03-25206. Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993-National Shipbuilding Research Program

Notice is hereby given that, on September 12, 2003, pursuant to section 6(a) of the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993, 15 U.S.C. 4301 et seq. (“the Act”), Advanced Technology Institute has filed written notifications simultaneously with the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission disclosing changes in the membership of the Executive Council of the National Shipbuilding Research Program (“NSRP”) and in the nature and objectives of the program. The notifications were filed for the purpose of extending the Act's provisions limiting the recovery of antitrust plaintiffs to actual damages under specified circumstances. Specifically, VT Halter Marine, Inc., Gulfport, MS, a subsidiary of Vision Technologies, Inc., has been removed as a party from this venture. The general area of planned activity of the NSRP is to establish collaborative research efforts of limited duration to manage and focus national shipbuilding research and development funding on technologies that will reduce the cost of warships to the Navy, and establish U.S. international shipbuilding competitiveness. This includes the assessment of product design and material technologies, and provides a collaborative forum to improve business and acquisition processes.

No other changes have been made in either the membership or planned activity of the group research project. Membership in this group research project remains open, and Advanced Technology Institute intends to file additional written notification disclosing all changes in membership.

On March 13, 1998, Advanced Technology Institute filed its original notification for the National Shipbuilding Research Program pursuant to section 6(a) of the Act. The Department of Justice published a notice in the Federal Register pursuant to section 6(b) of the Act on January 29, 1999 (64 FR 4708).

The last notification was filed with the Department on January 13, 2003. A notice was published in the Federal Register pursuant to section 6(b) of the Act on March 3, 2003 (68 FR 10033). A Correction Notice was published in the Federal Register on April 24, 2003 (68 FR 20174).

Dorothy B. Fountain,

Deputy Director of Operations, Antitrust Division.