Department of Commerce July 21, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office or PTO) is proposing to revise the standard for materiality for the duty to disclose information in patent applications and reexamination proceedings in light of the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit or Court) in Therasense, Inc. v. Becton, Dickinson & Co. Specifically, the Office is proposing to revise the materiality standard for the duty to disclose to match the materiality standard, as defined in Therasense, for the inequitable conduct doctrine. While Therasense does not require the Office to harmonize the materiality standards underlying the duty of disclosure and the inequitable conduct doctrine, the Office believes that there are important reasons to do so. The materiality standard set forth in Therasense should reduce the frequency with which applicants and practitioners are being charged with inequitable conduct, consequently reducing the incentive to submit information disclosure statements containing marginally relevant information and enabling applicants to be more forthcoming and helpful to the Office. At the same time, it should also continue to prevent fraud on the Office and other egregious forms of misconduct. Additionally, harmonization of the materiality standards is simpler for the patent system as a whole.

Notice is hereby given of two meetings via web conference call of the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee (Committee). The web conference calls are open to the public, and participants can dial in to the calls. Participants who choose to use the web conferencing feature in addition to the audio will be able to view the presentations as they are being given. Members of the public wishing to listen in should contact Denise Ellis-Hibbett at the email or telephone number below for the call-in number and passcode.

NMFS is implementing measures specified in Framework Adjustment 22 (Framework 22) to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan (FMP), which was developed and adopted by the New England Fishery Management Council (Council). The specifications in Framework 22 are based on, and are being implemented in conjunction with, the management measures in Amendment 15 to the FMP (Amendment 15) that establish the process for setting annual catch limits (ACLs) and accountability measures (AMs) to bring the FMP into compliance with the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). The purpose of Framework 22 is to set the following scallop management measures for the 2011 through 2013 fishing years (FYs): The overfishing limit (OFL), acceptable biological catches (ABC), ACLs, and annual catch targets (ACTs) for both the limited access (LA) and limited access general category (LAGC) fleets; open area days-at-sea (DAS) and Sea Scallop Access Area (access area) trip allocations; DAS adjustments if an access area yellowtail flounder (YTF) total allowable catch (TAC) is caught; LAGC-specific allocations, including access area trip allocations for vessels with individual fishing quotas (IFQs), the Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) TAC, and the incidental target TAC; management measures to minimize impacts of incidental take of sea turtles as required by the March 14, 2008, Atlantic Sea Scallop Biological Opinion (Biological Opinion); and the elimination of the default Georges Bank (GB) access area rotation schedule. Consistent with proposed measures in Amendment 15, Framework 22 sets FY 2013 management measures as precautionary default measures, to be applied if a new biennial framework adjustment is not implemented by the start of FY 2013.