51656 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 177 / Thursday, September 16, 2021 / Notices 

Follow the instructions to view 

Department of Commerce, USPTO 

information collections currently under 

review by OMB. 

Written comments and 

recommendations for this information 

collection should be submitted within 

30 days of the publication of this notice 

on the following website 

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 and entering either the title of 

the information collection or the OMB 

Control Number 0651–0061. 

Further information can be obtained 

by: 

• Email: InformationCollection@

uspto.gov. Include ‘‘0651–0061 

information request’’ in the subject line 

of the message. 

• Mail: Kimberly Hardy, Office of the 

Chief Administrative Officer, United 

States Patent and Trademark Office, 

P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313– 

1450. 

Kimberly Hardy, 

Information Collections Officer, Office of the 

Chief Administrative Officer, United States 

Patent and Trademark Office. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19996 Filed 9–15–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Patent and Trademark Office 

[Docket No.: PTO–P–2021–0042] 

Extension of the Motion To Amend 

Pilot Program in Trial Proceedings 

Under the America Invents Act Before 

the Patent Trial and Appeal Board 

AGENCY: United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO) is extending 

the Motion to Amend (MTA) Pilot 

Program, which was initiated on March 

15, 2019, and provides additional 

options for a patent owner who files an 

MTA before the Patent Trial and Appeal 

Board (PTAB). In particular, the MTA 

Pilot Program provides a patent owner 

who files an MTA with options to 

request preliminary guidance from the 

PTAB on the MTA and to file a revised 

MTA. The program also provides 

timelines for briefing to accommodate 

these options. 

DATES: Effective Date: September 16, 

2021. Duration: The MTA Pilot Program 

will run until September 16, 2022. The 

USPTO may extend the MTA Pilot 

Program (with or without modification) 

on either a temporary or a permanent 

basis, or may discontinue the program 

after that date. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jessica Kaiser, Lead Administrative 

Patent Judge, or Michelle Ankenbrand, 

Lead Administrative Patent Judge, by 

telephone at 571–272–9797. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A patent 

owner in an America Invents Act (AIA) 

trial proceeding may file an MTA as a 

matter of right. See 35 U.S.C. 316(d)(1), 

326(d)(1). After receiving feedback from 

the public about the PTAB’s MTA 

practice, including some concerns 

regarding the grant rate of claim 

amendments in AIA trial proceedings, 

in October 2018 the USPTO published 

a Request for Comments in the Federal 

Register seeking written public 

comments on a proposed amendment 

process in AIA trials that would involve 

preliminary guidance from the PTAB on 

the merits of an MTA and an 

opportunity for a patent owner to file a 

revised MTA (Request for Comments on 

Motion To Amend Practice and 

Procedures in Trial Proceedings Under 

the America Invents Act Before the 

Patent Trial and Appeal Board, 83 FR 

54319 (Oct. 29, 2018)). The majority of 

comments supported the PTAB issuing 

a preliminary decision in cases 

involving an MTA, and commenters 

were almost evenly mixed in supporting 

or opposing a revised MTA. On March 

15, 2019, in response to the stakeholder 

comments received, the USPTO issued 

a notice detailing the MTA Pilot 

Program (Notice Regarding a New Pilot 

Program Concerning Motion To Amend 

Practice and Procedures in Trial 

Proceedings Under the America Invents 

Act Before the Patent Trial and Appeal 

Board, 84 FR 9497 (Mar. 15, 2019)). 

The MTA Pilot Program provides a 

patent owner with two options not 

previously available: (1) A patent owner 

may choose to receive preliminary 

guidance from the PTAB on its MTA, 

and/or (2) A patent owner may choose 

to file a revised MTA after receiving the 

petitioner’s opposition to the original 

MTA and/or after receiving the PTAB’s 

preliminary guidance (if requested). If a 

patent owner does not elect either the 

option to receive preliminary guidance 

or the option to file a revised MTA, AIA 

trial practice, including MTA practice, 

is essentially unchanged from the 

practice prior to the MTA Pilot Program. 

The USPTO has presented 

preliminary results of the MTA Pilot 

Program and continues to track data 

related to MTAs. The most recent 

information and statistics related to 

MTAs are available on the USPTO’s 

website at www.uspto.gov/patents/ptab/ 

motions-amend-study. 

Based on the preliminary results of 

the MTA Pilot Program, the USPTO has 

decided to extend it. The program is 

hereby extended through September 16, 

2022. The USPTO may extend the MTA 

Pilot Program (with or without 

modification) on either a temporary or 

a permanent basis, or may discontinue 

the program after that date. 

The requirements for the MTA Pilot 

Program remain as set forth in the 

original notice, without modification at 

this time. 

Andrew Hirshfeld, 

Commissioner for Patents, Performing the 

Functions and Duties of the Under Secretary 

of Commerce for Intellectual Property and 

Director of the United States Patent and 

Trademark Office. 

[FR Doc. 2021–20037 Filed 9–15–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Office of the Secretary 

[Docket ID: DoD–2021–OS–0097] 

Proposed Collection; Comment 

Request 

AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary of 

Defense for Personnel and Readiness, 

Department of Defense (DoD). 

ACTION: Information collection notice. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 

Office of the Under Secretary of Defense 

for Personnel and Readiness announces 

a proposed public information 

collection and seeks public comment on 

the provisions thereof. Comments are 

invited on: Whether the proposed 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the agency, including 

whether the information shall have 

practical utility; the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden of the 

proposed information collection; ways 

to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and ways to minimize the 

burden of the information collection on 

respondents, including through the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

DATES: Consideration will be given to all 

comments received by November 15, 

2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by docket number and title, 

by any of the following methods: 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 177 / Thursday, September 16, 2021 / Notices 51657 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Mail: DoD cannot receive written 

comments at this time due to the 

COVID–19 pandemic. Comments should 

be sent electronically to the docket 

listed above. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name, docket 

number and title for this Federal 

Register document. The general policy 

for comments and other submissions 

from members of the public is to make 

these submissions available for public 

viewing on the internet at http://

www.regulations.gov as they are 

received without change, including any 

personal identifiers or contact 

information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

request more information on this 

proposed information collection or to 

obtain a copy of the proposal and 

associated collection instruments, 

please write to Defense Human 

Resources Activity, 4800 Mark Center 

Drive, Suite 08F05, Alexandria, VA 

22350, LaTarsha Yeargins, 571–372– 

2089. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title; Associated Form; and OMB 

Number: National Language Service 

Corps (NSLC) Application and 

Assessment; DD Form 2932, DD Form 

2933, DD Form 2934; OMB Control 

Number 0704–0449. 

Needs and Uses: The NLSC recruits 

from the general public and enrolls 

individuals who would like to volunteer 

their language skills. The NLSC 

identifies U.S. citizens who can provide 

high levels of proficiency in foreign 

languages and cultural expertise critical 

to national security for short-term 

temporary assignments when other 

resources are not available. The NLSC 

will fill gaps between requirements of 

DoD or other departments or agencies of 

the United States and available language 

skills where government employees are 

required or desired. The NLSC will 

reach out to U.S. citizens (age 18 or 

over) who can read, listen, speak, and 

write in English and read, listen, write 

and speak at least one other specified 

language, generally at or above skill 

level 3 as described by the proficiency 

guidelines of the Federal Interagency 

Language Roundtable (ILR). The DoD 

and the Intelligence Community 

agencies use these guidelines as the 

basis for language skill requirements 

identification, position descriptions, 

readiness indices and language bonus 

pay systems. Therefore, the ILR 

proficiency guidelines represent a 

common metric used by USG agencies 

as a basis for policy, planning and 

human capital decisions in operational, 

mission critical areas where language is 

required. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households. 

Annual Burden Hours: 1,020 hours. 

Number of Respondents: 1,700. 

Responses per Respondent: 3. 

Annual Responses: 5,100. 

Average Burden per Response: 12 

minutes. 

Frequency: On occasion. 

Dated: September 10, 2021. 

Kayyonne T. Marston, 

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison 

Officer, Department of Defense. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19954 Filed 9–15–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 5001–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Office of the Secretary 

[Docket ID: DoD–2020–OS–0104] 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: National Defense University, 

Department of Defense (DoD). 

ACTION: 30-Day information collection 

notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Defense 

has submitted to OMB for clearance the 

following proposal for collection of 

information under the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act. 

DATES: Consideration will be given to all 

comments received by October 18, 2021. 

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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Angela Duncan, 571–372–7574, or 

whs.mc-alex.esd.mbx.dd-dodinformation-collections@mail.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title; Associated Form; and OMB 

Number: National Defense University 

Security Office Forms; OMB Control 

Number 0704–NDUS. 

Type of Request: Existing collection in 

use without an OMB Control Number. 

Number of Respondents: 385. 

Responses per Respondent: 1. 

Annual Responses: 385. 

Average Burden per Response: 12 

minutes. 

Annual Burden Hours: 77. 

Needs and Uses: The National 

Defense University (NDU) Security 

Office is responsible for ensuring 

personnel and facility security in all 

situations involving NDU employees. 

This includes ensuring that an 

appropriate background investigation is 

completed and favorably adjudicated in 

accordance with 32 CFR 156.6— 

Common access card (CAC) 

investigation and adjudication. It is also 

necessary for the NDU Security Office to 

process visit clearance certification for 

NDU employees that are visiting outside 

agencies/components facilities 

involving access to, or disclosure of, 

classified information. In accordance 

with DoDM 5200.01, volume 3 and 

DoDD 5230.20 at a minimum, data is 

required to identify an individual, 

personnel security clearance, access (if 

appropriate), and need to know for all 

visitors. NDU Security Office is also 

responsible for in-processing all 

permanent personnel (military, 

civilians, contractors, and foreign 

partners assigned to the colleges and 

centers within NDU’s area of 

responsibility). In accordance with 

HSPD–12 and FIPS 201, the data 

provided is necessary to process 

Personal Identity Verification (PIV) 

credentials to personnel seeking 

physical access to federally-controlled 

government facilities. The three forms 

included in this collection package—the 

NDU eQIP Nomination Form, NDU Visit 

Request Form, and NDU Security InProcess Form—facilitate each of these 

processes, respectively. Respondents to 

this collection are National Defense 

University employees who must provide 

information to the NDU Security Office 

to facilitate essential personnel, facility, 

and information security functions. This 

includes information necessary to 

complete a background investigation for 

CAC card issuance (NDU eQIP 

Nomination Form), information for inprocessing and PIV credentialing (NDU 

Security In-Process Form), and 

information for visit clearance 

certification (NDU Visit Request Form). 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households. 

Frequency: On occasion. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

OMB Desk Officer: Ms. Jasmeet 

Seehra. 

You may also submit comments and 

recommendations, identified by Docket 

ID number and title, by the following 

method: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name, Docket 

ID number, and title for this Federal