52652 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 181 / Wednesday, September 22, 2021 / Notices 

1Legal representation before Federal agencies is 

generally governed by the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 

500. That statute, however, provides a specific 

exception for representation in patent matters 

before the USPTO. 5 U.S.C. 500(e). See 35 U.S.C. 

2(b)(2)(D) [formerly 35 U.S.C. 31]. 

TABLE 1—STATE AND FEDERAL COMMERCIAL FISHERIES INCLUDED ON

THE 2018 AND 2020 ANNUAL DETERMINATIONS—Continued 

Fishery 

Years 

eligible 

to carry 

observers 

Pound Net/Weir/Seine Fisheries 

Gulf of Mexico menhaden purse seine 2018–2022 

Dated: September 17, 2021. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–20522 Filed 9–21–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Patent and Trademark Office 

[Docket No. PTO–P–2021–0005] 

Administrative Updates to the General 

Requirements Bulletin for Admission 

to the Examination for Registration To 

Practice in Patent Cases Before the 

United States Patent and Trademark 

Office 

AGENCY: United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) 

previously published a notice 

requesting comments on the 

implementation of certain 

administrative updates to the General 

Requirements Bulletin for Admission to 

the Examination for Registration to 

Practice in Patent Cases Before the 

United States Patent and Trademark 

Office (GRB). The USPTO has 

considered the comments and, based on 

the support for the proposals, is 

implementing the updates to the GRB. 

There are three categories of technical 

and scientific qualifications that may 

typically make applicants eligible to sit 

for the registration examination: 

Category A for specified bachelor’s 

degrees, Category B for other bachelor’s 

degrees with technical and scientific 

training, and Category C for practical 

engineering or scientific experience, 

which may be demonstrated by passing 

the Fundamentals of Engineering test. 

Based on the USPTO’s evaluation and 

comments received, the USPTO is 

changing the criteria to: Add common 

Category B degrees to Category A, accept 

advanced degrees (i.e., master’s and 

doctor of philosophy degrees) under 

Category A, and accept a combination of 

core sciences under Category B, Options 

2 and 4, so long as one of the core 

science courses has a lab component. 

DATES: The revised GRB incorporating 

the proposed updates will be published 

and applicable as of September 22, 

2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Will 

Covey, Director of the Office of 

Enrollment and Discipline, by telephone 

at 571–272–4097 or by email at oed@

uspto.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Summary 

On March 23, 2021, the Office 

published a request for comments on 

three proposals to change the criteria for 

sitting for the registration examination: 

(1) Adding common Category B degrees 

to Category A, (2) accepting advanced 

degrees (i.e., master’s and doctor of 

philosophy degrees) under Category A, 

and (3) accepting a combination of core 

sciences under Category B, Options 2 

and 4, so long as one of the core science 

courses has a lab component. The Office 

received 32 comments in response to 

this request for comments as of May 24, 

2021 (the closing date for comments). 

An overwhelming majority of the 

comments were supportive of the 

suggested changes. 

This notice provides information 

relating to the implementation of the 

three proposals. 

Background 

The Director of the USPTO is given 

statutory authority to require a showing 

by patent practitioners that they possess 

‘‘the necessary qualifications to render 

applicants or other persons valuable 

service, advice, and assistance in the 

presentation or prosecution of their 

applications or other business before the 

Office.’’ 35 U.S.C. 2(b)(2)(D). The courts 

have determined that the USPTO 

Director bears the primary responsibility 

for protecting the public from 

unqualified practitioners. 

Pursuant to that responsibility, 

USPTO regulations provide that 

registration to practice in patent matters 

before the USPTO requires a 

practitioner to, inter alia, demonstrate 

possession of scientific and technical 

qualifications.1 The role of patent 

practitioners with scientific and 

technical backgrounds in providing full 

and clear patent specifications and 

claims has long been acknowledged. 

The USPTO publishes the GRB, which 

sets forth guidance for establishing 

possession of scientific and technical 

qualifications. The GRB is available at 

www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/ 

documents/OED_GRB.pdf. 

The GRB lists three categories of 

scientific and technical qualifications 

that typically make one eligible for 

admission to the registration 

examination: (1) Category A for 

specified bachelor’s degrees, (2) 

Category B for other bachelor’s degrees 

with technical and scientific training, 

and (3) Category C for individuals who 

rely on practical engineering or 

scientific experience by demonstrating 

that they have passed the Fundamentals 

of Engineering test. If a candidate for 

registration does not qualify under any 

of the categories listed in the GRB, the 

USPTO will conduct an independent 

review for compliance with the 

scientific and technical qualifications 

pursuant to 37 CFR 11.7(a)(2)(ii). 

The USPTO has evaluated, and 

continues to evaluate, the list of 

typically qualifying training set forth in 

the GRB. These evaluations seek to 

clarify guidance on what will satisfy the 

scientific and technical qualifications 

and to identify possible areas of 

improved administrative efficiency. To 

that end, the USPTO published a notice 

requesting comments on three proposed 

updates to the GRB: (1) Adding common 

Category B degrees to Category A, (2) 

accepting advanced degrees (i.e., 

master’s and doctor of philosophy 

degrees) under Category A, and (3) 

accepting a combination of core 

sciences under Category B, Options 2 

and 4, so long as one of the core science 

courses has a lab component. See 

‘‘Request for Comments on 

Administrative Updates to the General 

Requirements Bulletin for Admission to 

the Examination for Registration to 

Practice in Patent Cases Before the 

United States Patent and Trademark 

Office,’’ 86 FR 15467 (March 23, 2021). 

The USPTO received 32 comments 

from intellectual property organizations, 

universities, industry, a law firm, 

individual patent practitioners, and the 

general public. The USPTO 

acknowledges and appreciates the many 

comments that were submitted from the 

intellectual property community. The 

comments are available at: 

www.regulations.gov/document/PTO-P2021-0005-0001/comment. The USPTO 

has considered the comments, including 

those that raised concerns or provided 

suggestions. The USPTO is 

implementing the proposals as stated in 

the request for comments, and as 

explained below. Additional 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 181 / Wednesday, September 22, 2021 / Notices 52653 

2See OED Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), 

available at www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/ 

patent-and-trademark-practitioners/oed-frequentlyasked-questions-faqs. 

suggestions beyond the scope of the 

request for comments and the questions 

posed therein were provided in many of 

the comments. The USPTO appreciates 

the suggestions and may address them 

in the future, once further evaluation 

and data are garnered. 

This notice merely describes agency 

policy and procedures and does not 

involve substantive rulemaking. While 

the criteria for admission to practice in 

patent matters is generally described in 

37 CFR 11.7, the rule does not set forth 

the specific scientific and technical 

criteria for admission. 

Administrative Update 1: Add Common 

Category B Degrees to Category A 

As explained further in the GRB, 

bachelor’s degrees listed under Category 

A present prima facie evidence of the 

requisite technical and scientific 

qualifications. Prior to this notice, the 

bachelor’s degree under Category A may 

only have been in one of the following 

subjects: Biology, biochemistry, botany, 

computer science, electronics 

technology, food technology, general 

chemistry, marine technology, 

microbiology, molecular biology, 

organic chemistry, pharmacology, 

physics, textile technology, aeronautical 

engineering, agricultural engineering, 

biomedical engineering, ceramic 

engineering, chemical engineering, civil 

engineering, computer engineering, 

electrical engineering, electrochemical 

engineering, engineering physics, 

general engineering, geological 

engineering, industrial engineering, 

mechanical engineering, metallurgical 

engineering, mining engineering, 

nuclear engineering, and petroleum 

engineering. These degree categories 

will remain listed under Category A. 

Acceptable computer science degrees 

under Category A must be accredited by 

the Computer Science Accreditation 

Commission of the Computing Sciences 

Accreditation Board or by the 

Computing Accreditation Commission 

of the Accreditation Board for 

Engineering and Technology on or 

before the date the degree was awarded. 

This requirement for computer science 

degrees under Category A remains 

unchanged by this notice. Based on the 

comments received, the USPTO will 

continue to evaluate this requirement in 

light of the type of computer science 

degrees (i.e., whether accredited or not) 

and the nature of computer science 

degrees generally awarded by colleges 

and universities. 

Starting in early 2020, the USPTO 

undertook a review of Category B 

applications to identify bachelor’s 

degrees that are routinely accepted as 

demonstrating the requisite scientific 

and technical qualifications. This 

review is ongoing. Based on the analysis 

to date and comments received, and 

understanding that Category A cannot 

be an exhaustive list of all degrees that 

would qualify, the Office is expanding 

the above list of Category A degrees to 

expressly include the following degrees 

that are routinely accepted under 

Category B: Aerospace engineering, 

bioengineering, biological science, 

biophysics, electronics engineering, 

genetic engineering, genetics, marine 

engineering, materials engineering, 

materials science, neuroscience, ocean 

engineering, and textile engineering. 

Listing these Category B degrees under 

Category A will improve operating 

efficiency and streamline the 

application process for prospective 

patent practitioners. 

The USPTO also invited comments on 

any additional degrees that should be 

considered under Category A. Based on 

the comments received and a review of 

the applicants in the suggested degree 

categories over the past three calendar 

years (i.e., 2018 through 2020), the 

USPTO is also expanding the list of 

Category A degrees to expressly include 

the following degree: Environmental 

engineering. Other degree categories 

suggested by commenters were 

considered but are not being included 

under Category A at this time to allow 

for the additional collection and 

evaluation of data on these degree 

categories. For example, one of the 

degree categories suggested by 

commenters was artificial intelligence. 

In the past three calendar years, 

however, there have been no applicants 

with an artificial intelligence degree. 

The USPTO will continue to monitor 

degree categories as the degrees and 

data develop. 

The Office will continue to accept 

degrees where the transcript 

demonstrates equivalence to a Category 

A degree (For example, molecular cell 

biology may be equivalent to biology, 

and materials science and engineering 

may be equivalent to materials 

science.).2

Administrative Update 2: Accept 

Advanced Degrees Under Category A 

Prior to this notice, Category A did 

not include post-baccalaureate degrees. 

Based on a review of applicants and the 

comments received, the USPTO is 

updating the GRB to list possession of 

a master’s or a doctor of philosophy 

degree in a Category A subject as 

demonstrating acceptable technical and 

scientific training. This includes the 

newly added Category A degrees listed 

above and degrees where the transcript 

demonstrates equivalence to a Category 

A degree. 

Administrative Update 3: Accept a 

Combination of Core Sciences Under 

Category B, Options 2 and 4 

Prior to this notice, Category B, 

Option 4 in the GRB required a 

combination of 40 credit hours in 

acceptable technical and scientific 

courses, including at least 8 hours in 

either chemistry with a lab or 8 hours 

in physics with a lab. Category B, 

Option 2, which focuses on training in 

biology and related sciences, had a 

similar requirement. The requirement 

for lab-based core science courses is 

meant to ensure familiarity with the 

processes involved in conducting valid 

experiments, the scientific method, and 

proper analysis of scientific data. 

It is not clear whether multiple 

courses in either chemistry or physics 

alone, with a lab, provide an 

appreciable benefit over general core 

science training. Accordingly, the 

USPTO is revising Category B, Option 4 

by changing ‘‘8 semester hours in 

chemistry or 8 semester hours of 

physics . . . obtained in two sequential 

courses, each containing a lab’’ to ‘‘eight 

semester hours in a combination of 

chemistry, physics, and/or biology, with 

at least one course including a lab.’’ 

Category B, Option 2, which already 

requires training in biology, is being 

revised to require at least ‘‘eight 

semester hours in a combination of 

chemistry and physics, with at least one 

course including a lab.’’ 

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. 2021–20378 Filed 9–21–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Navy 

National Nuclear Security 

Administration Pay and Performance 

System 

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD. 

ACTION: Notice of the Naval Nuclear 

Propulsion Program (NNPP) conversion 

to the National Nuclear Security 

Administration (NNSA) pay and 

performance system.