Department of Commerce April 11, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Based on affirmative final determinations by the Department of Commerce (the ``Department'') and the International Trade Commission (``ITC''), the Department is issuing a countervailing duty order on drawn stainless steel sinks (``drawn sinks'') from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'').

NMFS will hold two public workshops to solicit input from stakeholders regarding our advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) on potential management measures to protect glacially-associated harbor seal habitats in Alaska (78 FR 15669; March 12, 2013). During the workshops NMFS will present information regarding harbor seal habitat usage and available research on the effects of vessel disturbance. NMFS will seek input as to whether management measures are needed, and if so, what types of measures should be considered.

This notice sets forth the schedule of a forthcoming meeting of the DoC NOAA National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee (NCADAC). Time and Date: The meeting will be held Monday, May 13, 2013 from 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Eastern time. Place: This meeting will be a conference call. Public access and materials will be available at the office of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, Conference Room A, Suite 250, 1717 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20006. The public will not be able to dial into the call. Please check the National Climate Assessment Web site for additional information at https://www.globalchange.gov/what-we-do/ assessment. Status: The meeting will be open to public participation with a 10- minute public comment period from 4:45-4:55 p.m. The NCADAC expects that public statements presented at its meetings will not be repetitive of previously submitted verbal or written statements. In general, each individual or group making a verbal presentation will be limited to a total time of two minutes. Written comments should be received in the NCADAC DFO's office by Monday, May 6, 2013 to provide sufficient time for NCADAC review. Written comments received by the NCADAC DFO after Monday, May 6, 2013 will be distributed to the NCADAC, but may not be reviewed prior to the meeting date. Special Accommodations: These meetings are physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for special accommodations may be directed no later than 12 p.m. on Monday, May 6, 2013 to Dr. Cynthia Decker, SAB Executive Director, SSMC3, Room 11230, 1315 East-West Hwy., Silver Spring, MD 20910.

The Patent Law Treaties Implementation Act of 2012 (PLTIA) amends the patent laws to implement the provisions of the Hague Agreement Concerning International Registration of Industrial Designs (Hague Agreement) in title I, and the Patent Law Treaty (PLT) in title II. The PLT harmonizes and streamlines formal procedures pertaining to the filing and processing of patent applications. This notice proposes changes to the rules of practice for consistency with the changes in the PLT and title II of the PLTIA. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) is implementing the Hague Agreement and title I of the PLTIA in a separate rulemaking. The notable changes in the PLT and title II of the PLTIA pertain to: (1) The filing date requirements for a patent application; (2) the restoration of patent rights via the revival of abandoned applications and acceptance of delayed maintenance fee payments; and (3) the restoration of the right of priority to a foreign application or the benefit of a provisional application via the permitting of a claim to priority to a foreign application or the benefit of a provisional application in a subsequent application filed within two months of the expiration of the twelve-month period (six- month period for design applications) for filing such a subsequent application.