268 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 4, 2012 / Notices 

requests harassment of 13,600 harbor 

seals annually from ground surveys, and 

50,000 annually from vessel surveys and 

playback experiments. The geographic 

locations of the proposed study are the 

Washington State inland waters of the 

Salish Sea: two haul-out sites in Puget 

Sound and four haul-out sites in the 

vicinity of Sucia Island, in the San Juan 

Islands. 

In compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), an initial 

determination has been made that the 

activity proposed is categorically 

excluded from the requirement to 

prepare an environmental assessment or 

environmental impact statement. 

Concurrent with the publication of 

this notice in the Federal Register, 

NMFS is forwarding copies of the 

application to the Marine Mammal 

Commission and its Committee of 

Scientific Advisors. 

Dated: December 28, 2011. 

P. Michael Payne, 

Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–33765 Filed 1–3–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XA914 

Marine Mammals; File No. 16998 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

Mr. Gregory Walker, University of 

Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK has 

applied for a permit to conduct research 

on Steller sea lions (Eumetopias 

jubatus) in Alaska. 

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email 

comments must be received on or before 

February 3, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: The application and related 

documents are available for review by 

selecting ‘‘Records Open for Public 

Comment’’ from the Features box on the 

Applications and Permits for Protected 

Species (APPS) home page, https:// 

apps.nmfs.noaa.gov, and then selecting 

File No. 16998 from the list of available 

applications. 

These documents are also available 

upon written request or by appointment 

in the following offices: 

Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 

1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, 

Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone (301) 

427–8401; fax (301) 713–0376; and 

Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 

21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668; phone 

(907) 586–7221; fax (907) 586–7249. 

Written comments on this application 

should be submitted to the Chief, 

Permits and Conservation Division, at 

the address listed above. Comments may 

also be submitted by facsimile to (301) 

713–0376, or by email to 

NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Please 

include the File No. in the subject line 

of the email comment. 

Those individuals requesting a public 

hearing should submit a written request 

to the Chief, Permits and Conservation 

Division at the address listed above. The 

request should set forth the specific 

reasons why a hearing on this 

application would be appropriate. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Tammy Adams or Laura Morse, (301) 

427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

subject permit is requested under the 

authority of the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act of 1972, as amended 

(MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the 

regulations governing the taking and 

importing of marine mammals (50 CFR 

part 216), the Endangered Species Act of 

1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 

et seq.), the regulations governing the 

taking, importing, and exporting of 

endangered and threatened species (50 

CFR parts 222–226), and the Fur Seal 

Act of 1966, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1151 

et seq.). 

The objective of the project is to 

demonstrate novel methods for imaging 

Steller sea lion terrestrial habitat in the 

Aleutian Islands with the accuracy and 

fidelity necessary for population 

surveys and at a cost low enough to 

allow frequent monitoring. Ship-based 

unmanned aircraft would be used for 

low-altitude (75 to 120 meters) aerial 

surveys of rookeries and haul outs 

between March and December 2012. A 

permit is requested for harassment of 

13,000 Steller sea lions, 200 harbor seals 

(Phoca vitulina), 10 killer whales 

(Orcinus orca), 10 humpback whales 

(Megaptera novaeangliae), and 10 

northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus). 

The permit is requested for a period of 

one year. 

In compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), an initial 

determination has been made that the 

activities proposed are consistent with 

the Preferred Alternative in the Final 

Programmatic Environmental Impact 

Statement for Steller Sea Lion and 

Northern Fur Seal Research (NMFS 

2007), and that issuance of the permit 

would not have a significant adverse 

impact on the human environment. 

Concurrent with the publication of 

this notice in the Federal Register, 

NMFS is forwarding copies of the 

application to the Marine Mammal 

Commission and its Committee of 

Scientific Advisors. 

Dated: December 28, 2011. 

P. Michael Payne, 

Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–33766 Filed 1–3–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XA888 

Marine Mammals; File No. 15682 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that a 

permit has been issued to Mithriel 

MacKay, Texas A&M University at 

Galveston, Galveston, TX 75003 to 

conduct research on humpback whales 

(Megaptera novaeangliae). 

ADDRESSES: The permit and related 

documents are available for review 

upon written request or by appointment 

in the following offices: 

Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 

1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, 

Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone (301) 

427–8401; fax (301) 713–0376; and 

Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th 

Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, FL 

33701; phone (727) 824–5312; fax (727) 

824–5309. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kristy Beard or Joselyd Garcia-Reyes, 

(301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 

4, 2011, notice was published in the 

Federal Register (76 FR 18533) that a 

request for a permit to conduct research 

on humpback whales off Puerto Rico 

had been submitted by the above-named 

applicant. The requested permit has 

been issued under the authority of the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, 

as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the 

regulations governing the taking and 

importing of marine mammals (50 CFR 


wreier-aviles on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 4, 2012 / Notices 269 

part 216), the Endangered Species Act of 

1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 

et seq.), and the regulations governing 

the taking, importing, and exporting of 

endangered and threatened species (50 

CFR parts 222–226). 

The permit authorizes up to 700 

humpback whales to be harassed each 

year during vessel-based photoidentification, behavioral observation, 

and passive acoustic recording. The 

applicant requested that we remove the 

original request for divers to conduct 

underwater photography from the 

application. Whales will be harassed 

year-round, with efforts focused from 

October through July. The permit is 

valid for five years from the date of 

issuance. 

An environmental assessment (EA) 

was prepared analyzing the effects of 

the permitted activities on the human 

environment in compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). Based on 

the analyses in the EA, NMFS 

determined that issuance of the permit 

would not significantly impact the 

quality of the human environment and 

that preparation of an environmental 

impact statement was not required. That 

determination is documented in a 

Finding of No Significant Impact 

(FONSI), signed on December 16, 2011. 

As required by the ESA, issuance of 

this permit was based on a finding that 

such permit: (1) Was applied for in good 

faith; (2) will not operate to the 

disadvantage of such endangered 

species; and (3) is consistent with the 

purposes and policies set forth in 

section 2 of the ESA. 

Dated: December 29, 2011. 

P. Michael Payne, 

Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–33761 Filed 1–3–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

United States Patent and Trademark 

Office 

Matters Related to Patent Appeals 

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment 

request. 

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO), as part of its 

continuing effort to reduce paperwork 

and respondent burden, invites the 

general public and other Federal 

agencies to take this opportunity to 

comment on this new information 

collection, as required by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104– 

13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before March 5, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• Email: InformationCollection@

uspto.gov. Include ‘‘0651–00xx Matters 

Related to Patent Appeals comment’’ in 

the subject line of the message. 

• Mail: Susan K. Fawcett, Records 

Officer, Office of the Chief Information 

Officer, United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, 

Alexandria, VA 22313–1450. 

• Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information 

should be directed to Raul Tamayo, 

Legal Advisor, Office of Patent Legal 

Administration, United States Patent 

and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, 

Alexandria, VA 22313–1450; by 

telephone at (571) 272–7728; or by 

email to Raul.Tamayo@uspto.gov. 

Additional information about this 

collection is also available at http://

www.reginfo.gov under ‘‘Information 

Collection Review.’’ 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

During its examination of an 

application for patent or for reissue of 

a patent, or during its reexamination of 

a patent, the United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO) makes many 

decisions of a substantive nature which 

the applicant or patent owner may feel 

deny him or her the patent protection to 

which he or she is entitled. Where the 

differences of opinion on such matters 

concern the denial of patent claims 

because of prior art or other 

patentability issues, the questions 

thereby raised are said to relate to the 

merits, and a procedure for appealing to 

the Board of Patent Appeals and 

Interferences has long been provided by 

statute (35 U.S.C. 134). 

Applicants and patent owners initiate 

the appeal procedure by filing a Notice 

of Appeal. At the time of filing a Notice 

of Appeal, applicants and patent owners 

may request that a panel of examiners 

formally review the legal and factual 

basis of the rejections in their 

application prior to the filing of an 

Appeal Brief, by filing a Pre-Appeal 

Brief Request for Review. In addition, 

applicants and patent owners who 

desire an oral hearing before the Board 

may request the hearing by filing a 

Request for Oral Hearing Before the 

Board of Patent Appeals and 

Interferences. 

Currently, Notices of Appeal, 

Requests for Oral Hearing, and Preappeal Brief Requests for Review are 

covered under 0651–0031 Patent 

Processing (Updating). The USPTO has 

determined that it would be beneficial 

to transfer these items out of 0651–0031 

and into their own collection. Therefore, 

the USPTO is requesting the creation of 

a new collection which will transfer the 

three existing notices and requests out 

of the 0651–0031 inventory into a new 

collection of information titled ‘‘Matters 

Related to Patent Appeals.’’ For a 

complete listing of the items covered by 

this collection, please see the table in 

Section III of this notice. 

The information in this collection can 

be submitted electronically through 

EFS–Web, the USPTO’s Web-based 

electronic filing system, as well as on 

paper. The USPTO is taking this 

opportunity to account for the electronic 

submissions in this collection. 

There are forms associated with the 

Notices of Appeal (PTO/SB/31), the 

Requests for Oral Hearing Before the 

Board of Patent Appeals and 

Interferences (PTO/SB/32), and the Preappeal Brief Requests for Review (PTO/ 

SB/33). Therefore, after approval, this 

collection will have three forms. 

II. Method of Collection 

By mail, facsimile, or hand delivery to 

the USPTO when an applicant files the 

various notices or requests. The 

remaining papers can also be filed as 

attachments through EFS–Web. 

III. Data 

OMB Number: 0651–00xx. 

Form Number(s): PTO/SB/31/32/33. 

Type of Review: New information 

collection. 

Affected Public: Businesses or other 

for-profits; and not-for-profit 

institutions. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

54,500 responses per year, with an 

estimated 10,940 submitted by small 

entities. Of the total responses, the 

USPTO expects that 50,700 will be 

submitted through EFS–Web. 

Estimated Time per Response: The 

USPTO estimates that it will take the 

public approximately 12 minutes (0.20 

hours) to complete the information in 

this collection, with the exception of the 

Pre-appeal Brief Requests for Review, 

which the USPTO estimates will take 

approximately 5 hours to complete. 

These estimated times include gathering 

the necessary information, creating the 

documents, and submitting the 

completed request to the USPTO. The 

USPTO calculates that, on balance, it 

takes the same amount of time to gather 

the necessary information, create the 


wreier-aviles on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES