Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 2, 2014 / Notices 71397 

disturbance, which may include turning 

head towards the disturbance, craning 

head and neck while holding the body 

rigid in a u-shaped position, or changing 

from a lying to a sitting position and/or 

slight movement of less than 1 m; 

‘‘alert’’; (2) Movements in response to or 

away from disturbance, typically over 

short distances (1–3 m) and including 

dramatic changes in direction or speed 

of locomotion for animals already in 

motion; ‘‘movement’’; and (3) All 

flushes to the water as well as lengthier 

retreats (>.3 m); ‘‘flight’’. 

6. Reporting: The holder of this IHA 

is required to: 

a. Report observations of unusual 

behaviors, numbers, or distributions of 

pinnipeds, or of tag-bearing carcasses, to 

Point Blue and NMFS Southwest 

Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC). 

b. Submit a draft monitoring report to 

NMFS Office of Protected Resources 

within 60 days after the conclusion of 

the 2015 field season or 60 days prior 

to the start of the next field season if a 

new IHA will be requested. A final 

report shall be prepared and submitted 

within 30 days following resolution of 

any comments on the draft report from 

NMFS. This report must contain the 

informational elements described above, 

at minimum. 

c. Reporting injured or dead marine 

mammals: 

i. In the event that the specified 

activity clearly causes the take of a 

marine mammal in a manner prohibited 

by this IHA, such as an injury (Level A 

harassment), serious injury, or 

mortality, GFNMS shall immediately 

cease the specified activities and report 

the incident to the Office of Protected 

Resources (301–427–8401), NMFS, and 

the Southwest Regional Stranding 

Coordinator (562–980–3230), NMFS. 

The report must include the following 

information: 

1. Time and date of the incident; 

2. Description of the incident; 

3. Environmental conditions (e.g., 

wind speed and direction, Beaufort sea 

state, cloud cover, and visibility); 

4. Description of all marine mammal 

observations in the 24 hours preceding 

the incident; 

5. Species identification or 

description of the animal(s) involved; 

6. Fate of the animal(s); and 

7. Photographs or video footage of the 

animal(s). 

Activities shall not resume until 

NMFS is able to review the 

circumstances of the prohibited take. 

NMFS will work with GFNMS to 

determine what measures are necessary 

to minimize the likelihood of further 

prohibited take and ensure MMPA 

compliance. PISCO may not resume the 

activities until notified by NMFS. 

ii. In the event that an injured or dead 

marine mammal is discovered and it is 

determined that the cause of the injury 

or death is unknown and the death is 

relatively recent (e.g., in less than a 

moderate state of decomposition), 

GFNMS shall immediately report the 

incident to the Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, and the Southwest 

Regional Stranding Coordinator, NMFS. 

The report must include the same 

information identified in 6(c)(i) of this 

IHA. Activities may continue while 

NMFS reviews the circumstances of the 

incident. NMFS will work with GFNMS 

to determine whether additional 

mitigation measures or modifications to 

the activities are appropriate. 

iii. In the event that an injured or 

dead marine mammal is discovered and 

it is determined that the injury or death 

is not associated with or related to the 

activities authorized in the IHA (e.g., 

previously wounded animal, carcass 

with moderate to advanced 

decomposition, or scavenger damage), 

GFNMS shall report the incident to the 

Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 

and the Southwest Regional Stranding 

Coordinator, NMFS, within 24 hours of 

the discovery. GFNMS shall provide 

photographs or video footage or other 

documentation of the stranded animal 

sighting to NMFS. Activities may 

continue while NMFS reviews the 

circumstances of the incident. 

7. This IHA may be modified, 

suspended or withdrawn if the holder 

fails to abide by the conditions 

prescribed herein or if NMFS 

determines the authorized taking is 

having more than a negligible impact on 

the species or stock of affected marine 

mammals. 

Request for Public Comments 

NMFS requests comment on our 

analysis, the draft authorization, and 

any other aspect of the Notice of 

Proposed IHA for GFNMS’ proposed 

rocky intertidal monitoring program. 

Please include with your comments any 

supporting data or literature citations to 

help inform our final decision on 

GFNMS’ request for an MMPA 

authorization. 

Dated: November 26, 2014. 

Donna S. Wieting, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–28391 Filed 12–1–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Patent and Trademark Office 

Recording Assignments 

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment 

request. 

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 take this opportunity to 

comment on the continuing information 

collection, 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 February 2, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• Email: InformationCollection@

uspto.gov. Include ‘‘0651–0027 

comment’’ 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 

• Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information 

should be directed to Joyce R. Johnson, 

Manager, Assignment Division, Mail 

Stop 1450, United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, 

Alexandria, VA 22313–1450; by 

telephone at 703–756–1265; or by email 

to Joyce.Johnson@uspto.gov. Additional 

information about this collection is also 

available at http://www.reginfo.gov 

under ‘‘Information Collection Review.’’ 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

This collection of information is 

required by 35 U.S.C. 261 and 262 for 

patents and 15 U.S.C. 1057 and 1060 for 

trademarks. These statutes authorize the 

United States Patent and Trademark 

Office (USPTO) to record patent and 

trademark assignment documents, 

including transfers of properties (i.e. 

patents and trademarks), liens, licenses, 

assignments of interest, security 

interests, mergers, and explanations of 

transactions or other documents that 

record the transfer of ownership of a 

particular patent or trademark property 

from one party to another. Assignments 

are recorded for applications, patents, 

and trademark registrations. 

The USPTO administers these statutes 

through 37 CFR 2.146, 2.171, and 37 

CFR part 3. These rules permit the 


rljohnson on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
71398 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 2, 2014 / Notices 

public, corporations, other federal 

agencies, and Government-owned or 

Government-controlled corporations to 

submit patent and trademark 

assignment documents and other 

documents related to title transfers to 

the USPTO to be recorded. In 

accordance with 37 CFR 3.54, the 

recording of an assignment document by 

the USPTO is an administrative action 

and not a determination of the validity 

of the document or of the effect that the 

document has on the title to an 

application, patent, or trademark. 

Once the assignment documents are 

recorded, they are available for public 

inspection. The only exceptions are 

those documents that are sealed under 

secrecy orders according to 37 CFR 3.58 

or related to unpublished patent 

applications maintained in confidence 

under 35 U.S.C. 122 and 37 CFR 1.14. 

The public uses these records to 

conduct ownership and chain-of-title 

searches. The public may view these 

records either at the USPTO Public 

Search Facilities or at the National 

Archives and Records Administration, 

depending on the date they were 

recorded. The public may also search 

patent and trademark assignment 

information online through the USPTO 

Web site. 

In order to file a request to record an 

assignment, the respondent must submit 

an appropriate cover sheet along with 

copies of the assignment documents to 

be recorded. The USPTO provides two 

paper forms for this purpose, the Patent 

Recordation Form Cover Sheet (PTO– 

1595) and the Trademark Recordation 

Form Cover Sheet (PTO–1594), which 

capture all of the necessary data for 

accurately recording various assignment 

documents. These forms may be 

downloaded in PDF format from the 

USPTO Web site. 

Customers may also submit 

assignments online by using the 

Electronic Patent Assignment System 

(EPAS) and the Electronic Trademark 

Assignment System (ETAS), which are 

available through the USPTO Web site. 

These systems allow customers to fill 

out the required cover sheet information 

online using web-based forms and then 

attach the electronic assignment 

documents to be submitted for 

recordation. 

II. Method of Collection 

By mail, facsimile, hand delivery, or 

electronically to the USPTO. 

III. Data 

OMB Number: 0651–0027. 

Form Number(s): PTO–1594 and 

PTO–1595. 

Type of Review: Revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households; businesses or other forprofits; not-for-profit institutions; the 

Federal Government; and state, local or 

tribal governments. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

524,298 responses per year. 

Estimated Time per Response: The 

USPTO estimates that it will take the 

public approximately 30 minutes (0.5 

hours) to prepare and submit a patent or 

trademark assignment recordation 

request. 

Estimated Total Annual Respondent 

Burden Hours: 262,150 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Respondent 

Cost Burden: 67,372,550 per year. 

The USPTO expects that the 

information in this collection will be 

prepared by both attorneys and 

paralegals. Using the estimated rates of 

$389 per hour for attorneys in private 

firms and $125 per hour for 

paraprofessionals, the USPTO estimates 

that the average rate for respondents 

will be approximately $257 per hour. 

Therefore, the estimated total 

respondent cost burden for this 

collection will be approximately 

$67,372,550 per year. 

Item 

Estimated time for 

response 

(minutes) 

Estimated annual 

responses 

Estimated annual 

burden hours 

Patent Recordation Form Cover Sheet (PTO–1595) ................................................ 30 8,219 4,110 

Trademark Recordation Form Cover Sheet (PTO–1594) ......................................... 30 1,430 715 

Electronic Patent Assignment System (EPAS) (PTO–1595) .................................... 30 480,804 240,402 

Electronic Trademark Assignment System (ETAS) (PTO–1594) ............................. 30 33,845 16,923 

Totals .................................................................................................................. .............................. 524,298 262,150 

Estimated Total Annual Non-hour 

Respondent Cost Burden: $2,954,726. 

This information collection has annual 

(non-hour) costs in the form of filing 

fees and postage costs. 

This collection has filing fees 

associated with submitting patent and 

trademark assignment documents to be 

recorded. The filing fees for recording 

patent and trademark assignments are 

the same for both paper and electronic 

submissions. However, the filing cost 

for recording patent or trademark 

assignments varies according to the 

number of properties involved in each 

submission. 

The filing fee for submitting a patent 

assignment as indicated by 37 CFR 

1.21(h) is $40 per property for recording 

each document, while the filing fee for 

submitting a trademark assignment as 

indicated by 37 CFR 2.6(b)(6) is $40 for 

recording the first property in a 

document and $25 for each additional 

property in the same document. The 

USPTO estimates that the average fee for 

a patent assignment recordation request 

is approximately $80 and that the 

average fee for a trademark assignment 

recordation request is approximately 

$65. As of January 1, 2014, the filing fee 

for electronically filled patent 

assignments was changed to no cost. 

Therefore, this collection has an 

estimated total of $2,950,395 in filing 

fees per year. 

Item Estimated annual 

responses 

Average fee 

amount 

Estimated annual 

filing costs 

Patent Recordation Form Cover Sheet (PTO–1595) ................................................ 8,219 $80.00 $657,520.00 

Trademark Recordation Form Cover Sheet (PTO–1594) ......................................... 1,430 65.00 92,950.00 

Electronic Patent Assignment System (EPAS) (PTO–1595) .................................... 480,804 0.00 0.00 

Electronic Trademark Assignment System (ETAS) (PTO–1594) ............................. 33,845 65.00 2,199,925.00 

Totals .................................................................................................................. 524,298 .............................. 2,950,395.00 


rljohnson on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 2, 2014 / Notices 71399 

Customers may incur postage costs 

when submitting a patent or trademark 

assignment request to the USPTO by 

mail. The USPTO expects that some 

assignment requests will be submitted 

by fax but that approximately 4,921 

(51%) of the 9,649 paper assignment 

requests per year will be submitted by 

mail. The USPTO estimates that the 

average first-class postage cost for a 

mailed Patent or Trademark Recordation 

Form Cover Sheet submission is 88 

cents, resulting in a total postage cost of 

$4,331 per year for this collection. 

The total (non-hour) respondent cost 

burden for this collection in the form of 

filing fees and postage costs is estimated 

to be $2,954,726 per year. 

IV. Request for Comments 

Comments are invited on: (a) 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; (b) the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden 

(including hours and cost) of the 

proposed collection of information; (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, e.g., the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be summarized or 

included in the request for OMB 

approval of this information collection; 

they also will become a matter of public 

record. 

Dated: November 20, 2014. 

Marcie Lovett, 

Records Management Division Director, 

USPTO, Office of the Chief Information 

Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2014–28428 Filed 12–1–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Patent and Trademark Office 

National Medal of Technology and 

Innovation Nomination Application 

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment 

request. 

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 take this opportunity to 

comment on the extension of a 

continuing information collection, 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 February 2, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• Email: InformationCollection@

uspto.gov. Include ‘‘0651–0060 

comment’’ 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 the attention of 

John Palafoutas, Program Manager, 

United States Patent and Trademark 

Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 

22313–1450, by telephone at 571–272– 

8400, or by email to nmti@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 National Medal of Technology 

and Innovation is the highest honor for 

technological achievement bestowed by 

the President of the United States on 

America’s leading innovators. 

Established by an Act of Congress in 

1980, the Medal of Technology was first 

awarded in 1985. The Medal is awarded 

annually to individuals, teams (up to 

four individuals), companies or 

divisions of companies for their 

outstanding contributions to the 

Nation’s economic, environmental and 

social well-being through the 

development and commercialization of 

technology products, processes and 

concepts, technological innovation, and 

development of the Nation’s 

technological manpower. 

The purpose of the National Medal of 

Technology and Innovation is to 

recognize those who have made lasting 

contributions to America’s 

competitiveness, standard of living, and 

quality of life through technological 

innovation, and to recognize those who 

have made substantial contributions to 

strengthening the Nation’s technological 

workforce. By highlighting the national 

importance of technological innovation, 

the Medal also seeks to inspire future 

generations of Americans to prepare for 

and pursue technical careers to keep 

America at the forefront of global 

technology and economic leadership. 

The National Medal of Technology 

and Innovation Nomination Evaluation 

Committee, a distinguished 

independent committee appointed by 

the Secretary of Commerce, reviews and 

evaluates the merit of all candidates 

nominated through an open, 

competitive solicitation process. The 

committee makes its recommendations 

for Medal candidates to the Secretary of 

Commerce who, in turn, makes 

recommendations to the President for 

final selection. The National Medal of 

Technology and Innovation Laureates 

are announced by the White House once 

the Medalists are notified of their 

selection. 

The public uses the National Medal of 

Technology and Innovation Nomination 

Application to recognize through 

nomination an individual’s, team’s or 

company’s extraordinary leadership and 

innovation in technological 

achievement and outstanding 

contributions to strengthening the 

nation’s technological workforce. The 

application must be accompanied by six 

letters of recommendation or support 

from individuals who have first-hand 

knowledge of the cited achievement(s). 

II. Method of collection 

The nomination application and 

instructions can be downloaded from 

the USPTO Web site. Nomination files 

should be submitted by electronic mail 

to NMTI@USPTO.gov. Alternatively, 

letters of recommendation may be sent 

by electronic mail, fax, or overnight 

delivery. 

III. Data 

OMB Number: 0651–0060. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection. 

Affected Public: Primarily business or 

other for-profit organizations; not-forprofit institutions; individuals or 

households. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 50 

responses per year. 

Estimated Time per Response: The 

USPTO estimates that it will take 

approximately 40 hours to gather the 

necessary information, prepare the 

nomination form, write the 

recommendations, and submit the 

request for the nomination to the 

USPTO. 

Estimated Total Annual Respondent 

Burden Hours: 2,000 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Respondent 

Cost Burden: $75,000. The USPTO 

expects that private sector individuals 

of various occupations and professions 

will complete this information. The 


rljohnson on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES