78 FR 156 pgs. 49260-49262 - Trademark Public Advisory Committee
Type: NOTICEVolume: 78Number: 156Pages: 49260 - 49262
Pages: 49260, 49261, 49262Docket number: [Docket No. PTO-C-2013-0038]
FR document: [FR Doc. 2013-19495 Filed 8-12-13; 8:45 am]
Agency: Commerce Department
Sub Agency: Patent and Trademark Office
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No. PTO-C-2013-0038]
Trademark Public Advisory Committee
AGENCY:
United States Patent and Trademark Office.
ACTION:
Notice and request for nominations for the Trademark Public Advisory Committee.
SUMMARY:
[top] On November 29, 1999, the President signed into law the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act (the "Act"), Pubic Law 106-113, which, among other things, established two Public Advisory Committees to review the policies, goals, performance, budget and user fees of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) with respect to patents, in the case of the
DATES:
Nominations must be postmarked or electronically transmitted on or beforeSeptember 30, 2013.
ADDRESSES:
Persons wishing to submit nominations should send the nominee's resume toJohn W. Cabeca, Senior Advisor, Office of the Under Secretary of Commerce for IntellectualProperty and Director of the USPTO, Post Office Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia, 22313-1450;by electronic mail to TPACnominations@uspto.gov; by facsimile transmission marked to theSenior Advisor's attention at (571) 273-0464; or by mail marked to the Senior Advisor'sattention and addressed to the Office of the Under Secretary of Commerce for IntellectualProperty and Director of the USPTO, Post Office Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia, 22313-1450.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
John W. Cabeca, Senior Advisor, Office ofthe Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, byfacsimile transmission marked to his attention at (571) 273-0464, or by mail marked to hisattention and addressed to the Office of the Under Secretary of Commerce for IntellectualProperty and Director of the USPTO, Post Office Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia, 22313-1450.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The Trademark Public Advisory Committee dutiesinclude:
• Review and advise the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Directorof the USPTO on matters relating to policies, goals, performance, budget, and user fees ofthe USPTO relating to trademarks; and
• Within 60 days after the end of each fiscal year: (1) Prepare an annual report onmatters listed above; (2) transmit the report to the Secretary of Commerce, thePresident, and the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the House ofRepresentatives; and (3) publish the report in the Official Gazette of the USPTO.
Advisory Committee
The Trademark Public Advisory Committee is composed of nine (9) voting members who are appointed by the Secretary of Commerce (the "Secretary") and serve at the pleasure of the Secretary for three-year terms. Members are eligible for reappointment for a second consecutive three-year term. The Trademark Public Advisory Committee members shall be citizens of the United States and shall represent small and large entity applicants located in the United States in proportion to the number of applications filed by such applicants. The Committee shall include individuals with "substantial backgrounds and achievement in finance, management, labor relations, science, technology, and office automation." 35 U.S.C. 5(b)(3). The Committee also includes three (3) non-voting members representing each labor organization at the USPTO. Administration policy discourages the appointment of federally registered lobbyists to agency advisory boards and commissions (Lobbyists on Agency Boards and Commissions, http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/09/23/lobbyist-agency-boards-and-commissions (Sept. 23, 2009, 2:33PM EST)); cf. Exec. Order No. 13490, 74 FR 4673 (January 21,2009) (While Executive Order 13490 does not specifically apply to federally registered lobbyistsappointed by agency or department heads, it sets forth the Administration's general policy ofdecreasing the influence of special interests in the Federal Government).
Procedures and Guidelines of the Trademark Public Advisory Committee
Each newly appointed member of the Trademark Public Advisory Committee shall serve a termof approximately three (3) years beginning December 6, 2013, and ending on December 1, 2016. See AIA Technical Corrections Act, § l(2)(B) (transition to December 1 as start and end date forterms). As required by the 1999 Act, members of the Trademark Public Advisory Committeewill receive compensation for each day (including travel time) while the member is attendingmeetings or engaged in the business of the Committee. The enabling statute states that membersare to be compensated at the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay in effect for level IIIof the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of Title 5, United States Code. Committeemembers are compensated on an hourly basis, calculated at the daily rate. While away fromhome or regular place of business, each member shall be allowed travel expenses, including perdiem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by Section 5703 of Title 5, United States Code.
Applicability of Certain Ethics Laws
Public Advisory Committee Members shall be Special Government Employees within the meaning of Section 202 of Title 18, United States Code. The following additional information includes several, but not all, of the ethics rules that apply to members, and assumes that members are not engaged in Public Advisory Committee business more than 60 days during any period of 365 consecutive days.
• Each member is required to file a confidential financial disclosure form within thirty(30) days of appointment. 5 CFR 2634.202(c), 2634.204, 2634.903, and 2634.904(b).
• Each member will be subject to many of the public integrity laws, including criminal barsagainst representing a party in a particular matter that came before the member's committeeand that involved at least one specific party. 18 U.S.C. 205(c); see also 18 U.S.C.207 for post-membership bars. A member also must not act on a matter in which themember (or any of certain closely related entities) has a financial interest. 18 U.S.C. 208.
• Representation of foreign interests may also raise issues. 35 U.S.C. 5(a)(1) and 18 U.S.C.219.
Meetings of the Trademark Public Advisory Committee
[top] Meetings of the Trademark Public Advisory Committee will take place at the call of theCommittee Chair to consider an agenda set by that Chair. Meetings may be conducted in person,telephonically, on-line through the Internet, or by other appropriate means. The meetings ofthe Advisory Committee will be open to the public except the Committee may, by majority vote,meet in executive session when considering personnel, privileged, or other confidentialinformation. Nominees must have the ability to participate in Committee business through theInternet.
Procedures for Submitting Nominations
Submit resumés for nomination for the Trademark Public Advisory Committee to:John W. Cabeca, Senior Advisor, Office of the Under Secretary of Commerce for IntellectualProperty and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, utilizing the addressesprovided above.
Dated: July 23, 2013.
Teresa Stanek Rea,
Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Acting Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2013-19495 Filed 8-12-13; 8:45 am]
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