Department of Commerce December 10, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On June 10, 2008, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) published the final rule that amends the rules governing practice before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) in ex parte patent appeals. The final rule states that the effective date is December 10, 2008, and that the final rule shall apply to all appeals in which an appeal brief is filed on or after the effective date. On June 9, 2008, the Office published a 60-Day Federal Register Notice requesting the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to establish a new information collection for BPAI items in the final rule and requesting public comment on the burden impact of the final rule under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). On October 8, 2008, the Office published a 30-Day Federal Register Notice stating that the proposal for the collection of information under the final rule was being submitted to OMB and requesting comments on the proposed information collection be submitted to OMB. The proposed information collection is currently under consideration by OMB. Since the review by OMB has not been completed, the Office is hereby notifying the public that the effective and applicability date of the final rule is not December 10, 2008. The effective and applicability dates will be identified in a subsequent notice.

Import Administration issues this interim final rule for the purpose of withdrawing the regulatory provisions governing the targeted dumping analysis in antidumping duty investigations.

On May 7, 2008, we published the preliminary results of changed-circumstances review of the antidumping duty order on ball bearings and parts thereof from Germany. See Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Changed-Circumstances Review, 73 FR 25663 (May 7, 2008) (Preliminary Results). Interested parties were invited to comment on these preliminary results. After reviewing parties' comments, we have affirmed the preliminary results and find that myonic GmbH is the successor-in-interest to Miniaturkugellager Gesellschaft mit beschr[auml]nkter Haftung (MKL).

On October 3, 2008, the Department of Commerce (the Department) published in the Federal Register the preliminary results of the new shipper review of the antidumping duty order on certain preserved mushrooms from the People's Republic of China (PRC) for Zhangzhou Golden Banyan Foodstuffs Industrial Co., Ltd. (Golden Banyan). See Certain Preserved Mushrooms From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty New Shipper Review, 73 FR 57597 (October 3, 2008) (Preliminary Results). We gave interested parties an opportunity to comment on the Preliminary Results, but we received no comments. Therefore, the final results do not differ from the preliminary results.

Notice is hereby given that Associated Scientists at Woods Hole (ASWH) (Dr. James Hain, Principal Investigator), Box 721, Woods Hole, MA 02543, has applied in due form for a permit to conduct research on North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) and other cetacean species.