13328 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 49 / Friday, March 13, 2015 / Notices 

1See Letter from Sino-Maple to the Department 

regarding, ‘‘Multilayered Wood Flooring from the 

PRC: Request of Sino-Maple (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. and 

Jiafeng Wood (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. for Changed 

Circumstances Review’’ (December 23, 2014) (‘‘CCR 

Request’’). 

2See Letter from Sino-Maple to the Department, 

regarding ‘‘Multilayered Wood Flooring from the 

PRC: Response of Sino-Maple (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. 

and Jiafeng Wood (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. to 

Supplemental Changed Circumstances Review 

Questionnaire’’ (January 16, 2015). 

3See Letter from the Department to Sino-Maple 

‘‘Multilayered Wood Flooring from the People’s 

Republic of China: Request for a Changed 

Circumstances Review’’ (February 4, 2015). 

4See Letter from Sino-Maple to the Department 

‘‘Multilayered Wood Flooring from the PRC: 

Response of Sino-Maple (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. and 

Jiafeng Wood (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. to Second 

Supplemental Changed Circumstances Review 

Questionnaire’’ (February 10, 2015) (‘‘Second 

Supplemental Response’’). 

creators, right holders, businesses that 

use copyrighted works, Internet 

intermediaries, and consumer and 

public interest groups. A draft agenda 

will be posted one week before the 

meeting. 

The meeting will be webcast. The 

agenda and webcast information will be 

available on the Internet Policy Task 

Force Web site, http://www.ntia.doc.

gov/internetpolicytaskforce, and the 

USPTO’s Web site, http://

www.uspto.gov. 

The meeting will be open to members 

of the public to attend, space permitting, 

on a first-come, first-served basis. Preregistration for the meeting is available 

at the ‘‘Register’’ tab at: http://events.

SignUp4.com/EfficientOnline

Marketplace. The meeting will be 

physically accessible to people with 

disabilities. Individuals requiring 

accommodation, such as sign language 

interpretation, real-time captioning of 

the webcast or other ancillary aids, 

should communicate their needs to 

Hollis Robinson or Ann Chaitovitz, 

Office of Policy and International 

Affairs, United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, Madison Building, 

600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA 

22314; telephone (571) 272–9300; email 

EfficientOnlineMarketplace@

USPTO.gov at least seven (7) business 

days prior to the meeting. Attendees 

should arrive at least one-half hour prior 

to the start of the meeting, and must 

present a valid government-issued 

photo identification upon arrival. 

Persons who have pre-registered (and 

received confirmation) will have seating 

held until 15 minutes before the 

program begins. Members of the public 

will have an opportunity to make 

comments at the meeting. 

Dated: March 9, 2015. 

Michelle K. Lee, 

Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for 

Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of 

the United States Patent and Trademark 

Office. 

Lawrence E. Strickling, 

Assistant Secretary for Communications and 

Information. 

[FR Doc. 2015–05765 Filed 3–12–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–60–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

[A–570–970] 

Initiation of Antidumping Duty 

Changed Circumstances Review: 

Multilayered Wood Flooring From the 

People’s Republic of China 

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce 

(‘‘the Department’’) has received 

information sufficient to warrant 

initiation of a changed circumstances 

review (‘‘CCR’’) of the antidumping duty 

order on multilayered wood flooring 

from the People’s Republic of China 

(‘‘PRC’’). Based upon a request filed by 

Sino-Maple (JiangSu) Co., Ltd. (‘‘SinoMaple’’), an exporter of multilayered 

wood flooring to the United States, the 

Department is initiating a CCR to 

determine whether Sino-Maple is the 

successor-in-interest to Jiafeng Wood 

(Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (‘‘Jiafeng’’) for 

purposes of the antidumping duty order 

on multilayered wood flooring from 

PRC and, as such, is entitled to Jiafeng’s 

cash deposit rate with respect to entries 

of subject merchandise. 

DATES: Effective Date: March 13, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James Martinelli or Charles Riggle, AD/ 

CVD Operations, Office IV, Enforcement 

and Compliance, International Trade 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution 

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; 

telephone: (202) 482–2923 or (202) 482– 

0650, respectively. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On December 23, 2014, Sino-Maple 

requested that the Department initiate 

an expedited CCR to confirm that SinoMaple is the successor-in-interest to 

Jiafeng for purposes of determining 

antidumping duty liabilities.1 On 

January 16, 2015, Sino-Maple responded 

to the supplemental questionnaire 

issued by the Department on January 9, 

2015.2 On February 4, 2015, the 

Department extended the time period 

for determining whether to initiate a 

CCR by 30 days, until March 8, 2015.3

On February 10, 2015, Sino-Maple 

responded to the Department’s second 

supplemental questionnaire, which was 

issued on February 4, 2015.4 We 

received no comments opposing SinoMaple’s request. 

Scope of the Order 

Multilayered wood flooring is 

composed of an assembly of two or 

more layers or plies of wood veneer(s) 

in combination with a core. The several 

layers, along with the core, are glued or 

otherwise bonded together to form a 

final assembled product. Multilayered 

wood flooring is often referred to by 

other terms, e.g., ‘‘engineered wood 

flooring’’ or ‘‘plywood flooring.’’ 

Regardless of the particular terminology, 

all products that meet the description 

set forth herein are intended for 

inclusion within the definition of 

subject merchandise. 

All multilayered wood flooring is 

included within the definition of subject 

merchandise, without regard to: 

dimension (overall thickness, thickness 

of face ply, thickness of back ply, 

thickness of core, and thickness of inner 

plies; width; and length); wood species 

used for the face, back and inner 

veneers; core composition; and face 

grade. Multilayered wood flooring 

included within the definition of subject 

merchandise may be unfinished (i.e., 

without a finally finished surface to 

protect the face veneer from wear and 

tear) or ‘‘prefinished’’ (i.e., a coating 

applied to the face veneer, including, 

but not exclusively, oil or oil-modified 

or water-based polyurethanes, ultraviolet light cured polyurethanes, wax, 

epoxy-ester finishes, moisture-cured 

urethanes and acid-curing formaldehyde 

finishes). The veneers may be also 

soaked in an acrylic-impregnated finish. 

All multilayered wood flooring is 

included within the definition of subject 

merchandise regardless of whether the 

face (or back) of the product is smooth, 

wire brushed, distressed by any method 

or multiple methods, or hand-scraped. 

In addition, all multilayered wood 

flooring is included within the 

definition of subject merchandise 

regardless of whether or not it is 

manufactured with any interlocking or 

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 49 / Friday, March 13, 2015 / Notices 13329 

5See 19 CFR 351.216(d). 

6See, e.g., Initiation and Preliminary Results of 

Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review: 

Multilayered Wood Flooring From the People’s 

Republic of China, 79 FR 48117, 48118 (August 15, 

2014), unchanged in Multilayered Wood Flooring 

From the People’s Republic of China: Final Results 

of Changed Circumstances Review, 79 FR 58740 

(September 30, 2014). 

7 Id. 

8See Notice of Final Results of Changed 

Circumstances Review: Polychloroprene Rubber 

from Japan, 69 FR 67890 (November 22, 2004) 

citing, Brass Sheet and Strip from Canada: Notice 

of Final Results of Antidumping Duty 

Administrative Review, 57 FR 20460 (May 13, 

1992); and, Certain Circular Welded Carbon Steel 

Pipes and Tubes from Taiwan: Initiation of 

Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstance Review, 

70 FR 17063 (April 4, 2005). 

9See Second Supplemental Response, at 1, 3. 

10 Id. at 1. 

connecting mechanism (for example, 

tongue-and-groove construction or 

locking joints). All multilayered wood 

flooring is included within the 

definition of the subject merchandise 

regardless of whether the product meets 

a particular industry or similar 

standard. 

The core of multilayered wood 

flooring may be composed of a range of 

materials, including but not limited to 

hardwood or softwood veneer, 

particleboard, medium-density 

fiberboard, high-density fiberboard 

(‘‘HDF’’), stone and/or plastic 

composite, or strips of lumber placed 

edge-to-edge. 

Multilayered wood flooring products 

generally, but not exclusively, may be in 

the form of a strip, plank, or other 

geometrical patterns (e.g., circular, 

hexagonal). All multilayered wood 

flooring products are included within 

this definition regardless of the actual or 

nominal dimensions or form of the 

product. Specifically excluded from the 

scope are cork flooring and bamboo 

flooring, regardless of whether any of 

the sub-surface layers of either flooring 

are made from wood. Also excluded is 

laminate flooring. Laminate flooring 

consists of a top wear layer sheet not 

made of wood, a decorative paper layer, 

a core-layer of HDF, and a stabilizing 

bottom layer. 

Imports of the subject merchandise 

are provided for under the following 

subheadings of the Harmonized Tariff 

Schedule of the United States 

(‘‘HTSUS’’): 4412.31.0520; 

4412.31.0540; 4412.31.0560; 

4412.31.2510; 4412.31.2520; 

4412.31.4040; 4412.31.4050; 

4412.31.4060; 4412.31.4070; 

4412.31.5125; 4412.31.5135; 

4412.31.5155; 4412.31.5165; 

4412.31.3175; 4412.31.6000; 

4412.31.9100; 4412.32.0520; 

4412.32.0540; 4412.32.0560; 

4412.32.2510; 4412.32.2520; 

4412.32.3125; 4412.32.3135; 

4412.32.3155; 4412.32.3165; 

4412.32.3175; 4412.32.3185; 

4412.32.5600; 4412.39.1000; 

4412.39.3000; 4412.39.4011; 

4412.39.4012; 4412.39.4019; 

4412.39.4031; 4412.39.4032; 

4412.39.4039; 4412.39.4051; 

4412.39.4052; 4412.39.4059; 

4412.39.4061; 4412.39.4062; 

4412.39.4069; 4412.39.5010; 

4412.39.5030; 4412.39.5050; 

4412.94.1030; 4412.94.1050; 

4412.94.3105; 4412.94.3111; 

4412.94.3121; 4412.94.3131; 

4412.94.3141; 4412.94.3160; 

4412.94.3171; 4412.94.4100; 

4412.94.5100; 4412.94.6000; 

4412.94.7000; 4412.94.8000; 

4412.94.9000; 4412.94.9500; 

4412.99.0600; 4412.99.1020; 

4412.99.1030; 4412.99.1040; 

4412.99.3110; 4412.99.3120; 

4412.99.3130; 4412.99.3140; 

4412.99.3150; 4412.99.3160; 

4412.99.3170; 4412.99.4100; 

4412.99.5100; 4412.99.5710; 

4412.99.6000; 4412.99.7000; 

4412.99.8000; 4412.99.9000; 

4412.99.9500; 4418.71.2000; 

4418.71.9000; 4418.72.2000; 

4418.72.9500; and 9801.00.2500. 

While HTSUS subheadings are 

provided for convenience and customs 

purposes, the written description of the 

subject merchandise is dispositive. 

Initiation of Changed Circumstances 

Review 

Pursuant to section 751(b)(1) of the 

Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (‘‘the 

Act’’) and 19 CFR 351.216(d), the 

Department will conduct a CCR upon 

receipt of information concerning, or a 

request from an interested party for a 

review of, an antidumping duty order 

which shows changed circumstances 

sufficient to warrant a review of the 

order. The information submitted by 

Sino-Maple claiming that Sino-Maple is 

the successor-in-interest to Jiafeng 

demonstrates changed circumstances 

sufficient to warrant a review.5

Therefore, in accordance with section 

751(b)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 

351.216(d), the Department is initiating 

a CCR to determine whether Sino-Maple 

is the successor-in-interest to Jiafeng. 

In determining whether one company 

is the successor to another for purposes 

of applying the antidumping duty law, 

the Department examines a number of 

factors including, but not limited to, 

changes in (1) management, (2) 

production facilities, (3) suppliers, and 

(4) customer base.6 While no one or 

several of these factors will necessarily 

provide a dispositive indication of 

succession, the Department will 

generally consider one company to be 

the successor to another company if its 

resulting operation is essentially the 

same as that of its predecessor.7 Thus, 

if the evidence demonstrates that, with 

respect to the production and sale of the 

subject merchandise, the new company 

operates as the same business entity as 

the prior company, the Department will 

assign the new company the cash 

deposit rate of its predecessor.8

Based on the information provided in 

its CCR Request and responses to 

questionnaires issued by the 

Department, Sino-Maple has provided 

sufficient evidence to warrant a review 

to determine if Sino-Maple is the 

successor-in-interest to Jiafeng for 

purposes of the antidumping duty order 

on multilayered wood flooring from the 

PRC. However, the Department finds it 

necessary to issue further questionnaires 

requesting additional information for 

this review, as provided for by 19 CFR 

351.221(b)(2). For this reason, the 

Department is not conducting this 

review on an expedited basis by 

publishing preliminary results in 

conjunction with this notice of 

initiation. 

Specifically, the Department intends 

to issue further questionnaires to SinoMaple regarding the legal status of its 

purported predecessor company, 

Jiafeng. Based on the information 

provided by Sino-Maple, Jiafeng began a 

mandatory 180-day liquidation period 

on December 29, 2014, during which its 

business license and registration 

number are suspended.9 Upon 

completion of the mandatory 180-day 

liquidation period, according to SinoMaple the liquidation of Jiafeng will be 

complete and the company will be 

terminated.10 At that time, the 

Department intends to issue a 

supplemental questionnaire requesting 

that Sino-Maple submit evidence that 

Jiafeng’s liquidation is complete and 

that Jiafeng has been terminated. 

Therefore, the Department will not 

publish the preliminary results of this 

review until after Jiafeng has completed 

the mandatory 180-day liquidation 

period. The Department will publish in 

the Federal Register a notice of 

preliminary results of the CCR in 

accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4) 

and 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3)(i). That notice 

will set forth the factual and legal 

conclusions upon which our 

preliminary results are based and a 

description of any action proposed. 

Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4)(ii), 

interested parties will have an 

opportunity to comment on the 

preliminary results of review. In 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

13330 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 49 / Friday, March 13, 2015 / Notices 

accordance with 19 CFR 351.216(e), the 

Department intends to issue the final 

results of its antidumping duty CCR not 

later than 270 days after the date on 

which the review was initiated. 

This notice is published in 

accordance with sections 751(b)(l) and 

777(i)(l) of the Act and 19 CFR 

351.216(b) and 351.221(b)(1). 

Dated: March 9, 2015. 

Gary Taverman, 

Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for 

Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 

Operations. 

[FR Doc. 2015–05830 Filed 3–12–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Patent and Trademark Office 

Proposed Collection; Comment 

Request; ‘‘Third-Party Submissions 

and Protests’’ 

AGENCY: United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

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 comment on proposed and/ 

or continuing information collections, 

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 12, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be 

submitted by any of the following 

methods: 

• Email: InformationCollection@

uspto.gov. Include ‘‘0651–0062 ThirdParty Submissions and Protests’’ in the 

subject line of the message. 

• Mail: Marcie Lovett, Records 

Management Division Director, 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 Raul Tamayo, 

Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Patent 

Legal Administration, United States 

Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 

1450, Alexandria, VA 22313–1450; by 

telephone at 571–272–7728; or by email 

to Raul.Tamayo@uspto.gov with 

‘‘Paperwork’’ in the subject line. 

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 required 

by 35 U.S.C. 131 et seq. to examine an 

application for patent and, when 

appropriate, issue a patent. The 

provisions of 35 U.S.C. 122(c), 122(e), 

131, and 151, as well as 37 CFR 1.290 

and 1.291, limit the ability of a third 

party to have information entered and 

considered in, or to protest, a patent 

application pending before the Office. 

37 CFR 1.290 provides a mechanism 

for third parties to submit to the 

USPTO, for consideration and inclusion 

in the record of a patent application, 

any patents, published patent 

applications, or other printed 

publications of potential relevance to 

the examination of the application. 

A preissuance submission under 37 

CFR 1.290 may be made in any nonprovisional utility, design, and plant 

application, as well as in any continuing 

application. A preissuance submission 

under 37 CFR 1.290 must include a 

concise description of the asserted 

relevance of each document submitted, 

and must be submitted within a certain 

statutorily specified time period. 

37 CFR 1.291 permits a member of the 

public to file a protest against a pending 

application. Protests pursuant to 37 CFR 

1.291 are supported by a separate 

statutory provision from third-party 

submissions under 37 CFR 1.290 (35 

U.S.C. 122(c) v. 35 U.S.C. 122(e)). As a 

result, there are several differences 

between protests and third-party 

submissions. 

For example, 37 CFR 1.291 permits 

the submission of information that is 

not permitted in a third-party 

submission under 37 CFR 1.290. 

Specifically, 37 CFR 1.291 provides for 

the submission of information other 

than publications, including any facts or 

information adverse to patentability, 

and arguments to that effect. Further, 37 

CFR 1.291 requires a protest to include 

a concise explanation of the relevance of 

each item of information submitted. 

Unlike the concise description of 

relevance required for a preissuance 

submission under 37 CFR 1.290, which 

is limited to a description of a 

document’s relevance, the concise 

explanation for a protest under 37 CFR 

1.291 allows for arguments against 

patentability. Additionally, the 

specified time period for submitting a 

protest differs from the time period for 

submitting third-party submissions, and 

is impacted by whether the protest is 

accompanied by the written consent of 

the applicant. 

This information collection (the 

information collected via third-party 

submissions under 37 CFR 1.290 and 

protests under 37 CFR 1.291) is 

necessary so that the public may 

contribute to the quality of issued 

patents. The USPTO will use this 

information, as appropriate, during the 

patent examination process to assist in 

evaluating the patent application. 

II. Method of Collection 

Electronically when using the USPTO 

online filing system EFS-Web, or by 

mail or hand delivery. 

III. Data 

OMB Number: 0651–0062. 

IC Instruments: The individual 

instruments in this collection, as well as 

their associated forms, are listed in the 

table below. 

TABLE 1—INFORMATION COLLECTION

INSTRUMENTS AND FORMS

IC 

No. 

Information 

collection 

instrument 

Form number 

1 .... Third-Party Submissions in 

Nonissued Application; electronic.

• No Form Associated. 

2 .... Third-Party Submissions in 

Nonissued Application; paper.

• PTO/SB/429. 

3 .... Protests by the 

Public Against 

Pending Applications Under 

37 CFR 1.291; 

paper.

• No Form Associated. 

Type of Review: Revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

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

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

1,560 responses per year. 

Estimated Time per Response: The 

USPTO estimates that it will take the 

public approximately 10 hours to gather 

the necessary information, prepare the 

appropriate form or other documents, 

and submit the information to the 

USPTO. 

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 

15,600 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost Burden 

(Hourly): $6,068,400. The USPTO 

expects that attorneys will complete the 

instruments associated with this 

information collection. The professional 

hourly rate for an attorney is $389. 

Using this hourly rate, the USPTO 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES