[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 195 (Friday, October 7, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62389-62391]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-26157]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No.: PTO-P-2011-0062]
Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearings on the Study
of International Patent Protection for Small Businesses
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is interested
in gathering information on international patent protection for small
businesses for purposes of preparing a report on the subject as
required by the America Invents Act. To assist in gathering this
information, the USPTO is holding a public hearing at which interested
members of the public are invited to testify on this topic. In
addition, members of the public may submit written comments.
Public Hearing: The USPTO will hold two hearings in support of the
study of international patent protection for small businesses. The
first public hearing will be held on October 27, 2011, beginning at 1
p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and ending at 4 p.m. EDT. The first
public hearing will be held at the USPTO in the Madison Auditorium on
the concourse level of the Madison
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Building, located at 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314. The
second public hearing will be held on November 1, 2011, beginning at 9
a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) and ending at 12 p.m. PDT. The second
public hearing will be held at the University of Southern California in
the Gould School of Law, located at 699 Exposition Boulevard, Los
Angeles, California 90089.
Those wishing to present oral testimony at the hearing must request
an opportunity to do so in writing by e-mail to [email protected]
no later than October 20, 2011, for the first public hearing, and no
later than October 25, 2011, for the second public hearing. Requests to
testify at the hearing must indicate the following information: (1) The
name of the person desiring to testify; (2) the person's contact
information (telephone number and electronic mail address); (3) the
organization(s) the person represents, if any; and (4) a preliminary
written copy of their testimony. Based on the requests received, an
agenda of scheduled testimony will be sent to testifying respondents,
and posted on the USPTO Internet Web site (address: http://www.uspto.gov/americainventsact).
Speakers selected to provide testimony at the hearing should
provide a final written copy of their testimony for inclusion in the
record of the proceedings no later than October 21, 2011.
The USPTO plans to make the public hearing available via webcast.
Webcast information will be available on the USPTO's Internet Web site
(address: http://www.uspto.gov/americainventsact) before the public
hearing.
Written Comments: Written comments should be sent by e-mail to
[email protected]. Comments may also be submitted by postal mail
addressed to: Saurabh Vishnubhakat, Attorney Advisor, Office of Chief
Economist, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Mail Stop
External Affairs, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450. Although
comments may be submitted by postal mail, the USPTO prefers to receive
comments via e-mail. The deadline for receipt of written comments for
consideration by the USPTO is November 8, 2011. Written comments should
be identified in the subject line of the e-mail or postal mailing as
``International Patent Protection for Small Businesses.''
Because comments will be made available for public inspection,
information that is not desired to be made public, such as an address
or phone number, should not be included in the comments.
Availability of Hearing Transcript and Written Comments: A
transcript of the hearing and the written comments will be available
for public inspection at the Office of Chief Economist, located in the
Madison West Building, Tenth Floor, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria,
Virginia 22314. In addition, the hearing transcript and the comments
from the public will also be available via the USPTO Internet Web site
(address: http://www.uspto.gov/americainventsact).
Contact: Saurabh Vishnubhakat, Office of Chief Economist, by
telephone 571-272-3427; by e-mail at [email protected]; or
by postal mail addressed to: Saurabh Vishnubhakat, Office of Chief
Economist, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Madison West
Building, Tenth Floor, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314.
The America Invents Act, Section 31, charges the Director of the
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), in consultation with
the Secretary of Commerce and the Administrator of the Small Business
Administration, with delivering a study no later than 120 days after
the enactment of the Act (i.e., by January 14, 2012) on how the USPTO,
in coordination with other Federal departments and agencies, can best
help small businesses with international patent protection. The USPTO
therefore broadly seeks comments on how to address the issue of
international patent protection for small businesses and whether a
revolving fund loan program or a grant program should be established to
pay for the costs of filing, maintaining, and enforcing international
patent protection.
Issues for Testimony and/or Written Comment: Interested members of
the public are invited to submit testimony and/or written comments on
issues that they believe relevant to international patent protection
for small businesses. The questions enumerated below are a preliminary
guide for gathering comments on the potential legislative strategies
that the USPTO should recommend to Congress. The public is invited to
answer any or all of these questions. The tenor of the following
questions should not be taken as an indication that the USPTO has taken
a position or is predisposed to any particular views.
1. Overall, how important is international patent protection to
small business?
2. At what point, if ever, in the growth of small companies does
international patent protection become important?
3. What challenges, if any, interfere with the growth and
competitiveness of small companies if international patent protection
is not sought early in the innovation process?
4. What specific role does international patent protection play in
the successful internationalization strategies (such as franchising,
exporting, or foreign-direct-investment) of small businesses? Does this
role differ by industry or sector?
5. How can the USPTO and other Federal agencies best support small
businesses regarding international patents:
(a) In obtaining international patent rights?
(b) In maintaining international patent rights?
(c) In enforcing international patent rights?
6. What role should the Federal Government play in assisting small
businesses to defray the costs of filing, maintaining, and enforcing
international patent protection?
7. In order to help small businesses pay for the costs of filing,
maintaining, and enforcing international patent applications, how
effective would it be to establish a revolving fund loan program to
make loans to small businesses to defray the costs of such
applications, maintenance, and enforcement and related technical
assistance?
(a) Under what specific circumstances, if at all, would such a fund
be effective at helping small businesses?
(b) If such a fund would be effective, should the fund be
maintained by the Federal Government, and if so, through what
mechanism?
(c) What criteria should be used to decide upon recipients of
funding?
(d) Could the private sector be meaningfully involved in
maintaining and implementing such a fund?
8. In order to help small businesses pay for the costs of filing,
maintaining, and enforcing international patent applications, how
effective would it be to establish a grant program to defray the costs
of filing applications, paying maintenance fees, and conducting
enforcement and to provide related technical assistance?
(a) Under what circumstances, if at all, would such a program be
effective at helping small businesses?
(b) If such a grant program would be effective, should the program
be maintained by the Federal Government, and if so, through what
mechanism?
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What type of grant program, covering what specific costs, would be most
effective?
(c) What criteria should be used to decide upon recipients of
grants?
(d) Could the private sector be meaningfully involved in
maintaining and implementing such a program?
9. If the Federal Government is limited to providing either (i) A
revolving fund loan program or (ii) a grant program described above,
but not both, which of these options would be more effective in
accomplishing the outcome of helping small businesses pay for the costs
of filing, maintaining, and enforcing international patent
applications?
10. Are there circumstances under which the Federal Government
should not consider establishing any of these programs?
Dated: October 4, 2011.
David J. Kappos,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2011-26157 Filed 10-6-11; 8:45 am]
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