2024-01155. Information Collection: Standard Specification for the Granting of Patent Licenses

AGENCY:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION:

Notice of submission to the Office of Management and Budget; request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recently submitted a request for renewal of an existing collection of information to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The information collection is entitled, “Standard Specification for the Granting of Patent Licenses.”

DATES:

Submit comments by February 22, 2024. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before this date.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to https://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David Cullison, NRC Clearance Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2023–0064 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain publicly available information related to this action by any of the following methods:

• Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2023–0064.

• NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/​reading-rm/​adams.html. To begin the search, select “Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.” For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, at 301–415–4737, or by email to [e-mail]. The supporting statement is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML23342A145.

• NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to [e-mail] or call 1–800–397–4209 or 301–415–4737, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

• NRC's Clearance Officer: A copy of the collection of information and related instructions may be obtained without charge by contacting the NRC's Clearance Officer, David C. Cullison, Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail].

B. Submitting Comments

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to https://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function.

The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact information in comment submissions that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your comment submission. All comment submissions are posted at https://www.regulations.gov and entered into ADAMS. Comment submissions are not routinely edited to remove identifying or contact information.

If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons for submission to the OMB, then you should inform those persons not to include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should state that comment submissions are not routinely edited to remove such information before making the comment submissions available to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.

II. Background

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), the NRC recently submitted a request for renewal of an existing collection of information to OMB for review entitled, “10 CFR part 81, `Standard Specification for the Granting of Patent Licenses.'” The NRC hereby informs potential respondents that an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and that a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

The NRC published a Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period on this information collection on September 18, 2023, 88 FR 63981.

1. The title of the information collection: Part 81 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), “Standard Specification for the Granting of Patent Licenses.”

2. OMB approval number: 3150–0121.

3. Type of submission: Extension.

4. The form number, if applicable: Not applicable.

5. How often the collection is required or requested: Applications for licenses are submitted once. Other reports are submitted annually, or as other events require.

6. Who will be required or asked to respond: Applicants for and holders of NRC licenses to NRC inventions.

7. The estimated number of annual responses: 3.5.

8. The estimated number of annual respondents: 10.

9. The estimated number of hours needed annually to comply with the information collection requirement or request: 10; however, no applications are anticipated during the next 3 years.

10. Abstract: As specified in 10 CFR part 81, the NRC may grant nonexclusive licenses or limited exclusive licenses to its patented inventions to responsible applicants. Applicants for licenses to NRC inventions are required to provide information which may provide the basis for granting the requested license. In addition, all license holders must submit periodic reports on efforts to bring the invention to a point of practical application and the extent to which they are making the benefits of the invention reasonably accessible to the public. Exclusive license holders must submit additional information if they seek to extend their licenses, issue sublicenses, or transfer the licenses. In addition, if requested, exclusive license holders must promptly supply to the United States Government copies of all pleadings and other papers filed in any patent infringement lawsuit, as well as evidence from proceedings relating to the licensed patent.

Dated: January 17, 2024.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

David C. Cullison,

NRC Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer.