Department of Commerce May 18, 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) submitted Amendment 14 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Salmon Fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Off Alaska (Salmon FMP) to the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) for review. If approved, Amendment 14 would incorporate the Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea into the Salmon FMP's West Area, thereby bringing the Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea and the commercial salmon fisheries that occur within it under Federal management by the Council and NMFS. Amendment 14 would manage the Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea by applying the prohibition on commercial salmon fishing that is currently established in the West Area to the newly added Cook Inlet EEZ Subarea. Amendment 14 is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Salmon FMP, and other applicable laws.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) published notice in the Federal Register of May 12, 2021, in which Commerce made a preliminary affirmative determination of sales at less than fair value (LTFV) of thermal paper from Germany. This notice failed to include language regarding the suspension of liquidation for Papierfabrik August Koehler SE (Koehler) during the critical circumstances period.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency of the United States Department of Commerce, has designated the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport as the U.S. Designated Institute (DI) for Underwater Acoustics Measurements to meet the needs of the national security of the United States. This designation is in accordance with the Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) of the Comit[eacute] International des Poids et Mesures (CIPM), to which NIST is a signatory as the National Measurement Institute (NMI) of the United States. Section 6.1 of the MRA allows NIST to designate a laboratory other than itself to participate in the CIPM key comparisons on behalf of its nation and to be responsible for disseminating the national measurement standards relevant to a particular measurand if a substantial and demonstrable scientific need, trade barrier to an industry in the United States, or a national security need is addressed by such designation and such need cannot be addressed by NIST.

The Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau) is giving notice of a virtual meeting of the National Advisory Committee (NAC). The Committee will address ongoing outreach efforts needed to assist with the designing of a differential privacy suite for the 2020 Census data products that will meet programmatic, legal, and statistical requirements, including work on both the primary and secondary disclosure avoidance systems. The Committee will also finalize its recommendations from the Spring NAC meeting. Last-minute changes to the schedule are possible, which could prevent giving advance public notice of schedule adjustments. Please visit the Census Advisory Committees website at https://www.census.gov/cac for the NAC meeting information, including the agenda, and how to join the meeting.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) proposes to amend the rules of practice in trademark cases to implement provisions of the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020. The proposed rule establishes ex parte expungement and reexamination proceedings for cancellation of a registration when the required use in commerce of the registered mark has not been made; provides for a new nonuse ground for cancellation before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board; establishes flexible Office action response periods; and amends the existing letter-of-protest rule to indicate that letter-of-protest determinations are final and non-reviewable. The USPTO also proposes to set fees for petitions requesting institution of ex parte expungement and reexamination proceedings, and for requests to extend Office action response deadlines. Amendments are also proposed for the rules concerning the suspension of USPTO proceedings and the rules governing attorney recognition in trademark matters. Finally, a new rule is proposed to address procedures regarding court orders cancelling or affecting registrations.