Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 230 / Friday, December 1, 2023 / Notices 83929 

Part II. Internal Processing of the 

Petition Under the Pilot Program 

If the applicant files a petition to 

make special under the pilot program, 

the USPTO will not render a decision 

on the petition until the application has 

completed pre-examination processing. 

Any inquiries concerning a particular 

petition to make special should be 

directed to the appropriate Technology 

Center handling the petition. If the 

petition is granted, the application will 

be accorded special status under the 

pilot program. The application will be 

placed on an examiner’s special docket 

until a first Office action is issued. After 

the first Office action, the application 

will no longer be treated as special 

during examination. For example, if an 

amendment is filed in response to a first 

Office action, it will be placed on the 

examiner’s regular amended docket. 

If the petition to make special under 

the pilot program does not comply with 

the requirements set forth in this notice, 

the USPTO may notify the applicant of 

the deficiency by issuing a notice. The 

notice will give the applicant only one 

opportunity to correct the deficiency. If 

the applicant still wishes to participate 

in the pilot program, the applicant must 

file a reply via Patent Center that 

includes appropriate corrections and a 

properly signed petition form PTO/SB/ 

467 within one month or 30 days, 

whichever is longer, from the mail/ 

notification date of the notice informing 

the applicant of the deficiency. The time 

period for reply is not extendable under 

37 CFR 1.136(a). If the applicant fails to 

correct the deficiency indicated in the 

notice within the time period set, the 

application will not be accepted into the 

pilot program and will be taken up for 

examination in accordance with 

standard examination procedures. 

In addition, the petition will be 

dismissed without an opportunity for 

correction if any of the following 

deficiencies exists: (1) the application 

does not contain a claim that meets the 

technology requirement of the pilot 

program; (2) the process or apparatus for 

the manufacturing of semiconductor 

devices covered by the claim meeting 

the technology requirement is not 

disclosed in the specification as being 

primarily focused on the manufacturing 

of semiconductor devices; (3) the 

application or national stage entry was 

not filed electronically in Patent Center; 

(4) the specification, claim(s), and 

abstract of the application were not 

submitted in DOCX format at the time 

of filing or national stage entry; (5) the 

application is not an original (nonreissue), nonprovisional utility 

application filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a), 

or an international application that has 

entered the national stage under 35 

U.S.C. 371; (6) the application claims 

the benefit of the filing date of two or 

more prior filed applications that are 

nonprovisional U.S. applications and/or 

international applications designating 

the United States; and (7) the petition 

was not filed with the application or 

national stage entry or within 30 days of 

the application’s filing date or national 

stage entry date. 

Part III. Requirement for Restriction or 

Unity of Invention 

If the claims in the application are 

directed to multiple inventions, the 

examiner may make a requirement for 

restriction or unity of invention in 

accordance with current restriction 

practice. If such a requirement is made, 

the applicant must make an election to 

an invention that meets the technology 

requirement of this pilot program. 

Part IV. Period for Reply by the 

Applicant 

The time periods set for reply in 

Office actions for an application granted 

special status under the pilot program 

will be the same as those set forth in 

MPEP 710.02(b). 

Part V. Replies by the Applicant Under 

the Pilot Program 

During the remainder of prosecution 

of an application granted special status 

under the pilot program, the applicant’s 

replies to Office actions must be fully 

responsive to the rejections, objections, 

and requirements made by the 

examiner. Any amendment or election 

filed in reply to an Office action may be 

treated as not fully responsive if it 

attempts to: (1) add claims that would 

result in more than three independent 

claims or more than 20 total claims 

pending in the application; (2) add any 

multiple dependent claim(s); (3) cancel 

all claims that meet the technology 

requirement of the pilot program; (4) 

elect an invention that does not meet 

the technology requirement of the pilot 

program, or (5) cancel all claims to the 

elected invention. 

If a reply to a nonfinal Office action 

is not fully responsive for any of the 

reasons set forth above but is a genuine 

attempt to advance the application to 

final action, the examiner may, at their 

discretion, issue a notice of 

nonresponsive amendment and provide 

a shortened statutory period of two 

months for the applicant to supply a 

fully responsive reply. Extensions of 

this time period under 37 CFR 1.136(a) 

to the notice of nonresponsive 

amendment will be permitted, but in no 

case can any extension carry the date for 

reply to this notice beyond the 

maximum period of SIX MONTHS set 

by statute (35 U.S.C. 133). However, any 

further nonresponsive amendment 

typically will not be treated as genuine, 

and therefore, the time period set in the 

prior notice will continue to run. 

Part VI. After-Final and Appeal 

Procedures 

Any amendment, affidavit, or other 

evidence after a final Office action and 

prior to appeal must comply with 37 

CFR 1.116. During the appeal process, 

the application will be treated in 

accordance with the normal appeal 

procedure (see MPEP Chapter 1200). 

Part VII. Withdrawal From the Pilot 

Program 

There is no provision for withdrawal 

from the pilot program. An applicant 

may abandon an application that has 

been granted special status under the 

pilot program in favor of a continuing 

application. However, a continuing 

application will not automatically be 

granted special status based on the 

petition filed in the parent application. 

Each application (including each 

continuing application) must, on its 

own merit, meet all requirements for 

special status under the pilot program, 

and be accompanied by its own petition 

as detailed in Part I above. 

Katherine Kelly Vidal, 

Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual 

Property and Director of the United States 

Patent and Trademark Office. 

[FR Doc. 2023–26340 Filed 11–30–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–16–P 

COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM 

PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR 

SEVERELY DISABLED 

Procurement List; Proposed Deletions 

AGENCY: Committee for Purchase From 

People Who Are Blind or Severely 

Disabled. 

ACTION: Proposed deletions from the 

Procurement List. 

SUMMARY: The Committee is proposing 

to delete product(s) from the 

Procurement List that were furnished by 

nonprofit agencies employing persons 

who are blind or have other severe 

disabilities. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before: December 31, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: Committee for Purchase 

From People Who Are Blind or Severely 

Disabled, 355 E Street SW, Suite 325, 

Washington, DC 20024. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
83930 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 230 / Friday, December 1, 2023 / Notices 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information or to submit 

comments contact: Michael R. 

Jurkowski, Telephone: (703) 785–6404 

or email CMTEFedReg@AbilityOne.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice is published pursuant to 41 

U.S.C. 8503(a)(2) and 41 CFR 51–2.3. Its 

purpose is to provide interested persons 

an opportunity to submit comments on 

the proposed actions. 

Deletions 

The following product(s) are proposed 

for deletion from the Procurement List: 

Product(s) 

NSN(s)—Product Name(s): 

7520–01–682–7166—Pen, Ballpoint, Stick, 

Recycled Water Bottle, Blue, Fine Point 

Designated Source of Supply: West Texas 

Lighthouse for the Blind, San Angelo, TX 

Contracting Activity: GSA/FAS ADMIN 

SVCS ACQUISITION BR 2, NEW YORK, 

NY 

NSN(s)—Product Name(s): 

6840–01–367–2914—Detergent, Disinfectant, 

Water Soluble, .5 oz 

Designated Source of Supply: Goodwill 

Vision Enterprises, Rochester, NY 

Contracting Activity: GSA/FSS GREATER 

SOUTHWEST ACQUISITI, FORT 

WORTH, TX 

NSN(s)—Product Name(s): 

7530–00–NIB–0420—Jacket No. 605–913 

Designated Source of Supply: CLOVERNOOK 

CENTER FOR THE BLIND AND 

VISUALLY IMPAIRED, Cincinnati, OH 

Contracting Activity: Government Printing 

Office, Washington, DC 

NSN(s)—Product Name(s): 

1560–00–875–6001—Support, Structural 

Designated Source of Supply: The Lighthouse 

for the Blind, Inc. (Seattle Lighthouse), 

Seattle, WA 

Contracting Activity: DLA AVIATION, 

Richmond, VA 

NSN(s)—Product Name(s): 

6645–01–491–9838—Clock, Wall, Atomic, 

Mahogany Octagon, 12′ Diameter 

6645–01–491–9839—Clock, Wall, Atomic, 

Mahogany Octagon, Custom Logo, 12′ 

Diameter 

Designated Source of Supply: Chicago 

Lighthouse Industries, Chicago, IL 

Contracting Activity: GSA/FAS ADMIN 

SVCS ACQUISITION BR 2, NEW YORK, 

NY 

NSN(s)—Product Name(s): 

3990–00–NSH–0081—Sideboard Pallet, 48′ x 

48′ 

Designated Source of Supply: Knox County 

Association for Remarkable Citizens, 

Inc., Vincennes, IN 

Contracting Activity: W39Z STK REC ACCT– 

CRANE AAP, CRANE, IN 

NSN(s)—Product Name(s): 

8970–00–NSH–0026—Meal Kit, Turkey, 

Detainees, DHS ICE 

8970–00–NSH–0027—Meal Kit, Roast Beef, 

Detainees, DHS ICE 

Designated Source of Supply: The Arc of 

Cumberland and Perry Counties, 

Carlisle, PA 

Contracting Activity: Compliance & 

Removals, Washington, DC 

Michael R. Jurkowski, 

Acting Director, Business Operations. 

[FR Doc. 2023–26434 Filed 11–30–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6353–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

[Docket No.: ED–2023–SCC–0173] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget for Review 

and Approval; Comment Request; 

Annual State Application Under Part C 

of the Individuals With Disabilities Act 

as Amended in 2004 

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), 

Department of Education (ED). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 

1995, the Department is proposing an 

extension without change of a currently 

approved information collection request 

(ICR). 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before January 

2, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations for proposed 

information collection requests should 

be submitted within 30 days of 

publication of this notice. Click on this 

link www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain to access the site. Find this 

information collection request (ICR) by 

selecting ‘‘Department of Education’’ 

under ‘‘Currently Under Review,’’ then 

check the ‘‘Only Show ICR for Public 

Comment’’ checkbox. Reginfo.gov 

provides two links to view documents 

related to this information collection 

request. Information collection forms 

and instructions may be found by 

clicking on the ‘‘View Information 

Collection (IC) List’’ link. Supporting 

statements and other supporting 

documentation may be found by 

clicking on the ‘‘View Supporting 

Statement and Other Documents’’ link. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

specific questions related to collection 

activities, please contact Jennifer 

Simpson, 202–245–6348. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Department is especially interested in 

public comment addressing the 

following issues: (1) is this collection 

necessary to the proper functions of the 

Department; (2) will this information be 

processed and used in a timely manner; 

(3) is the estimate of burden accurate; 

(4) how might the Department enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (5) how 

might the Department minimize the 

burden of this collection on the 

respondents, including through the use 

of information technology. Please note 

that written comments received in 

response to this notice will be 

considered public records. 

Title of Collection: Annual State 

Application Under Part C of the 

Individuals with Disabilities Act as 

Amended in 2004. 

OMB Control Number: 1820–0550. 

Type of Review: An extension without 

change of a currently approved ICR. 

Respondents/Affected Public: State, 

local, and Tribal governments. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 56. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 560. 

Abstract: This is a request for an 

extension of the Annual State 

Application under Part C of the 

Individuals with Disabilities Education 

Act as Amended in 2004 for Federal 

fiscal year 2024. The Individuals with 

Disabilities Education Act, when signed 

on December 3, 2004, became Public 

Law 108–446. In order to be eligible for 

a grant under 20 U.S.C. 1433, a State 

must provide assurance to the Secretary 

that the State has adopted a policy that 

appropriate early intervention services 

are available to all infants and toddlers 

with disabilities in the State and their 

families, including Indian infants and 

toddlers with disabilities and their 

families residing on a reservation 

geographically located in the State, 

infants and toddlers with disabilities 

who are homeless children and their 

families, and has in effect a statewide 

system that meets the requirements of 

20 U.S.C. 1435. Some policies, 

procedures, methods, and descriptions 

must be submitted to the Secretary. 

The review type for this collection is 

an extension. Additional text was added 

to the areas of the application template 

and application instructions that cover 

Sections III.B, III. C, and III. F to make 

the instructions clearer and to minimize 

confusion as States prepare their 

application materials. 

Dated: November 28, 2023. 

Juliana Pearson, 

PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and 

Clearance, Governance and Strategy Division, 

Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of 

Planning, Evaluation and Policy 

Development. 

[FR Doc. 2023–26460 Filed 11–30–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1