Department of Commerce January 10, 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is publishing guidelines for USPTO employees to use, regardless of the technology, for ascertaining compliance with the enablement requirement of the patent laws during the examination of utility patent applications and the review of utility patents in light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Amgen Inc. et al. v. Sanofi et al. These guidelines, which also inform the public of the USPTO's practices, provide that when considering whether claims in a utility patent application or patent are enabled, USPTO personnel will continue to use the In re Wands factors to ascertain whether the amount of experimentation required to enable the full scope of the claimed invention is reasonable. Publishing these guidelines will promote consistent analysis of the enablement requirement of the patent laws by USPTO employees and will result in clearer USPTO communications to applicants, patentees, and relevant third parties concerning any deficiencies in enablement compliance. These guidelines will also promote the consistent treatment of enablement, both by the patent examining corps in patent applications and reexamination proceedings and by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in ex parte appeals and post-patent issuance proceedings.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that Shanghai Tainai Bearing Co., Ltd. (Tainai) sold tapered roller bearings and parts thereof, finished and unfinished, (TRBs) from the People's Republic of China (China) at less than normal value (NV) during the period of review (POR), June 1, 2021, through May 31, 2022.

Notice is hereby given that Sean Todd, Ph.D., College of the Atlantic, 105 Eden Street, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, has applied in due form for a permit for scientific research on marine mammal parts.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a 4-day hybrid meeting to consider actions affecting the Gulf of Mexico fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

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) order and countervailing duty (CVD) order on cast iron soil pipe fittings (soil pipe fittings) from the People's Republic of China (China) would likely lead to a continuation or recurrence of dumping, countervailable subsidies, and material injury to an industry in the United States, Commerce is publishing a notice of continuation of the AD and CVD orders.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that tin mill products from the Republic of Turkey (Turkey) are not being, or are not likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV) for the period of investigation January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that tin mill products from the Netherlands are not being, or are not likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV) for the period of investigation January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that imports of tin mill products from Germany are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation is January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that imports of tin mill products from the People's Republic of China (China) are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less-than-fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation is July 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is announcing the Public Engagement Partnership meeting series to facilitate increased engagement with the public about the patent system. The USPTO will host the first meeting of the Public Engagement Partnership series virtually and in person at the USPTO headquarters on March 1, 2024. The purpose of this meeting is to provide education about the patent system and to share ideas, experiences, and insights related to the administration of the system.