CPSC estimates that the total annual burden of this collection is 2,882 hours. The annualized cost to respondents for the information collection is $124,675.32 (2,882 hours × $43.26/hour), as estimated from total compensation data available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.1 General Description of Collection: Section 5(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), 15 U.S.C. 2054(a), authorizes the Commission to conduct studies and investigations relating to the causes and prevention of deaths, accidents, injuries, illnesses, other health impairments, and economic losses associated with consumer products. Section 5(b) of the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. 2054(b), further provides that the Commission may conduct research, studies, and investigations on the safety of consumer products. The Commission may also test consumer products and develop product safety test methods and testing devices. To help identify and evaluate product-related incidents, Commission staff invites and obtains direct feedback from consumers on issues related to product safety, such as recall effectiveness, product use, and perceptions regarding safety issues. The information that CPSC collects from future focus groups—including usability studies and ethnographic studies for consumer products, which are being added to this revised collection—will help inform the Commission’s identification and evaluation of consumer products and product uses by providing insight and information into consumer perceptions and usage patterns. In some cases, one-on-one interviews may be conducted as a more in-depth extension of a focus group, or in place of a traditional focus group or study. This information may also assist the Commission in its efforts to support voluntary standards activities and help CPSC identify emerging consumer safety issues requiring additional research. In addition, based on the information obtained, CPSC may be able to improve the readability and comprehension of 1 Total hourly compensation for all civilian workers is estimated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to be $43.26: Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2023, Table 1, (https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/ecec_ 09122023.pdf). PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 safety information provided to the public. Alberta E. Mills, Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission. [FR Doc. 2024–02901 Filed 2–12–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6355–01–P DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army [Docket ID: USA–2024–HQ–0002] Proposed Collection; Comment Request Department of the Army, Department of Defense (DoD). ACTION: 60-Day information collection notice. AGENCY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Army Research Institute (ARI) for the Behavioral and Social Sciences 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 April 15, 2024. 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, Regulatory Directorate, 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 SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\13FEN1.SGM 13FEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 30 (Tuesday, February 13, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10051-10052]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02901]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

[Docket No. CPSC-2010-0046]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Extension and Revision 
of Collection; Consumer Focus Groups and Other Qualitative Studies

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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[[Page 10052]]

SUMMARY: As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC or Commission) announces that 
the Commission has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) a request for extension of approval of a collection of 
information from persons who may voluntarily participate in consumer 
focus groups. CPSC has also requested a revision of that collection. 
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) previously approved the 
collection of information under Control Number 3041-0136. OMB's most 
recent extension of approval will expire on March 31, 2024. On November 
28, 2023, CPSC published a notice in the Federal Register to announce 
the agency's intention to seek extension of approval of the collection 
of information. The Commission received no comments. Therefore, by 
publication of this notice, the Commission announces that CPSC has 
submitted to the OMB a request for extension of approval of that 
collection of information.

DATES: Submit comments on the collection of information by March 14, 
2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments about this request by email: 
[email protected] or fax: 202-395-6881. Comments by mail 
should be sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Attn: OMB Desk Officer for the CPSC, Office of Management and Budget, 
Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503. In addition, 
written comments that are sent to OMB also should be submitted 
electronically at https://www.regulations.gov, under Docket No. CPSC-
2010-0046.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Gillham, Consumer Product 
Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; (301) 
504-7791, or by email to: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: CPSC seeks to extend the following currently 
approved collection of information, and to revise it to include 
additional forms of qualitative studies:
    Title: Focus Groups and Other Qualitative Studies.
    OMB Number: 3041-0136.
    Type of Review: Extension and revision of collection.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Affected Public: Consumers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: CPSC estimates that this 
collection will involve 2,620 participants, including prospective focus 
group participants who are screened but ultimately not selected for 
participation.
    Estimated Time per Response: We estimate that the average response 
time for each participant will be 1.1 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden: Based on CPSC's estimates that 2,620 
participants will each spend an average of 1.1 hours responding to the 
collection, CPSC estimates that the total annual burden of this 
collection is 2,882 hours. The annualized cost to respondents for the 
information collection is $124,675.32 (2,882 hours x $43.26/hour), as 
estimated from total compensation data available from the U.S. Bureau 
of Labor Statistics.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Total hourly compensation for all civilian workers is 
estimated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to be $43.26: 
Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2023, Table 1, 
(https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/ecec_09122023.pdf).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    General Description of Collection: Section 5(a) of the Consumer 
Product Safety Act (CPSA), 15 U.S.C. 2054(a), authorizes the Commission 
to conduct studies and investigations relating to the causes and 
prevention of deaths, accidents, injuries, illnesses, other health 
impairments, and economic losses associated with consumer products. 
Section 5(b) of the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. 2054(b), further provides that the 
Commission may conduct research, studies, and investigations on the 
safety of consumer products. The Commission may also test consumer 
products and develop product safety test methods and testing devices.
    To help identify and evaluate product-related incidents, Commission 
staff invites and obtains direct feedback from consumers on issues 
related to product safety, such as recall effectiveness, product use, 
and perceptions regarding safety issues. The information that CPSC 
collects from future focus groups--including usability studies and 
ethnographic studies for consumer products, which are being added to 
this revised collection--will help inform the Commission's 
identification and evaluation of consumer products and product uses by 
providing insight and information into consumer perceptions and usage 
patterns. In some cases, one-on-one interviews may be conducted as a 
more in-depth extension of a focus group, or in place of a traditional 
focus group or study. This information may also assist the Commission 
in its efforts to support voluntary standards activities and help CPSC 
identify emerging consumer safety issues requiring additional research. 
In addition, based on the information obtained, CPSC may be able to 
improve the readability and comprehension of safety information 
provided to the public.

Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2024-02901 Filed 2-12-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P
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