Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 170 / Tuesday, September 5, 2023 / Notices 60667 

notified of the Council’s intent to takeaction to address the emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

The meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Requests for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aid should be directed to 

Kathy Pereira, (813) 348–1630, at least 

5 days prior to the meeting date. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 

Dated: August 29, 2023. 

Rey Israel Marquez, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19002 Filed 9–1–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Patent and Trademark Office 

[Docket No. PTO–T–2023–0037] 

Requiring Identity Verification for 

Attorney-Sponsored Accounts 

AGENCY: United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, U.S. Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO) announces 

that beginning on January 20, 2024, all 

existing and new attorney support staff 

with an attorney-sponsored USPTO.gov 

account will be required to verify their 

identity to access trademark filing 

systems. The USPTO is making this 

change after discovering that some U.S.- 

licensed attorneys have sponsored 

accounts for individuals who are not 

directly supervised attorney support 

staff, and that many of these sponsored 

accounts appear to be shared by 

multiple foreign agents and attorneys. 

These actions violate the Trademark 

Verified USPTO.gov Account 

Agreement (Agreement). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Robert Lavache, Office of the Deputy 

Commissioner for Trademark 

Examination Policy, USPTO, at 571– 

272–5881. You can also send inquiries 

to TMFRNotices@uspto.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In late 

2019, as part of the USPTO’s continuing 

efforts to protect the integrity of the U.S. 

trademark register, and to better protect 

its customers from scams and other 

fraudulent activities related to the 

trademark register, the USPTO began 

requiring customers to create a 

USPTO.gov account to access and 

submit electronic trademark forms. This 

enabled the USPTO to monitor 

trademark filing behavior and aided in 

enforcing the USPTO Trademark Rules 

of Practice regarding submissions in 

trademark matters. On August 6, 2022, 

the USPTO began requiring existing and 

new account holders who occupy one of 

the appropriate user roles, including 

owner, U.S.-licensed attorney, Canadian 

attorney, or Canadian agent, to verify 

their identity. See Trademarks 

USPTO.gov Account ID Verification 

Program (87 FR 41114). The USPTO also 

offered a user role for sponsored 

attorney support staff to establish 

USPTO.gov accounts when sponsored 

by a supervising U.S.-licensed (or a 

reciprocally recognized Canadian) 

attorney, and at the time did not require 

identity verification for sponsored 

support staff accounts. See 87 FR 41114. 

Since establishing the sponsored staff 

user roles, the USPTO has discovered 

that some U.S.-licensed attorneys have 

sponsored accounts for individuals who 

are not directly supervised attorney 

support staff, which violates the 

Agreement that applies to all 

USPTO.gov account holders. Many of 

these sponsored accounts appear to be 

used by multiple foreign agents and 

attorneys who file thousands of 

trademark applications involving 

violations of the USPTO’s Trademark 

Rules of Practice, including the rules on 

signatures and certifications. Because 

the sponsored account user role has 

been subject to abuse that has 

undermined the integrity of the 

trademark register and such abuse can 

be significantly curtailed by requiring 

identity verification of sponsored 

account holders, the USPTO will now 

require all existing and new attorney 

support staff who are USPTO.gov 

account holders to verify their identity. 

On October 14, 2023, the USPTO will 

make identity verification available to 

attorney support staff account holders. It 

will become mandatory for such 

account holders on January 20, 2024. 

Requiring identity verification of 

sponsored accounts will help enforce 

the ‘‘one person, one account’’ rule, 

better enable the USPTO to restrict nonattorneys from submitting trademark 

filings, and prevent rule violations by 

filing entities and other unauthorized 

users. It will also allow the USPTO to 

better track and eliminate the use of 

sponsored accounts created for 

unsupervised use by non-attorney 

entities. 

Trademark applicants and registrants, 

or their attorneys and support staff, 

must register for and use a USPTO.gov 

account to access and submit trademark 

application and maintenance filings 

with the USPTO. Users of a USPTO.gov 

account and any other USPTO web page 

or system are required to comply with 

the Terms of Use for USPTO web pages. 

Further, to file trademark documents 

electronically, users must have their 

identities verified, and are further 

bound by the Agreement. A verified 

account can only be connected to one 

USPTO.gov trademark account. 

Once qualified U.S.-licensed attorneys 

have a trademark verified USPTO.gov 

account, they may sponsor the 

USPTO.gov accounts of directly 

supervised support staff. Attorneys who 

abuse the terms of sponsorship may 

have their sponsorship privileges—and 

potentially their own verified 

accounts—revoked. However, under the 

current system, support staff can simply 

create new accounts using unverified 

information and seek attorney 

sponsorship again, sometimes by the 

same attorney. Requiring identity 

verification of sponsored accounts will 

allow the USPTO to consistently enforce 

the Agreement and ensure that a user of 

a sponsored account cannot create 

multiple accounts or create a new 

account and again be sponsored. 

The following examples demonstrate 

the impact of the problems caused by 

the inappropriate use of sponsored 

accounts. In one instance of abuse, an 

attorney sponsored more than 30 

different accounts used by individuals 

not under their direct supervision, and 

perhaps not even personally known to 

the attorney. In another example, an 

attorney sponsored multiple accounts 

for use by non-attorney trademark 

preparation or filing entities, which are 

not authorized to practice law, file 

submissions for clients, or represent 

parties before the USPTO in trademark 

matters. Several of these accounts have 

also been connected to known scams 

that have defrauded many trademark 

applicants. Each of these behaviors 

violates the terms of the Agreement to 

which each of these attorneys 

consented. In addition, some law firms 

are creating institutional accounts that 

appear to be intended for use by 

multiple people under generic names 

such as ‘‘Admin Support.’’ This practice 

impedes the ability of the USPTO to 

maintain an accurate filing history and 

violates the Agreement, even if no 

improper activities are intended. 

Under the revised procedures, both 

existing and new sponsored attorney 

support staff USPTO.gov account 

holders will need to verify their 

identity, using either the electronic or 

paper process, to access the Trademark 

Electronic Application System (TEAS). 

Identity verification will become 

available on October 14, 2023, for 

attorney support staff account holders to 

verify their identities. Existing 

unverified sponsored attorney support 


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60668 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 170 / Tuesday, September 5, 2023 / Notices 

staff USPTO.gov accounts will remain 

active, but will not be able to be used 

to access or submit trademark forms 

beginning on January 20, 2024, when 

identity verification will become 

mandatory for all users. As of January 

20, 2024, only verified account holders 

will be able to access and submit 

trademark forms. 

The USPTO reminds attorneys that 37 

CFR 11.503 establishes duties with 

respect to the supervision of nonpractitioner assistants, and 37 CFR 

11.505 forbids a practitioner from 

assisting in the unauthorized practice of 

law. 

Katherine K. Vidal, 

Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual 

Property and Director of the United States 

Patent and Trademark Office. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19000 Filed 9–1–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Navy 

Education for Seapower Advisory 

Board; Notice of Federal Advisory 

Committee Meeting 

AGENCY: Department of the Navy (DoN), 

Department of Defense (DoD). 

ACTION: Notice of Federal advisory 

committee meeting. SUMMARY: The 

DoD is publishing this notice to 

announce that the following Federal 

Advisory Committee meeting of the 

Education for Seapower Advisory Board 

(E4SAB) will take place. 

DATES: The meeting is open to the 

public and will be held on Friday, 

September 15, 2023 from 9:00 a.m. to 

5:00 p.m. Eastern Time Zone (ET). 

ADDRESSES: The open meeting will be 

held at the Admiral Gooding Center, 

Navy Yard, Washington, DC. The 

meeting will be handicap accessible. 

Escort is required. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Kendy Vierling, Designated Federal 

Officer (DFO), Office of the Assistant 

Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and 

Reserve Affairs), Pentagon, Washington, 

DC 20350–1000, 703–695–4589, 

kendy.k.vierling.civ@us.navy.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

meeting is being held under the 

provisions of chapter 10 of title 5, 

United States Code (U.S.C.)(commonly 

known as the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act (FACA) (formerly 5 

U.S.C. app.), as amended), the 

Government in the Sunshine Act of 

1976 (5 U.S.C. 552b, as amended), and 

title 41 Code of Federal Regulations 

(CFR) 102–3.140 and 102–3.150. 

Purpose of the Meeting: The purpose 

of the meeting is to discuss naval 

education programs, strategy and 

implementation, organizational 

management, and other matters of 

interest to the DoD, as determined by 

the Secretary of Defense, the Deputy 

Secretary of Defense, or the Secretary of 

the Navy (SECNAV). 

Agenda: On September 15, 2023, 

SECNAV may provide comments or 

guidance on naval education programs 

and the Department of the Navy’s Naval 

Education Strategy 2023. Discussions 

will be held on the Naval Education 

Strategy and implementation, and 

applicable lessons learned from the 

Education for Seapower Study (2018). 

The E4SAB will receive updates and 

recommendations from its three 

subcommittees, pertaining to aspects of 

accreditation requirements, operations, 

and administrative policies of the U.S. 

Naval War College, Naval Postgraduate 

School, and U.S. Naval Community 

College. 

Availability of Materials for the 

Meeting: A copy of the agenda or any 

updates to the agenda for the September 

15, 2023 meeting, as well as supporting 

documents, can be found on the 

website: https://www.secnav.navy.mil/ 

mra/e4sab. 

Meeting Accessibility: Pursuant to 

section 1009(a)(1) of title 5 U.S.C. and 

41 CFR 102–3.140 through 102–3.165, 

this meeting is open to the public from 

9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (ET) on 

September 15, 2023. Members of the 

public who wish to attend the meeting 

in person may attend on a space 

available basis from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 

p.m. (ET). Persons desiring to attend the 

meeting are required to submit their 

name, organization, email address, and 

telephone contact information to Ms. 

Tiphany Morales at 

tiphany.e.morales.civ@us.navy.mil no 

later than Tuesday, September 5, 2023. 

Special Accommodations: Individuals 

requiring special accommodations to 

access the public meeting should 

contact Ms. Tiphany Morales at 

tiphany.e.morales.civ@us.navy.mil no 

later than Tuesday, September 5, 2023 

(by 5:00 p.m. ET) so that appropriate 

arrangements can be made. 

Written Statements: Pursuant to 41 

CFR 102–3.105 and 102–3.140, and 

section 1009(a)(3) of title 5 U.S.C., 

written statements to the committee 

may be submitted at any time or in 

response to a stated planned meeting 

agenda by email to Dr. Kendy Vierling 

at kendy.k.vierling.civ@us.navy.mil with 

the subject line, ‘‘Comments for E4SAB 

Meeting.’’ Written comments pertaining 

to a specific topic being discussed at the 

planned meeting received no later than 

5:00 p.m. (ET) on Monday, September 

11, 2023 will be distributed to the 

E4SAB, in the order received. 

Comments pertaining to the agenda 

items will be discussed during the 

public meeting. Any written statements 

received after the deadline may not be 

provided to, or considered by, the 

Committee during the September 15, 

2023 meeting, but will be provided to 

the members of the E4SAB prior to the 

next scheduled meeting. Any comments 

received by the E4SAB will be posted 

on the website https://

www.secnav.navy.mil/mra/e4sab. 

Dated: August 29, 2023. 

J.E. Koningisor, 

Lieutenant Commander, Judge Advocate 

General’s Corps, U.S. Navy, Federal Register 

Liaison Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19007 Filed 9–1–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3810–FF–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Navy 

Notice of Availability of Record of 

Decision for the Disposal of 

Decommissioned, Defueled ExEnterprise (CVN 65) and its Associated 

Naval Reactor Plants Environmental 

Impact Statement/Overseas 

Environmental Impact Statement 

AGENCY: Department of the Navy (DoN), 

Department of Defense (DoD). 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: After carefully weighing the 

environmental, strategic, and 

operational consequences of the 

Proposed Action, DoN announces its 

decision to select Alternative 3 

(Commercial Dismantlement), the 

Preferred Alternative, from the Disposal 

of Decommissioned, Defueled ExEnterprise (CVN 65) and its Associated 

Naval Reactor Plants Final 

Environmental Impact Statement/ 

Overseas Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS/OEIS), published in the 

Federal Register on June 30, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: The complete text of the 

Record of Decision (ROD) is available on 

the project website at: 

www.carrierdisposaleis.com, along with 

the Final EIS/OEIS and supporting 

documents. Printed copies of the Final 

EIS/OEIS and ROD are also available for 

viewing at these public libraries: 

1. Kitsap Regional Library, Downtown 

Bremerton Branch, 612 Fifth St., 

Bremerton, WA 98337. 

2. Richland Public Library, 955 

Northgate Dr., Richland, WA 99352. 


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