Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 49 / Tuesday, March 13, 2012 / Notices 14765 

specified activity on marine mammals 

and their habitat, and taking into 

consideration the implementation of the 

mitigation and monitoring measures, 

NMFS preliminarily finds that SIO’s 

planned research activities, will result 

in the incidental take of small numbers 

of marine mammals, by Level B 

harassment only, and that the total 

taking from the marine seismic survey 

will have a negligible impact on the 

affected species or stocks of marine 

mammals; and that impacts to affected 

species or stocks of marine mammals 

have been mitigated to the lowest level 

practicable. 

Impact on Availability of Affected 

Species or Stock for Taking for 

Subsistence Uses 

Section 101(a)(5)(D) also requires 

NMFS to determine that the 

authorization will not have an 

unmitigable adverse effect on the 

availability of marine mammal species 

or stocks for subsistence use. There are 

no relevant subsistence uses of marine 

mammals in the study area (offshore 

waters of the south-eastern Pacific 

Ocean off of Chile) that implicate 

MMPA section 101(a)(5)(D). 

Endangered Species Act 

Of the species of marine mammals 

that may occur in the proposed survey 

area, several are listed as endangered 

under the ESA, including the 

humpback, sei, fin, blue, and sperm 

whale. Under section 7 of the ESA, NSF 

has initiated formal consultation with 

the NMFS, Office of Protected 

Resources, Endangered Species Act 

Interagency Cooperation Division, on 

this proposed seismic survey. NMFS’s 

Office of Protected Resources, Permits 

and Conservation Division, has initiated 

formal consultation under section 7 of 

the ESA with NMFS’s Office of 

Protected Resources, Endangered 

Species Act Interagency Cooperation 

Division, to obtain a Biological Opinion 

evaluating the effects of issuing the IHA 

on threatened and endangered marine 

mammals and, if appropriate, 

authorizing incidental take. NMFS will 

conclude formal section 7 consultation 

prior to making a determination on 

whether or not to issue the IHA. If the 

IHA is issued, NSF and SIO, in addition 

to the mitigation and monitoring 

requirements included in the IHA, will 

be required to comply with the Terms 

and Conditions of the Incidental Take 

Statement corresponding to NMFS’s 

Biological Opinion issued to both NSF 

and NMFS’s Office of Protected 

Resources. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) 

With its complete application, NSF 

and SIO provided NMFS a draft 

‘‘National Environmental Policy Act 

Analysis Pursuant to Executive Order 

12114 of a Marine Geophysical Survey 

by the R/V Melville in the South-Eastern 

Pacific Ocean, May 2012’’ and NMFS 

will prepare an Environmental 

Assessment (EA) titled ‘‘Issuance of an 

Incidental Harassment Authorization to 

the Scripps Institution of Oceanography 

to Take Marine Mammals by 

Harassment Incidental to a Marine 

Geophysical Survey in the SouthEastern Pacific Ocean, May, 2012.’’ This 

EA will incorporate the NSF’s NEPA 

analysis by reference pursuant to 40 

CFR 1502.21 and NOAA Administrative 

Order (NAO) 216–6 § 5.09(d). NMFS’s 

EA will rely on the environmental 

information disclosed and referenced in 

this notice and NMFS will evaluate 

public comments provided in responses 

to this notice when preparing its EA. 

Prior to making a final decision on the 

SIO’s IHA application, NMFS will make 

a decision of whether or not to issue a 

Finding of No Significant Impact 

(FONSI). 

Proposed Authorization 

NMFS proposes to issue an IHA to 

SIO for conducting a marine 

geophysical survey in the south-eastern 

Pacific Ocean, provided the previously 

mentioned mitigation, monitoring, and 

reporting requirements are incorporated. 

The duration of the IHA would not 

exceed one year from the date of its 

issuance. 

Information Solicited 

NMFS requests interested persons to 

submit comments and information 

concerning this proposed project and 

NMFS’s preliminary determination of 

issuing an IHA (see ADDRESSES). 

Concurrent with the publication of this 

notice in the Federal Register, NMFS is 

forwarding copies of this application to 

the Marine Mammal Commission and 

its Committee of Scientific Advisors. 

Dated: March 7, 2012. 

Helen M. Golde, 

Deputy Director, Office of Protected 

Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6054 Filed 3–12–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

United States Patent and Trademark 

Office 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO) will submit 

to the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for clearance the following 

proposal for collection of information 

under the provisions of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35). 

Agency: United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO). 

Title: Recording Assignments. 

Form Number(s): PTO–1594 and 

PTO–1595. 

Agency Approval Number: 0651– 

0027. 

Type of Request: Revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Burden: 234,414 hours annually. 

Number of Respondents: 468,826 

responses per year. 

Avg. Hours per Response: The USPTO 

estimates that it will take the public 

approximately 30 minutes (0.5 hours) to 

prepare and submit a patent or 

trademark assignment recordation 

request. 

Needs and Uses: Under 35 U.S.C. 261 

and 262 and 15 U.S.C. 1057 and 1060, 

the USPTO records patent and 

trademark assignment documents that 

show the transfer of ownership of 

applications, patents, and trademark 

registrations from one entity to another. 

The USPTO provides cover sheets to 

ensure all the necessary assignment data 

is submitted for accurate recording. In 

order to file a request to record an 

assignment, the respondent must submit 

an appropriate cover sheet along with 

copies of the assignment documents to 

be recorded and payment of the 

appropriate fee. The recorded 

documents are available for public 

inspection, except for those documents 

that are sealed under secrecy orders or 

related to unpublished patent 

applications. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households; businesses or other forprofits; and not-for-profit institutions. 

Frequency: On occasion. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to 

obtain or retain benefits. 

OMB Desk Officer: Nicholas A. Fraser, 

email: 

Nicholas_A._Fraser@omb.eop.gov. 

Once submitted, the request will be 

publicly available in electronic format 

through the Information Collection 

Review page at www.reginfo.gov. 

Paper copies can be obtained by: 

• Email: 

InformationCollection@uspto.gov. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

14766 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 49 / Tuesday, March 13, 2012 / Notices 

Include ‘‘0651–0027 copy request’’ 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. 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent on 

or before April 12, 2012 to Nicholas A. 

Fraser, OMB Desk Officer, via email to 

Nicholas_A._Fraser@omb.eop.gov, or by 

fax to 202–395–5167, marked to the 

attention of Nicholas A. Fraser. 

Dated: March 8, 2012. 

Susan K. Fawcett, 

Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2012–5989 Filed 3–12–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

United States Patent and Trademark 

Office 

Patents for Humanity Program 

(Formerly Humanitarian Program) 

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 revision of a currently 

approved 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 May 14, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• Email: 

InformationCollection@uspto.gov. 

Include ‘‘0651–0066 Patents for 

Humanity Program 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: Edward Elliott, 

Expert Advisor, Office of Policy and 

External Affairs, United States Patent 

and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, 

Alexandria, VA 22313–1450; by 

telephone at 571–272–9300; or by email 

to Edward.Elliott@uspto.gov. 

Additional information about this 

collection is also available at http:// 

www.reginfo.gov under ‘‘Information 

Collection Review.’’ 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

I. Abstract 

The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO) is 

conducting a voluntary pilot program to 

incentivize the distribution of patented 

technologies or products to address 

humanitarian needs. This pilot program 

is open to any patent owners or patent 

licensees, including inventors who have 

not assigned their ownership rights to 

others, assignees, and exclusive or nonexclusive licensees. The USPTO plans 

to collect information from applicants 

that describe what actions they have 

taken with their patented technology to 

address humanitarian needs among an 

impoverished population, or how they 

have furthered research by others on 

technologies for humanitarian purposes. 

Applications will be considered in four 

categories: Medical Technology, Food 

and Nutrition, Clean Technology, and 

Information Technology. It is expected 

that inventions from any field of 

technology will be eligible for the 

program, as long as they are applied to 

one of the four categories. 

This pilot program is a follow-up to 

the responses received from the 

agency’s ‘‘Request for Comments on 

Incentivizing Humanitarian 

Technologies and Licensing Through 

the Intellectual Property System’’ 

published September 20, 2010. On 

February 8, 2012, the USPTO published 

a notice in the Federal Register 

announcing the pilot program and 

outlining the procedures for 

participation in it. The USPTO plans to 

review the results from this pilot 

program to determine whether it should 

be extended. 

In order to participate in this program, 

applicants must submit an application 

describing how their actions satisfy the 

competition criteria to address 

humanitarian issues. These applications 

may be up to five pages long and can be 

supplemented with additional 

supporting materials. The USPTO has 

developed two application forms that 

applicants can use to apply for 

participation in the Patents for 

Humanity Pilot Program—one 

application covers the humanitarian 

uses of technologies or products and the 

other application covers humanitarian 

research. There is also a form where 

applicants provide their contact 

information which the USPTO uses to 

notify applicants that they have been 

selected for an award. The applications 

must be submitted electronically 

through the http:// 

patentsforhumanity.challenge.gov Web 

site. Submitted applications will be 

available on the public Web site after 

being screened for inappropriate 

material. 

The applications will be reviewed by 

independent judges. A selection 

committee composed of representatives 

from other federal agencies and 

laboratories will make 

recommendations for the awards based 

on the judges’reviews. Those applicants 

who are selected for an award will 

receive a certificate redeemable to 

accelerate select matters before the 

USPTO and public recognition for their 

efforts, including an awards ceremony 

at the USPTO. The certificates can be 

redeemed to accelerate one of the 

following matters: An ex parte 

reexamination proceeding, including 

one appeal to the Board of Patent 

Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) from 

that proceeding; a patent application, 

including one appeal to the BPAI from 

that application; or an appeal to the 

BPAI of a claim twice rejected in a 

patent application or reissue application 

or finally rejected in an ex parte 

reexamination, without accelerating the 

underlying matter which generated the 

appeal. The certificates cannot be 

transferred to other parties. 

The USPTO obtained an emergency 

clearance from OMB for this collection, 

which was approved on January 25, 

2012. This approval expires on July 31, 

2012l. 

II. Method of Collection 

Electronically through the http:// 

patentsforhumanity.challenge.gov Web 

site. 

III. Data 

OMB Number: 0651–0066. 

Form Number(s): N/A. 

Type of Review: Revision of an 

existing collection. 

Affected Public: Businesses or other 

for-profits, non-profit institutions, and 

individuals. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

1,010 responses per year, with an 

estimated 33% (333) submitted by small 

entities. 

Estimated Time per Response: The 

USPTO estimates that it will take the 

public approximately four hours to 

complete the humanitarian program 

application and one hour to complete 

the petition to extend the redemption 

period, depending on the nature of the 

information. These estimated times 

include gathering the necessary 

information, preparing the application 

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