Department of Commerce 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to the ``Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence'' (October 30, 2023), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) is issuing inventorship guidance for inventions assisted by artificial intelligence (AI). The guidance provides clarity for USPTO stakeholders and personnel, including the Central Reexamination Unit and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB or Board), on how the USPTO will analyze inventorship issues as AI systems, including generative AI, play a greater role in the innovation process. This guidance explains that while AI-assisted inventions are not categorically unpatentable, the inventorship analysis should focus on human contributions, as patents function to incentivize and reward human ingenuity. Patent protection may be sought for inventions for which a natural person provided a significant contribution to the invention, and the guidance provides procedures for determining the same. Finally, the guidance discusses the impact these procedures have on other aspects of patent practice. The USPTO is seeking public comments on this inventorship guidance for AI-assisted inventions.

NMFS proposes to approve and implement Framework Adjustment 38 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan (FMP) that establishes scallop specifications and other management measures for fishing years 2024 and 2025. Framework 38 would implement measures to protect small scallops to support rotational access area trips to the fleet in future years. This action would also revise regulatory text that is unnecessary, outdated, or unclear. This action is necessary to prevent overfishing and improve both yield-per-recruit and the overall management of the Atlantic sea scallop resource.

NMFS has approved nine companies to provide Northeast multispecies sector at-sea catch monitoring (ASM) and/or electronic catch monitoring (EM) services in fishing year 2024. Regulations implementing the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan require ASM and EM companies to meet service provider performance standards to be approved by NMFS to provide catch monitoring services to sectors. This action approves service providers that sectors may contract with for catch monitoring services for fishing year 2024.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Highly Migratory Species Advisory Subpanel (HMSAS) is holding an online meeting.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team (CPSMT) and Coastal Pelagic Species Advisory Subpanel (CPSAS) will hold public meetings.

On December 19, 2023, the Department of Commerce, published a 30-day public comment period notice in the Federal Register for an information collection entitled ``NMFS Observer Programs' Information That can be Gathered Only Through Questions.'' This document referenced incomplete information in the Needs and Uses section, and Commerce hereby issues a correction notice as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

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 U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) finds that Zhejiang Xingyi Metal Products Co., Ltd. (ZXM)/Xingyi Metalworking Technology (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd. (XMT) (collectively, ZXM/XMT) and Hangzhou Evernew Machinery & Equipment Company Limited/Zhejiang Yinghong Metalworks Co., Ltd. (Hangzhou Evernew) made sales of certain metal lockers and parts thereof (metal lockers) from the People's Republic of China (China) during the period of review (POR), February 11, 2021, through July 31, 2022.

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 U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) continues to determine that the sole respondent under review, Duracell (China) Limited (DCL), is not eligible for a separate rate and is therefore a part of the China-wide entity. The period of review (POR) is October 1, 2021, through September 30, 2022.

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, and implementing regulations, notification is hereby given that a Letter of Authorization (LOA) has been issued to the Virginia Electric and Power Company, doing business as Dominion Energy Virginia (Dominion Energy), for the taking of marine mammals incidental to the construction of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Commercial (CVOW-C) Project (hereafter known as the ``CVOW-C Project'' or the ``Project'').

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 North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Bering Sea Fishery Ecosystem Plan Climate Change Taskforce will meet February 26, 2024.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Ad Hoc Ecosystem Workgroup (EWG) is holding an online meeting, which is open to the public.

This advance notice of proposed rulemaking seeks comment on the benefits or disadvantages of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) potentially setting future restrictions, resulting in subsequent rulemakings from NMFS, in the Atlantic the coastal migratory pelagics fishery and the dolphin and wahoo fishery, and the snapper- grouper fishery in the South Atlantic. The Council recently set a control date of December 8, 2023. That control date, and an existing control date of June 15, 2016, may both be used to create restrictions limiting participation in the exclusive economic zone for the Federal charter vessel/headboat (for-hire) components of the recreational sectors of the coastal migratory pelagics fishery in the Atlantic, dolphin and wahoo fishery in the Atlantic, and snapper-grouper fishery in the South Atlantic. The Council is considering a future action that may affect or limit the number of participants in the fishery, and stresses that participants should locate and preserve all relevant, fishing-related documents. If such an action is developed, approved, and implemented through a Council decision and a subsequent rulemaking by NMFS, future access to the fishery after the control date would not be assured. NMFS is informing the public of the new control date, in part, to promote awareness of the potential changes to eligibility criteria for future access so as to discourage speculative entry into the Federal for-hire components of the Atlantic coastal migratory pelagics, Atlantic dolphin and wahoo, or the South Atlantic snapper- grouper fisheries, while the Council and NMFS consider whether and how access to these for-hire components should be managed.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) has received requests to conduct administrative reviews of various antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders with December anniversary dates. In accordance with Commerce's regulations, we are initiating those administrative reviews.

This proposed rule would amend the Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) regulation by providing administrative changes to well-established standards and procedures. This proposed rule would: clarify existing standards and procedures by which BIS may provide Special Priorities Assistance (SPA); revise Schedule I to provide transparency and differentiation between other departments' priorities jurisdiction and the Department of Commerce's jurisdiction; and provide technical edits to reflect certain non-substantive updates since the DPAS regulation was last amended in 2014, including providing updated contact information, legal citations, and definitions.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to BGH Edelstahl Siegen GmbH (BGH), a producer and exporter of forged steel fluid end blocks (fluid end blocks) from the Federal Republic of Germany (Germany). The period of review (POR) is January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022.

The Department of Commerce is currently seeking applications for membership on the United States Investment Advisory Council. The purpose of the Council is to advise the Secretary of Commerce on strategies to attract and retain foreign direct investment to the United States.

NMFS is reallocating the projected unused amounts of the Aleut Corporation and the Community Development Quota (CDQ) pollock directed fishing allowance (DFA) from the Aleutian Islands subarea to the Bering Sea subarea. This action is necessary to provide the opportunity for the harvest of the 2024 total allowable catch (TAC) of pollock, consistent with the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI).

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily finds that certain producers/exporters subject to this administrative review made sales of subject merchandise at less than normal value (NV) during the period of review (POR) January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022. We are rescinding this administrative review, in part, with respect to 20 companies. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of certain softwood lumber products (softwood lumber) from Canada during the period of review (POR), January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022. With respect to four companies, we are rescinding this administrative review because the companies are excluded from the countervailing duty (CVD) order on softwood lumber from Canada. Additionally, with respect to 70 companies, we are rescinding this administrative review because either the request for review of the company was timely withdrawn or the company did not have any reviewable entries of subject merchandise during the POR. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) continues to determine that the sole respondent under review, VidaXL Ningbo Industry Co., Ltd. (VidaXL), is not eligible for a separate rate and is, therefore, part of the China-wide entity. The period of review (POR) is January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022.

A Request for Panel Review was filed in the matter of Softwood Lumber from Canada: Final Determinations of the Five-Year Reviews of the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders with the U.S. Section of the USMCA Secretariat on January 29, 2024. The final results were determined by the United States International Trade Commission and were published in the Federal Register on December 28, 2023. The USMCA Secretariat has assigned case number USA-CDA-2024-10.12-01 to this request.