This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

44503 

Vol. 76, No. 143 

Tuesday, July 26, 2011 

1To view the interim rule and the comment we 

received, go to http://www.regulations.gov/ 

fdmspublic/component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2010-0077. 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

9 CFR Part 94 

[Docket No. APHIS–2010–0077] 

Availability of a Risk Analysis 

Evaluating the Foot-and-Mouth 

Disease Status of Japan 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of availability and 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that a risk analysis has been prepared by 

the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service concerning the foot-and-mouth 

disease (FMD) status of Japan and the 

risk of susceptible animals and animal 

products from Japan harboring the FMD 

virus. This evaluation will be used as a 

basis for determining whether the 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

again recognizes Japan as free of FMD 

and allows the importation of whole 

cuts of boneless beef from Japan to 

resume. Other ruminant meat and meat 

byproducts, as well as fresh pork, live 

ruminants, and live swine, would 

remain prohibited due to Japan’s status 

for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, 

classical swine fever, and swine 

vesicular disease. We are making this 

evaluation available to the public for 

review and comment. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before September 

26, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2010-0077- 

0005. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2010–0077, Regulatory Analysis 

and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 

3A–03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. 

Supporting documents and any 

comments we receive on this docket 

may be viewed at http:// 

www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2010-0077 or 

in our reading room, which is located in 

room 1141 of the USDA South Building, 

14th Street and Independence Avenue, 

SW., Washington, DC. Normal reading 

room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except 

holidays. To be sure someone is there to 

help you, please call (202) 6902817 

before coming. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Kelly Rhodes, Senior Staff Veterinarian, 

Regionalization Evaluation Services— 

Import, National Center for Import and 

Export, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road 

Unit 38, Riverdale, MD 20737–1231; 

(301) 734–4356. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The regulations in 9 CFR part 94 

(referred to below as the regulations) 

govern the importation of certain 

animals and animal products into the 

United States in order to prevent the 

introduction of various animal diseases, 

including rinderpest and foot-andmouth disease (FMD). Section 94.1 of 

the regulations lists regions of the world 

that are considered free of rinderpest 

and FMD. Section 94.11 lists regions of 

the world considered free of rinderpest 

and FMD but from which the 

importation of meat and other animal 

products into the United States is 

subject to additional restrictions 

because of those regions’ proximity to or 

trading relationships with FMD-affected 

regions. 

In an interim rule 1 effective and 

published in the Federal Register on 

October 25, 2010 (75 FR 65431–65432, 

Docket No. APHIS–2010–0077), we 

amended the regulations in paragraphs 

(a)(2) and (a)(3) of § 94.1 to remove 

Japan from the list of regions considered 

free of rinderpest and FMD and to add 

Japan to the list of regions considered 

free of rinderpest, respectively. We also 

amended the regulations in § 94.11 to 

remove Japan from the list of regions 

considered free of rinderpest and FMD 

but from which the importation of meat 

and other animal products of ruminants 

and swine into the United States is 

subject to additional restrictions. The 

interim rule also clarified that the 

importation into the United States of 

whole cuts of boneless beef, which had 

been allowed under the provisions in 

§ 94.27 of the regulations, was being 

prohibited due to FMD. Those actions 

were necessary because, by July 4, 2010, 

Japan had reported FMD on a total of 

292 premises in Miyazaki prefecture of 

that country to the World Organization 

for Animal Health (OIE). 

The source of the virus has not been 

definitively identified. However, the 

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and 

Food in Japan suspects that it was 

introduced through people or personal 

goods from a nearby country 

contaminated with the FMD virus. 

Japan’s official veterinary services 

addressed the FMD outbreak through a 

stamping-out policy that involved 

movement restrictions, culling, active 

surveillance, and ultimately 

vaccination. All vaccinated animals 

were subsequently culled. Intensive 

surveillance demonstrated that the virus 

did not spread outside Miyazaki 

prefecture. On February 4, 2011, the OIE 

reinstated Japan to its list of countries 

free of FMD without vaccination. 

Although we removed Japan from the 

list of regions in the world considered 

free of rinderpest and FMD, and the list 

of regions considered free of rinderpest 

and FMD but from which the 

importation of meat and other animal 

products is subject to additional 

restrictions, we recognized that Japan 

immediately responded to the detection 

of the disease by imposing restrictions 

on the movement of susceptible animals 

and animal products, both within and 

from Japan, and initiating measures to 

eradicate the disease. We stated that, 

because of Japan’s response to detection 

of the disease, we intended to reassess 

the situation in accordance with the 

standards of the OIE at a future date, 

and that as part of the reassessment 

process, we would consider all 

comments received during the comment 

period on the interim rule. 

In this notice, we are announcing the 

availability for review and comment of 

a document titled ‘‘APHIS Evaluation of 

the Foot and Mouth Disease Status of 

Japan.’’ This evaluation examines the 

events that occurred during and after 

the outbreaks and assesses the risk of 

live animals and animal products from 


wreier-aviles on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with PROPOSALS
44504 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 143 / Tuesday, July 26, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

Japan harboring the FMD virus. This 

risk analysis will serve as the basis for 

our determination whether to reinstate 

Japan to the list of regions free of FMD 

and rinderpest and the list of regions 

considered free of FMD and rinderpest 

but from which the importation of meat 

and other animal products of ruminants 

and swine into the United States is 

subject to additional restrictions. The 

risk analysis will also serve as the basis 

for our determination whether to allow 

the resumption of the importation of 

whole cuts of boneless beef from Japan. 

We are making the risk analysis 

available for public comment for 60 

days. 

The risk analysis may be viewed on 

the Regulations.gov Web site or in our 

reading room (see ADDRESSES above for 

instructions for accessing 

Regulations.gov and information on the 

location and hours of the reading room). 

You may request paper copies of the 

risk analysis by calling or writing to the 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to the 

title of the analysis when requesting 

copies. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450, 7701–7772, 7781– 

7786, and 8301–8317; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 

136a; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 

371.4. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 20th day of 

July 2011. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–18849 Filed 7–25–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ADMINISTRATION 

14 CFR Part 1245 

[Notice 11–070] 

RIN 2700–AD63 

Claims for Patent and Copyright 

Infringement 

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration (NASA) proposes 

regulations relating to requirements for 

the filing of claims against NASA where 

a potential claimant believes NASA is 

infringing privately owned rights in 

patented inventions or copyrighted 

works. The requirements for filing an 

administrative claim are important since 

the filing of a claim carries with it 

certain rights relating to the applicable 

statute of limitations for filing suit 

against the Government. The proposed 

regulations set forth guidelines as to 

what NASA considers necessary to file 

a claim for patent or copyright 

infringement, and they also provide for 

written notification to the claimant 

upon completion of an investigation by 

NASA. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before August 25, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Comments must be 

identified with ‘‘RIN 2700–AD63’’ and 

may be sent to NASA by the following 

method: 

• Federal E-Rulemaking Portal: 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

online instructions for submitting 

comments. Please note NASA may post 

all comments on the Internet without 

change, including any personal 

information provided. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Helen M. Galus, National Aeronautics 

and Space Administration, Office of the 

General Counsel, Washington, DC 

20546–0001. Telephone 202–358–3437. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

National Aeronautics and Space Act (51 

U.S.C. 20113) authorizes the 

Administrator of NASA to settle 

administrative claims of patent and 

copyright infringement by NASA. In 

addition to that authority to acquire 

license rights and interests in patents 

and copyrights through settlement of 

claims, the Administrator has authority 

to settle claims of patent and copyright 

infringement pursuant to 22 U.S.C. 

2356, 35 U.S.C. 183 and 286, and 28 

U.S.C. 1498(b). 

In accordance with these authorities, 

NASA is issuing proposed regulations 

setting forth requirements for the filing 

of claims against NASA where a 

potential claimant believes NASA is 

infringing privately owned rights in 

patented inventions or copyrighted 

works. The proposed regulations are 

designed to inform potential claimants 

as to what information must be supplied 

in their communication to NASA 

regarding alleged infringement before 

NASA will consider a claim to have 

been filed. The regulations identify 

certain commonly received 

communications which are concerned 

with rights in patents and copyrights, 

but which will not be considered 

sufficient to constitute the formal filing 

of a claim. 

The requirements for filing an 

administrative claim are important since 

the filing of a claim carries with it 

certain rights relating to the applicable 

statute of limitations for filing suit 

against the Government. In the case of 

patent infringement claims, Title 35 

U.S.C. 286 provides that the six-year 

statute of limitations for filing suits for 

patent infringement may, in the case of 

claims against the Government, be 

tolled up to six years between the date 

of receipt of a written claim for 

compensation by the Government and 

the date of mailing by the Government 

of a notice that the claim has been 

denied. Copyright infringement claims 

can be tolled indefinitely under 28 

U.S.C. 1498(b) between the date of 

receipt of a written claim for 

compensation by the Government and 

the date of mailing by the Government 

of a notice that the claim has been 

denied. The proposed regulations set 

forth guidelines as to what NASA 

considers necessary to file a claim for 

patent or copyright infringement. 

Section 1245.202(a) provides that in 

order for a potential claimant’s 

communication to NASA to formally 

instigate a claim, it must specifically 

allege infringement by NASA, request 

compensation, identify a patent or 

copyright alleged to be infringed, and 

indicate an act or item which the 

potential claimant believes infringes the 

claimant’s patent or copyright. Section 

1245.203(a) advises the potential 

claimant where to forward 

communications regarding the alleged 

infringement. Section 1245.202(b) of the 

regulation identifies information which, 

although not necessary in order for a 

communication to be considered 

sufficient to constitute the filing of a 

claim, is usually necessary to process a 

claim and, therefore, if presented 

initially with the claim, may serve to 

expedite the handling of the claim. The 

proposed regulations provide for written 

notification to the claimant upon 

completion of an investigation by 

NASA. 

Regulatory Analysis Section 

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement 

This rule does not contain an 

information collection requirement 

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act 

of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). 

Executive Order 12866 and Executive 

Order 13563 

Executive Orders 13563 and 12866 

direct agencies to assess all costs and 

benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, if regulation is 

necessary, to select regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including potential economic, 

environmental, public health and safety 

effects, distributive impacts, and 

equity). Executive Order 13563 

emphasizes the importance of 

quantifying both costs and benefits, of 

reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, 


wreier-aviles on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with PROPOSALS