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[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 209 (Wednesday, October 29, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Page 64359]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-25658]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

[Document No. AMS-ST-14-0064]

Plant Variety Protection Board Meeting

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), the 
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is announcing a meeting of the 
Plant Variety Protection Board (Board). The meeting is being held to 
discuss a variety of topics including, but not limited to, work and 
outreach plans, subcommittee activities, and proposals for procedure 
changes. The meeting is open to the public. This notice sets forth the 
schedule and location for the meeting.

DATES: Monday, December 8, 2014, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and 
Tuesday, December 9, 2014, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The Board meeting will be held at the Hyatt Regency Chicago 
Hotel at the Water Tower Room, at 151 East Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 
60601.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maria Pratt, Program Analyst, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture (USDA), AMS, Science and Technology Programs, 
1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250. Telephone: (202) 
260-8983; Fax: (202) 260-8976, or Email: maria.pratt@ams.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the provisions of section 10(a) 
of the FACA (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2), this notice informs the public that 
the Plant Variety Protection Office (PVPO) is having a Board meeting 
earlier than the 15 day requirement of the FACA. The Plant Variety 
Protection Act (PVPA) (7 U.S.C. 2321 et seq.) provides legal protection 
in the form of intellectual property rights to developers of new 
varieties of plants, which are reproduced sexually by seed or are 
tuber-propagated. A certificate of Plant Variety Protection (PVP) is 
awarded to an owner of a crop variety after an examination shows that 
it is new, distinct from other varieties, genetically uniform and 
stable through successive generations. The term of protection is 20 
years for most crops and 25 years for trees, shrubs, and vines. The 
PVPA also provides for a statutory Board (7 U.S.C. 2327). The PVPA 
Board is composed of 14 individuals who are experts in various areas of 
development and represent the seed industry sector, academia and 
government. The duties of the Board are to: (1) Advise the Secretary 
concerning the adoption of rules and regulations to facilitate the 
proper administration of the FACA; (2) provide advisory counsel to the 
Secretary on appeals concerning decisions on applications by the PVPO 
and on requests for emergency public-interest compulsory licenses; and 
(3) advise the Secretary on any other matters under the Regulations and 
Rules of Practice and on all questions under Section 44 of the FACA, 
``Public Interest in Wide Usage'' (7 U.S.C. 2404).
    The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the PVPO 2014 
achievements, 2015 work plan and outreach plan, ongoing process 
improvements, updates on electronic applications/database conversion, 
plans for PVP recognition by other countries, the activities of the 
subcommittee to evaluate molecular techniques for PVP distinctness 
characterization and proposals for procedure changes.
    Agenda Items: The agenda will include, welcome and introductions, 
discussions on program activities that encourage the development of new 
plant varieties and also address appeals to the Secretary. There will 
be presentations on future PVP plans, electronic PVP application/
computer database development, and the use of molecular markers for PVP 
applications. The meeting will be open to the public. Those wishing to 
participate are encouraged to pre-register by December 1, 2014 by 
contacting Maria Pratt, Program Analyst; Telephone: (202) 260-8983; 
Email: maria.prat@ams.usda.gov.
    Meeting Accommodations: The meeting hotel is ADA compliant, and the 
USDA provides reasonable accommodations to individuals with 
disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation 
to participate in this public meeting, please notify Maria Pratt at: 
Email: maria.pratt@ams.usda.gov or (202) 268-8983. Determinations for 
reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Minutes 
of the meeting will be available for public review 30 days following 
the meeting at the internet Web site http://www.ams.usda.gov/PVPO.

    Dated: October 23, 2014.
Rex A. Barnes,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-25658 Filed 10-28-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
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