Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 181 / Wednesday, September 20, 2023 / Notices 64889 

(FMP) among harvesters, processors, 

and coastal communities. Regulations 

implementing the FMP and the CR 

Program are at 50 CFR part 680. 

Information on the CR Program is 

posted on the NMFS Alaska Region 

website at https://www.fisheries.

noaa.gov/alaska/sustainable-fisheries/ 

bering-sea-and-aleutian-islands-crabrationalization-program. 

This information collection includes 

the forms used by participants in the CR 

Program to apply for or renew permits; 

transfer or lease individual fishing quota 

(IFQ), individual processor quota (IPQ), 

quota share (QS), or processor quota 

share (PQS); and apply for exemption 

from regional delivery requirements. 

This information collection also 

includes the following reports for which 

no collection forms are used: 

• The North or South Region Delivery 

Exemption Report is submitted by IFQ 

holders who signed a preseason 

application. This report provides NMFS 

with the means to assess how the 

industry is exercising the exemption 

opportunity and whether implementing 

regulations are sufficient to meet the 

North Pacific Fishery Management 

Council’s Statement of Intent for 

Amendment 41 to the FMP. 

• The Community Impact Report or 

IPQ Holder Report is submitted by a 

community entity or IPQ holder, 

respectively, and provides 

documentation needed by NMFS to 

evaluate the efficacy of privately 

administered contracts. 

• The CDQ Group Notification of 

Community Representative is submitted 

by the Western Alaska Community 

Development Quota (CDQ) groups 

representing Saint Paul and Saint 

George to designate to NMFS a single 

entity as the regional representative for 

these two communities. 

• The Eligible Crab Community 

Organization (ECCO) Annual Report is 

submitted by the ECCO. It details the 

use of the crab QS and IFQ and is 

intended to ensure that the ECCO 

maintains the QS and IFQ to benefit 

residents of eligible communities. 

II. Method of Collection 

The information is collected primarily 

by mail and fax. The following may be 

submitted online through eFISH on the 

NMFS Alaska Region website: The 

Application for Transfer (Lease) of Crab 

IPQ, the Application for Transfer (Lease) 

of Crab IFQ, the Application for 

Transfer of IFQ between Crab 

Harvesting Cooperatives, and renewals 

of registered crab receiver permits and 

Federal crab vessel permits. 

Applications are available as fillable 

pdfs on the NMFS Alaska Region 

website at https://www.fisheries.

noaa.gov/permit/bering-sea-andaleutian-islands-crab-rationalizationapplications-and-reporting-forms. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0514. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Review: Regular submission 

(extension of a current information 

collection). 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households; business or other for-profit 

organizations; not-for-profit institutions. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

496. 

Estimated Time per Response: 

Application for Annual Crab IFQ 

Permit: 2.5 hours; Application for 

Annual Crab IPQ Permit: 2 hours; 

Application for Annual Crab Harvesting 

Cooperative IFQ Permit: 23 hours; 

Application for Registered Crab 

Receiver (RCR) Permit: 30 minutes; 

Application for BSAI Crab Hired Master 

(skipper) Permit: 1 hour; Application for 

Federal Crab Vessel Permit (FCVP): 20 

minutes; Application for Transfer of 

Crab QS: 2 hours; Application for 

Transfer of Crab PQS: 2.5 hours; 

Application for Transfer (lease) of Crab 

IFQ: 2.5 hours; Application for Transfer 

of IFQ between Crab Harvesting 

Cooperatives; 2 hours; Application for 

Transfer (Lease) of Crab IPQ: 2.5 hours; 

Application for Converted CPO QS and 

CPO IFQ: 30 minutes; Application for 

CR Program Eligibility to Receive QS/ 

PQS or IFQ/IPQ by Transfer: 2 hours; 

Application for Annual Exemption from 

Western Aleutian Islands Golden King 

Crab West Region Delivery 

Requirements: 2 hours; Application for 

Exemption from CR Crab North or South 

Region Delivery Requirements: 20 

hours; North or South Region Delivery 

Exemption Report: 20 hours; Voluntary 

Community Impact Report or IPQ 

Holder Report (N or S Response Report): 

2 hours; CDQ Group Notification of 

Community Representative: 5 hours; 

Application to Become an ECCO: 2.5 

hours; Application for Transfer of Crab 

QS/IFQ to or from an ECCO: 2 hours; 

ECCO Annual Report: 4 hours; BSAI 

Crab Rationalization Program QS 

Beneficiary Designation Form: 30 

minutes; File an Appeal to NMFS 

Decisions: 4 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 3,597 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: $11,430 in recordkeeping and 

reporting costs. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary; 

Required to Obtain or Retain Benefits; 

Mandatory. 

Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 

IV. Request for Comments 

We are soliciting public comments to 

permit the Department/Bureau to: (a) 

Evaluate whether the proposed 

information collection is necessary for 

the proper functions of the Department, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the 

accuracy of our estimate of the time and 

cost burden for this proposed collection, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; (c) 

Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and (d) Minimize the 

reporting burden on those who are to 

respond, including the use of automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. 

Comments that you submit in 

response to this notice are a matter of 

public record. We will include or 

summarize each comment in our request 

to OMB to approve this ICR. Before 

including your address, phone number, 

email address, or other personal 

identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you may ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, 

Commerce Department. 

[FR Doc. 2023–20377 Filed 9–19–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Patent and Trademark Office 

[Docket No. PTO–P–2023–0008] 

Elimination of the Postal Postcard in 

the Patent Center Electronic Office 

Action Program 

AGENCY: United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) 

transitioned to the Patent Center 

Electronic Office (e-Office) Action 

program in April 2023. The Patent 

Center e-Office Action program is 

designed to modernize the e-Office 


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64890 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 181 / Wednesday, September 20, 2023 / Notices 

action process and further streamline 

the USPTO’s service delivery processes. 

The USPTO furnishes a courtesy 

postcard to Patent Center e-Office 

Action program users as a reminder 

when there are available USPTO 

communications that have not been 

viewed or downloaded after a period of 

time. With the transition, the USPTO 

introduced a new option to receive the 

courtesy postcard by email (e-postcards) 

rather than by postal mail (postal 

postcards). In view of the new option to 

receive e-postcards, the USPTO 

requested public comments on 

eliminating the postal postcard for all 

Patent Center e-Office Action program 

users. The USPTO is now eliminating 

the postal postcard as an option for all 

Patent Center e-Office Action program 

users. 

DATES: The option to receive a courtesy 

postal postcard under the Patent Center 

e-Office Action program will no longer 

be available as of October 20, 2023. 

Patent Center e-Office Action program 

users may manually opt in to receiving 

e-postcards prior to that date. As of 

October 20, 2023, e-postcards will be 

the only option for the courtesy 

postcard, and the USPTO will 

automatically switch over any Patent 

Center e-Office Action program users 

who have not already opted in to 

receiving e-postcards. The USPTO will 

continue to mail postal postcards for 

seven days after October 20, 2023 for 

any unviewed correspondence in the 

queue as of October 20, 2023 for those 

program users who were receiving 

postal postcards prior to that date. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Eugenia A. Jones, Senior Legal Advisor, 

Office of Patent Legal Administration, at 

571–272–7727; or Kristie A. Mahone, 

Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Patent 

Legal Administration, at 571–272–9016; 

or patentpractice@uspto.gov. For 

technical questions, please contact the 

Patent Electronic Business Center (EBC) 

at 1–866–217–9197 (toll-free), 571–272– 

4100 (local), or ebc@uspto.gov. The 

Patent EBC is open from 6 a.m. to 

midnight ET, Monday–Friday. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In April 

2023, the USPTO migrated all 

participants from the Private PAIR eOffice Action program to the Patent 

Center e-Office Action program. The 

USPTO informed the public of the 

migration in advance. See Patent Center 

Electronic Office Action Program, 88 FR 

20138 (Apr. 5, 2023) (April 2023 

Notice). 

Under the current Patent Center eOffice Action program, users have the 

option to receive either a courtesy postal 

postcard through the United States 

Postal Service or a courtesy e-postcard 

by email. Courtesy reminder postcards 

are sent when none of the Office 

communications listed in the email 

notification have been viewed or 

downloaded in Patent Center within 

seven calendar days after the date of the 

notification and at least one of the listed 

Office communications requires the 

applicant’s reply. In the April 2023 

Notice, the USPTO requested comments 

on eliminating the courtesy postal 

postcard as an option. The USPTO 

received one comment in response to 

the request for comments. The 

commenter did not express any views 

on eliminating the postal postcard and 

only made a general comment about 

Patent Center. 

The USPTO has determined that 

maintaining postal postcards is not 

necessary. Eliminating the postal 

postcard will reduce paper waste and 

mitigate the impact of potential postal 

delays. Furthermore, exclusively using 

e-postcards will enable the USPTO to 

continue to furnish courtesy reminders 

while more effectively streamlining 

service delivery processes. Therefore, 

the USPTO is eliminating the postal 

postcard as an option for all Patent 

Center e-Office Action program users. 

Instead, the USPTO will send a courtesy 

e-postcard notifying Patent Center eOffice Action program users if none of 

the Office communications listed in the 

email notification are viewed or 

downloaded through Patent Center 

within seven calendar days after the 

date of the email notification and at 

least one of the Office communications 

requires an applicant’s reply. The 

USPTO will email courtesy e-postcards 

to the same email addresses assigned to 

the Customer Number for the 

correspondence address. 

Participation in the Patent Center eOffice Action program will continue to 

be optional. Additional information on 

the Patent Center e-Office Action 

Program is available at www.uspto.gov/ 

patents/apply/checking-applicationstatus/e-office-action-program. 

Katherine K. Vidal, 

Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual 

Property and Director of the United States 

Patent and Trademark Office. 

[FR Doc. 2023–20351 Filed 9–19–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–16–P 

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket No. CPSC–2023–0033] 

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances 

(PFAS) in Consumer Products 

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of availability and 

request for information. 

SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety 

Commission (Commission or CPSC) is 

publishing this notice to request 

information on per- and polyfluoroalkyl 

substances (PFAS) used in commerce or 

potentially used in consumer products, 

potential exposures associated with the 

use of PFAS in consumer products, and 

potential human health effects 

associated with exposures to PFAS from 

their use in consumer products. This 

notice also includes the availability 

information of a related contractor 

report. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted by November 20, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: You can submit comments, 

identified by Docket No. CPSC–2023– 

0033, by any of the following methods: 

Electronic Submissions: Submit 

electronic comments to 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Do not submit through this website: 

confidential business information, trade 

secret information, or other sensitive or 

protected information that you do not 

want to be available to the public. CPSC 

typically does not accept comments 

submitted by email, except as described 

below. 

Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier/ 

Confidential Written Submissions: CPSC 

encourages you to submit electronic 

comments by using 

www.regulations.gov. You may, 

however, submit comments by mail, 

hand delivery, or courier to: Office of 

the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety 

Commission, 4330 East-West Highway, 

Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone: (301) 

504–7479. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

include the agency name and docket 

number. CPSC may post all comments 

without change, including any personal 

identifiers, contact information, or other 

personal information provided to 

www.regulations.gov. If you wish to 

submit confidential business 

information, trade secret information, or 

other sensitive or protected information 

that you do not want to be available to 

the public, you may submit such 

comments by mail, hand delivery, or 


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