Department of Commerce 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS has received a request from Revolution Wind, LLC (Revolution Wind), a 50/50 joint venture between [Oslash]rsted North America, Inc. ([Oslash]rsted) and Eversource Investment, LLC, for Incidental Take Regulations (ITR) and an associated Letter of Authorization (LOA). The requested regulations would govern the authorization of take, by Level A harassment and/or Level B harassment, of small numbers of marine mammals over the course of 5 years (2023- 2028) incidental to construction of the Revolution Wind Offshore Wind Farm Project offshore of Rhode Island in a designated lease area on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS-A-0486), within the Rhode Island- Massachusetts Wind Energy Area (RI/MA WEA). Project activities likely to result in incidental take include pile driving (impact and vibratory), potential unexploded ordnance (UXO/MEC) detonation, and vessel-based site assessment surveys using high-resolution geophysical (HRG) equipment. NMFS requests comments on its proposed rule. NMFS will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the promulgation of the requested ITR and issuance of the LOA; agency responses to public comments will be summarized in the final notice of our decision. The proposed regulations would be effective October 5, 2023-October 4, 2028.

NMFS received a request from the United States Navy (Navy) for the renewal of their currently active incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to take marine mammals incidental to Fuel Pier Inboard Pile Removal Project at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego Bay, California. These activities consist of activities that are covered by the current authorization but will not be completed prior to its expiration. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act, prior to issuing the currently active IHA, NMFS requested comments on both the proposed IHA and the potential for renewing the initial authorization if certain requirements were satisfied. The renewal requirements have been satisfied, and NMFS is now providing an additional 15-day comment period to allow for any additional comments on the proposed renewal not previously provided during the initial 30-day comment period.

To continue to support the acceleration of innovations in the fight against COVID-19 during the public health emergency, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) is extending the modified COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program, which provides prioritized examination of certain patent applications. Requests that are compliant with the pilot program's requirements and are filed on or before February 15, 2023, will be accepted. The USPTO will evaluate whether to further extend the program during this extension period.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) is amending its notice of final results for the 2020 administrative review of the countervailing duty (CVD) order on certain softwood lumber products (softwood lumber) from Canada.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Bering Sea Fishery Ecosystem Plan Local Knowledge, Traditional Knowledge, and Subsistence Taskforce (LKTKS) will be held January 5, 2023.

The 2023 Interim Meeting of the National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) will be held in-person at the Hyatt Regency Savannah in Savannah, Georgia from Sunday, January 8 through Wednesday, January 11, 2023. This notice contains information about significant items on the NCWM Committee agendas but does not include all agenda items. As a result, the items are not consecutively numbered.

As a result of the determinations by the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) that revocation of the antidumping duty (AD) orders on certain hot- rolled steel flat products (hot-rolled steel) from Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea (Korea), the Netherlands, the Republic of Turkey (Turkey), and the United Kingdom would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping and material injury to an industry in the United States, Commerce is publishing a notice of continuation of the AD orders for these countries. Further, as a result of Commerce's and the ITC's determinations that the countervailing duty (CVD) order on hot- rolled steel from Korea would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of net countervailable subsidies and material injury to an industry in the United States, Commerce is publishing a notice of continuation CVD order for Korea. Finally, as a result of the ITC's determination that revocation of the AD and CVD orders on hot-rolled steel from Brazil is not likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury to an industry in the United States, Commerce is revoking the AD and CVD orders on hot-rolled steel from Brazil.

NMFS has received a request from TerraSond Limited (TerraSond) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to marine site characterization surveys in federal waters offshore of North Carolina and South Carolina in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Commercial Lease of Submerged Lands for Renewable Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf (Lease) Areas OCS-A 0545 and OCS-A 0546 (also referred to [by BOEM] as the ``Carolina Long Bay Lease Areas.'' Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to incidentally take marine mammals during the specified activities. NMFS is also requesting comments on a possible one-time, one-year renewal that could be issued under certain circumstances and if all requirements are met, as described in Request for Public Comments at the end of this notice. NMFS will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the issuance of the requested MMPA authorization and agency responses will be summarized in the final notice of our decision.

NMFS issues final specifications for the 2023 Atlantic bluefish fishery, as recommended by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. This action is necessary to establish allowable harvest levels for the stock to prevent overfishing and promote rebuilding, while enabling optimum yield, using the best scientific information available.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that certain producers/exporters of refillable stainless steel kegs (kegs) from the People's Republic of China (China) received countervailable subsidies during the period of review (POR) from January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020. In addition, we are rescinding the review with respect to 35 companies. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and United States Copyright Office (USCO) (collectively, the Offices) published a request for comments in the Federal Register on November 23, 2022, seeking comments from the public on various intellectual property (IP) law and policy issues associated with non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Through this notice, the Offices are extending the period for written public comment until February 3, 2023. In addition, the Offices are changing the dates of the public roundtables in this study.

The Secretary of Commerce, through the Office of Trade and Economic Analysis (``OTEA''), issued an Export Trade Certificate of Review to CPEC on December 7, 2022.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is continuing to modernize and streamline its patent application systems to support robust and reliable patent rights, speed the issuance of patents, and reduce the costs and barriers of global patent protection. The submission of patent applications in DOCX format facilitates the USPTO's ongoing efforts. The USPTO recognizes that, during the transition, some applicants have been hesitant to file patent applications in DOCX format. On April 28, 2022, the USPTO announced that, for a temporary period, ending on December 31, 2022, it was providing patent applicants with the option to submit an applicant- generated PDF version of the application along with the DOCX file(s) when filing an application in Patent Center. Based on stakeholder requests, the USPTO is extending the temporary period during which patent applicants have the option to submit an applicant-generated PDF of the application along with the validated DOCX file(s) when filing an application in Patent Center through June 30, 2023. To encourage greater adoption of DOCX so that the USPTO can move forward with its other modernization and harmonization efforts, there is no change to the January 1, 2023, effective date of the non-DOCX filing surcharge fee.

The Secretary of Commerce, through the Office of Trade and Economic Analysis (``OTEA'') of the International Trade Administration, has received an application for an amended Export Trade Certificate of Review (``Certificate''). This notice summarizes the proposed amendment and seeks public comments on whether the amended Certificate should be issued.

Based on affirmative final determinations by the Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the International Trade Commission (ITC), Commerce is issuing the antidumping duty order on certain superabsorbent polymers (SAP) from the Republic of Korea (Korea).

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

The Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction (ACEHR or Committee) will hold an open meeting on Wednesday, February 8, 2023, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time and Thursday, February 9, 2023, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Mountain Time. The primary purpose of this meeting is for the Committee to review the latest activities of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) and to discuss the Committee's 2023 Biennial Report on the Effectiveness of NEHRP. The final agenda will be posted on the NEHRP website at https:// nehrp.gov/.

The Department of Commerce is amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding thirty-six entities to the Entity List. These entities have been determined by the U.S. Government to be acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States and will be listed on the Entity List under the destinations of the People's Republic of China (China) and Japan. This rule also revises three entries on the Entity List under the destination of China. Lastly, as a conforming change to the addition of one entity to the Entity List under the destination of China, this rule removes this entity from the Unverified List (UVL). The entity is being added to the Entity List for reasons not related to the prevention of an end-use check and is removed from the UVL for consistency with the existing policy of not listing an entity on more than one of these lists at the same time.