79900 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 190 / Tuesday, October 1, 2024 / Notices 

service directly. For fiscal year 2022, the 

USPTO estimates it expended more than 

$15 million in incurred costs associated 

with examiners considering the merits 

of AFCP 2.0 submissions. This cost is in 

addition to the time spent by examiners 

to initially evaluate the AFCP 2.0 

request for program compliance, 

interview time, and any additional 

consultation with supervisors and 

primary examiners. 

On April 3, 2024, the USPTO 

proposed a new fee for participation in 

the AFCP 2.0 when setting and 

adjusting patent fees for fiscal year 2025 

(See Setting and Adjusting Patent Fees 

During Fiscal Year 2025, 89 FR 23226). 

The agency proposed to charge fees for 

filing a request for consideration under 

the AFCP 2.0 as follows: $500 for 

requests filed by undiscounted entities; 

$200 for requests filed by entities 

entitled to the small entity discount; 

and $100 for requests filed by entities 

entitled to the micro entity discount. 

The proposed fee would have offset the 

USPTO’s costs of administering the 

AFCP 2.0. The USPTO stated that if 

there is sufficient public support for the 

proposed fees, the USPTO would favor 

continuing the pilot program. However, 

the USPTO explained that if it was 

unable to recover the costs of the AFCP 

2.0 from participants, the USPTO would 

consider terminating the program. 

In response to the proposed new fee 

for participation in the AFCP 2.0, 

commenters expressed concerns about 

the program and the fee. Because the 

public is not widely receptive to paying 

a fee to participate in the AFCP 2.0, the 

USPTO has decided to terminate the 

program after a brief extension to 

December 14, 2024. Accordingly, the 

USPTO will not consider any request for 

consideration under the AFCP 2.0 filed 

after December 14, 2024. 

The USPTO is providing the 

extension of the AFCP 2.0 until 

December 14, 2024, to provide program 

users with reasonable time to adjust to 

the program’s upcoming termination 

should they be in the process of 

preparing a request for consideration 

under AFCP 2.0. Applicants still have 

various options available for after final 

consideration. For example, under 

routine examination practice, after the 

close of prosecution, proposed 

amendments that will place the 

application either (1) in condition for 

allowance or (2) in better form for 

appeal, may be entered. See 37 CFR 

1.116(b). Additionally, an examiner may 

have an interview with the applicant to 

advance prosecution. See sections 

713.09 and 714.12 of the Manual of 

Patent Examining Procedure (9th ed., 

Rev. 07.2022, February 2023) (MPEP), 

which may be viewed on, or 

downloaded from the USPTO website at 

mpep.uspto.gov or www.uspto.gov/ 

MPEP. Moreover, applicants still have 

the option to file a pre-appeal brief 

request for review at the time of the 

filing of a notice of appeal, which 

provides applicants with the 

opportunity to have a panel decide if an 

issue for appeal is, in fact, present in the 

record. See section 1204.02 of the 

MPEP. 

Katherine K. Vidal, 

Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual 

Property and Director of the United States 

Patent and Trademark Office. 

[FR Doc. 2024–22481 Filed 9–30–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–16–P 

CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION 

BUREAU 

[Docket No. CFPB–2024–0049] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Comment Request 

AGENCY: Consumer Financial Protection 

Bureau. 

ACTION: Notice and request for comment. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA), the Consumer Financial 

Protection Bureau (CFPB) requests the 

revision of the Office of Management 

and Budget’s (OMB’s) approval for an 

existing information collection titled 

‘‘Making Ends Meet Survey’’ approved 

under OMB Number 3170–0080. 

DATES: Written comments are 

encouraged and must be received on or 

before October 31, 2024 to be assured of 

consideration. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain. Find this particular 

information collection by selecting 

‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open 

for Public Comments’’ or by using the 

search function. In general, all 

comments received will become public 

records, including any personal 

information provided. Sensitive 

personal information, such as account 

numbers or Social Security numbers, 

should not be included. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information 

should be directed to Anthony May, 

Paperwork Reduction Act Officer, at 

(202) 435–7278, or email: CFPB_PRA@

cfpb.gov. If you require this document 

in an alternative electronic format, 

please contact CFPB_Accessibility@

cfpb.gov. Please do not submit 

comments to these email boxes. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title of Collection: Making Ends Meet 

Survey. 

OMB Control Number: 3170–0080. 

Type of Review: Revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

5,500. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 2,060. 

Abstract: The Dodd-Frank Wall Street 

Reform and Consumer Protection Act 

charges the CFPB with researching, 

analyzing, and reporting on topics 

relating to the Bureau’s mission 

including consumer behavior, consumer 

awareness, and developments in 

markets for consumer financial products 

and services. To improve its 

understanding of how consumers 

engage with financial markets, the CFPB 

has successfully used surveys under its 

‘‘Making Ends Meet’’ program. The 

‘‘Making Ends Meet’’ program has also 

used the CFPB’s Consumer Credit 

Information Panel (CCIP) as a frame to 

survey people about their experiences in 

consumer credit markets. The CFPB 

seeks approval for two yearly surveys 

under the ‘‘Making Ends Meet’’ 

program. These surveys solicit 

information on the consumer’s 

experience related to household 

financial shocks, particularly shocks 

related to the economic effects of the 

COVID–19 pandemic, how households 

respond to those shocks, and the role of 

savings to help provide a financial 

buffer. 

The first survey will be a follow-up to 

respondents from the CFPB’s 2024 

‘‘Making Ends Meet’’ survey to better 

understand household financial 

experiences dealing with medical debt 

as well as consumers’ interactions with 

various financial products. The second 

survey will go to a new sample of 

consumers from the CCIP and will 

address several topics of interest to the 

CFPB, possibly including the impact of 

natural disasters and other 

environmental events, credit shopping 

behavior, additional follow-up regarding 

debt collection, and the assessment of 

various fees throughout the financial 

services ecosystem. 

Request for Comments: The CFPB 

published a 60-day Federal Register 

notice on March 26, 2024 (89 FR 20950) 

under Docket Number: CFPB–2024– 

0013. The CFPB is publishing this 

notice and soliciting comments on: (a) 

Whether the collection of information is 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 190 / Tuesday, October 1, 2024 / Notices 79901 

1The 1990 COMSIS report, Development of 

Human Factors Criteria for Playground Equipment 

Safety, is available in six parts on the CPSC website. 

Part 1 is available at: https://www.cpsc.gov/content/ 

Development-of-Human-Factors-Criteria-forPlayground-Equipment-Safety-Part-1. Part 2 is 

available at: https://www.cpsc.gov/content/ 

Development-of-Human-Factors-Criteria-forPlayground-Equipment-Safety-Part-2. Part 3 is 

available at: https://www.cpsc.gov/content/ 

Development-of-Human-Factors-Criteria-forPlayground-Equipment-Safety-Part-3. Part 4 is 

available at: https://www.cpsc.gov/content/ 

development-human-factors-criteria-playgroundequipment-safety-part-4. Part 5 is available at: 

https://www.cpsc.gov/content/Development-ofHuman-Factors-Criteria-for-Playground-EquipmentSafety-Part-5. Part 6 is available at: https://

www.cpsc.gov/content/development-humanfactors-criteria-playground-equipment-safety-part6. 

2See section 1.4.1 of the draft Handbook for a list 

of relevant standards. 

necessary for the proper performance of 

the functions of the CFPB, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; (b) The accuracy of the 

CFPB’s estimate of the burden of the 

collection of information, including the 

validity of the methods and the 

assumptions used; (c) Ways to enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (d) 

Ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on 

respondents, including through the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Comments submitted in response to this 

notice will be reviewed by OMB as part 

of its review of this request. All 

comments will become a matter of 

public record. 

Anthony May, 

Paperwork Reduction Act Officer, Consumer 

Financial Protection Bureau. 

[FR Doc. 2024–22491 Filed 9–30–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–AM–P 

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket No. CPSC–2024–0030] 

Notice of Availability and Request for 

Comment: Public Playground 

Handbook Update 

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of availability and 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Consumer Product 

Safety Commission (Commission or 

CPSC) is announcing the availability of 

draft updates to its ‘‘Public Playground 

Safety Handbook.’’ 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

December 2, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: You can submit comments, 

identified by Docket No. CPSC–2024– 

0030, by any of the following methods: 

Electronic Submissions: Submit 

electronic comments to the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal at: https://

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 the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal. 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. 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 courier, or you may 

email them to: cpsc-os@cpsc.gov. 

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: 

https://www.regulations.gov. Do not 

submit to 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. If you 

wish to submit such information, please 

submit it according to the instructions 

for mail/hand delivery/courier/ 

confidential written submissions. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to: https://

www.regulations.gov, and insert the 

docket number, CPSC–2024–0030, into 

the ‘‘Search’’ box, and follow the 

prompts. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Daniel Taxier, Children’s Program 

Manager, Division of Mechanical and 

Combustion Engineering, U.S. 

Consumer Product Safety Commission, 

5 Research Place, Rockville, MD 20850– 

3213; email: dtaxier@cpsc.gov; 

telephone: (301) 987–2211. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. 

Consumer Product Safety Commission 

published the first Handbook for Public 

Playground Safety (the Handbook) in 

1981. This original document was a 

two-volume set containing technical 

guidance intended to reduce deaths and 

injuries to children associated with 

playground equipment. In 1991, the 

Handbook was revised to a single 

volume, which contained 

recommendations based on a COMSIS 

Corporation report to the CPSC.1 Also in 

1991, the first ASTM International 

(ASTM) standard for playground safety, 

F1292: Standard Specification for 

Impact Attenuation of Surface Systems 

Under and Around Playground 

Equipment, was published. In 1993, 

ASTM F1487: Standard Consumer 

Safety Performance Specification for 

Playground Equipment for Public Use 

was published. CPSC published minor 

revisions to the Handbook in 1994. In 

1997, the Handbook was updated based 

on ASTM F1487, a playground safety 

roundtable meeting held in October of 

1996, and comments received in 

response to a May 1997 CPSC request. 

Due to the lack of a Commission 

quorum at the time, 2008 revisions to 

the Handbook were released as a draft 

staff document. Later in 2008, members 

of ASTM’s voluntary standards 

committee on playground equipment 

and the International Play Equipment 

Manufacturers Association (IPEMA) 

identified areas where the voluntary 

standards and the Handbook did not 

align. In 2010, CPSC published a revised 

the Handbook that resolved many of 

these issues. 

Since 2010, ASTM has published new 

and revised public playground 

standards,2 and new materials and 

equipment have been installed in 

playgrounds. Additionally, members of 

ASTM, the National Program for 

Playground Safety (NPPS), IPEMA, and 

members of the general public have 

requested clarifications and 

recommended an update to the 

Handbook. Based on the current 

editions of the relevant ASTM 

standards, feedback from the public, 

and comments from ASTM and NPPS, 

CPSC is publishing a revised draft 

Handbook with a focus on 

improvements to safety. 

The staff memorandum accompanying 

the draft Handbook, available at https:// 

cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/BallotVote-PublicPlayground-Handbook-Update-2.pdf?, 

summarizes major revisions included in 

the draft. These changes include 

updated signage and labeling guidance; 

updated guidance on common hazards 

for supervisor awareness; references to 

new impact attenuation testing for 

suspended elements in ASTM F1487; an 

updated warning label on potential 


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