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with groundfish on board, are required
to have a working vessel monitoring
system (VMS). To support the VMS
monitoring program, the following
information must be submitted to
NMFS: (1) VMS installation/activation
certification reports, (2) position reports,
(3) exemption reports, and (4)
declaration reports. The VMS, along
with the fishing declaration reporting
requirements, allows for monitoring and
enforcement of areas closed to fishing
by gear type as traditional enforcement
methods (such as aerial surveillance,
boarding at sea via patrol boats, landing
inspections and documentary
investigation) are especially difficult to
use when the closed areas are largescale and the lines defining the areas are
irregular.
The collection is being revised to
remove the position report from the
collection with regard to burden. The
position reports are automatically
transmitted location signals from the
VMS unit that do not require any action
on the part of the captain or crew.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations; individuals or
households.
Frequency: Installation/Activation/
Maintenance once every four years;
exemption reports are optional
(estimated 2/year for 500 participants);
declaration reports are estimated to be
sent by each participant 20 times per
year.
Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: 50 CFR 660.13 and
660.14.
This information collection request
may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov.
Follow the instructions to view the
Department of Commerce collections
currently under review by OMB.
Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
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 collection
or the OMB Control Number 0648–0573.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Chief Information Officer, Commerce
Department.
[FR Doc. 2021–07750 Filed 4–14–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Alaska Chinook Salmon
Economic Data Report (EDR)
The Department of Commerce will
submit the following information
collection request to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and clearance in accordance
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, on or after the date of publication
of this notice. We invite the general
public and other Federal agencies to
comment on proposed, and continuing
information collections, which helps us
assess the impact of our information
collection requirements and minimize
the public’s reporting burden. Public
comments were previously requested
via the Federal Register on January 13,
2021 (86 FR 2646), during a 60-day
comment period. This notice allows for
an additional 30 days for public
comments.
Agency: National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Title: Alaska Chinook Salmon
Economic Data Report (EDR).
OMB Control Number: 0648–0633.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular submission
(extension of a current information
collection).
Number of Respondents: 150.
Average Hours per Response:
Compensated Transfer Report: 40 hours;
Vessel Fuel Survey: 4 hours; Vessel
Master Survey: 4 hours; CTR
Verification Audit: 4 hours.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 600
hours.
Needs and Uses: The National Marine
Fisheries Services (NMFS), Alaska
Regional Office, is requesting extension
of the currently approved information
collection for the Alaska Chinook
Salmon Economic Data Report (the
EDR). The EDR collects economic data
for the Alaska Chinook Salmon
Economic Data Report Program.
NMFS manages the Bering Sea
pollock fishery under the American
Fisheries Act (AFA) (16 U.S.C. 1851).
AFA fishing vessels harvest pollock in
the Bering Sea pollock fishery using
pelagic (midwater) trawl gear, which
consists of large nets towed through the
water by the vessel. At times, Chinook
salmon and pollock occur in the same
locations in the Bering Sea;
consequently, Chinook salmon are

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incidentally caught in the nets as
pollock is harvested. This incidental
catch is called bycatch and is also called
prohibited species catch (PSC).
The EDR Program provides NMFS and
the North Pacific Fishery Management
Council (Council) with data to evaluate
the effectiveness of Chinook salmon
bycatch management measures for the
Bering Sea pollock fishery that were
implemented under Amendment 91 to
the Fishery Management Plan for
Groundfish of the Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands Management Area (75
FR 53026, August 30, 2010). The EDR
consists of three data collections that are
submitted annually by owners and
operators of catcher vessels, catcher/
processors, motherships, and the
Western Alaska Community
Development Quota Program groups
qualified to participate in the Bering Sea
pollock fishery (50 CFR 679.65). The
EDR Program also includes a means for
NMFS to verify the data submitted in
these three collections.
NMFS and the Council use the
information to determine the
effectiveness of the Incentive Plan
Agreement (IPA) (see OMB Control No.
0648–0401), the IPA incentives, the PSC
limits, and the performance standard in
terms of minimizing salmon bycatch in
times of high and low levels of salmon
abundance. NMFS and the Council also
use the data to evaluate how
Amendment 91 affects where, when,
and how pollock fishing and salmon
bycatch occur and to study and verify
conclusions drawn by industry in the
IPA annual reports.
The EDR is submitted annually by
each person who held AFA pollock
quota share in the previous calendar
year or was an owner or leaseholder of
an AFA permitted vessel in the previous
calendar year.
The EDR requirements are located at
50 CFR 679.65.
Affected Public: Individuals or
households; Business or other for-profit
organizations.
Frequency: Annually.
Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory
Legal Authority: American Fisheries
Act (16 U.S.C. 1851); Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).
This information collection request
may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov.
Follow the instructions to view the
Department of Commerce collections
currently under review by OMB.
Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be
submitted within 30 days of the
publication of this notice on the
following website www.reginfo.gov/

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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 71 / Thursday, April 15, 2021 / Notices
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 collection
or the OMB Control Number 0648–0633.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Chief Information Officer, Commerce
Department.
[FR Doc. 2021–07742 Filed 4–14–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No. PTO–P–2021–0019]

Fast-Track Pilot Program for Appeals
Related to COVID–19
United States Patent and
Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

The United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) is initiating
the Fast-Track Pilot Program for
Appeals Related to COVID–19 to
provide for the advancement of
applications out of turn in ex parte
appeals related to COVID–19 before the
Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).
An appellant who has filed an ex parte
appeal of an application with claim(s)
that cover a product or process related
to COVID–19 (such product or process
must be subject to an applicable U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
approval for COVID–19 use) and
received a notice that the appeal has
been docketed may file a petition at no
cost to expedite the review of his or her
appeal without paying a petition fee.
The Fast-Track Pilot Program for
Appeals Related to COVID–19 sets a
target of reaching a decision on an ex
parte appeal within six months from the
date the appeal is entered into the pilot
program.
DATES: Applicability Date: Petitions for
the pilot program can be filed starting
on April 15, 2021. Duration: The FastTrack Pilot Program for Appeals Related
to COVID–19 is offered on a temporary
basis, and petitions to request inclusion
of an ex parte appeal in the pilot
program will be accepted until 500
appeals have been accorded fast-track
status under the program. The USPTO
may extend the Fast-Track Pilot
Program for Appeals Related to COVID–
19 (with or without modification) or
may terminate it depending on the
workload and resources needed to

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SUMMARY:

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administer the program, feedback from
the public, and the effectiveness of the
program. If the pilot program is
extended or terminated, the USPTO will
notify the public.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Steven Bartlett, PTAB, by telephone at
571–272–9797, or by email at
COVIDfasttrackappeals@uspto.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Appeals to the PTAB are normally
taken up for decision in the order in
which they are docketed. See USPTO
Standard Operating Procedure 1 (Sept.
20, 2018), available at www.uspto.gov/
patents-application-process/patenttrial-and-appeal-board/resources.
Currently, the average appeal pendency
is about 13 months. See PTAB Statistics,
available at www.uspto.gov/patentsapplication-process/patent-trial-andappeal-board/statistics. However, a
small number of appeals are advanced
out of turn due to a special status. For
example, reexamination proceedings,
which are handled by the USPTO with
‘‘special dispatch,’’ and reissue
applications are treated as special
throughout their pendency, including
during appeal. See Manual of Patent
Examining Procedure (MPEP) 708.01.
Applications that have been ‘‘made
special’’ during examination through a
petition based on the age or health of an
applicant, or for other reasons listed in
37 CFR 1.102 (a)–(d), also maintain their
special status through any appeal. See
MPEP 1203(II). Furthermore, for the
same reasons, an appellant may petition
the PTAB to have an application on
appeal made special. See id. Currently,
about 1.1% of appeals are given a
special status through one of the above
methods.
Recently, the PTAB instituted the
Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program, in
which the PTAB accepts petitions for
advancing out of turn and according
fast-track status to ex parte appeals that
have already been docketed. 85 FR
39888 (July 2, 2020). This pilot program
began on July 2, 2020 and will continue
for one year or until 500 appeals have
been accorded fast-track status under
the program. An appellant can seek fasttrack status by submitting a petition to
the Chief Administrative Patent Judge
under 37 CFR 41.3 and paying the fee
required under 37 CFR 41.20(a),
currently $420. The Fast-Track Appeals
Pilot Program sets a target of reaching a
decision on the ex parte appeal within
six months from the date an appeal is
entered into the pilot program. More
information on the Fast-Track Appeals
Pilot Program can be found at

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www.uspto.gov/patents/ptab/fast-trackappeals-pilot-program.
In an extraordinary situation, 37 CFR
1.183 permits the USPTO to suspend or
waive sua sponte any requirement of its
regulations that is not a requirement of
the patent statutes. The USPTO
considers the effects of the COVID–19
pandemic that began in approximately
January 2020 to be an ‘‘extraordinary
situation’’ within the meaning of 37 CFR
1.183 for affected patent applicants and
innovators. Consistent with the
USPTO’s determination under 37 CFR
1.183, the provisions of 35 U.S.C.
2(b)(2)(G), and the COVID–19
Prioritized Examination Pilot Program,
the USPTO has decided to implement
the Fast-Track Pilot Program for
Appeals Related to COVID–19, under
which an appellant may have any ex
parte appeal to the PTAB accorded fasttrack status by filing a petition under 37
CFR 41.3, without payment of the
petition fee under 37 CFR 41.20(a), for
certain applications that claim products
or processes that are subject to an
applicable FDA approval for COVID–19
use. Such approvals may include, but
are not limited to, an Investigational
New Drug (IND) application, an
Investigational Device Exemption (IDE),
a New Drug Application (NDA), a
Biologics License Application (BLA), a
Premarket Approval (PMA), or an
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).
Information on INDs, IDEs, NDAs,
BLAs, PMAs, and EUAs may be
obtained at www.fda.gov.
The Fast-Track Pilot Program for
Appeals Related to COVID–19 will
accept petitions for advancing out of
turn and according fast-track status to ex
parte appeals until 500 appeals have
been accorded fast-track status under
the program. There is no time limit for
receipt of these 500 COVID–19 related
appeals. Additionally, the 500-appeal
threshold for COVID–19 related appeals
is distinct from the 500-appeal
threshold used for the regular fast-track
appeals pilot. The threshold of 500
granted petitions corresponds to
approximately 8% of the total number
of new appeals received in the average
fiscal year and was chosen in
accordance with maintaining the
PTAB’s overall decision pendency
goals. Once the threshold of 500 granted
petitions is met, the USPTO may extend
the Fast-Track Pilot Program for
Appeals Related to COVID–19 (with or
without modification) or may
discontinue it depending on the
workload and resources needed to
administer the program, feedback from
the public, and the effectiveness of the
program.

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