Notice2022-27694
Study on Non-Fungible Tokens and Related Intellectual Property Law Issues
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
December 21, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentPatent and Trademark OfficeLibrary of CongressCopyright Office, Library of Congress
Abstract
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and United States Copyright Office (USCO) (collectively, the Offices) published a request for comments in the Federal Register on November 23, 2022, seeking comments from the public on various intellectual property (IP) law and policy issues associated with non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Through this notice, the Offices are extending the period for written public comment until February 3, 2023. In addition, the Offices are changing the dates of the public roundtables in this study.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 244 (Wednesday, December 21, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 244 (Wednesday, December 21, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78090-78091]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27694]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Office
[Docket No. PTO-C-2022-0035]
Study on Non-Fungible Tokens and Related Intellectual Property
Law Issues
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce; United States Copyright Office, Library of Congress.
ACTION: Notice of inquiry; extension of written comment period and date
change for public roundtables.
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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and
United States Copyright Office (USCO) (collectively, the Offices)
published a request for comments in the Federal Register on November
23, 2022, seeking comments from the public on various intellectual
property (IP) law and policy issues associated with non-fungible tokens
(NFTs). Through this notice, the Offices are extending the period for
written public comment until February 3, 2023. In addition, the Offices
are changing the dates of the public roundtables in this study.
DATES:
Written comments: Written comments must be received by 11:59 p.m.
Eastern Time on February 3, 2023.
Public roundtables: The roundtable on Trademarks and NFTs will now
be held on Tuesday, January 24, 2023; the roundtable on Patents and
NFTs will now be held on Thursday, January 26, 2023; and the roundtable
on Copyrights and NFTs will now be held on Tuesday, January 31, 2023.
The deadline for requests to participate as a panelist in one or more
of the roundtables is unchanged. Such requests must be
[[Page 78091]]
received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on December 21, 2022.
ADDRESSES:
Submission of written comments: For reasons of Government
efficiency, comments must be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking
Portal at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>. To submit comments via the portal, enter
docket number PTO-C-2022-0035 on the homepage and click ``Search.'' The
site will provide a search results page listing all documents
associated with this docket. Find a reference to this request for
information and click on the ``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the
required fields, and enter or attach your comments. Attachments to
electronic comments will be accepted in ADOBE[supreg] portable document
format (PDF) or MICROSOFT WORD[supreg] format. Because comments will be
made available for public inspection, information that the submitter
does not desire to make public, such as an address or phone number,
should not be included. Visit the Federal eRulemaking Portal for
additional instructions on providing comments via the portal. If
electronic submission of comments is not feasible due to a lack of
access to a computer and/or the internet, please contact the Offices
using the contact information below for special instructions on how to
submit comments by other means.
Submission of business confidential information: Any submissions
containing business confidential information must be marked
``confidential treatment requested'' and submitted through the Federal
eRulemaking Portal. Submitters should provide an index listing the
document(s) or information they would like the Offices to withhold. The
index should identify the confidential document(s) by document
number(s) and document title(s) and should identify the confidential
information by description(s) and relevant page number(s) and/or
section number(s) within a document. Submitters should provide a
statement explaining their grounds for requesting non-disclosure of the
information to the public as well. The Offices also request that
submitters of business confidential information include a non-
confidential version (either redacted or summarized) that will be
posted on <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> and available for public viewing. In the
event that the submitter cannot provide a non-confidential version of
their submission, the Offices request that the submitter post a notice
in the docket stating that they have provided the Offices with business
confidential information. Should a submitter fail either to docket a
non-confidential version of their submission or to post a notice that
they have provided business confidential information, the Offices will
note the receipt of the submission on the docket with the submitter's
organization or name (to the degree permitted by law) and the date of
submission.
Anonymous submissions: The Offices will accept anonymous
submissions. Enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous.
Public roundtables: The roundtables will be conducted virtually.
Requests to participate as a panelist at one or more of these
roundtables must be submitted via email to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c688809295b2b3a2bf95b6a3a7adafa8a194a3b7b3a3b5b2b586b3b5b6b2a9e8a1a9b0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f3bdb5a7a08786978aa0839692989a9d94a196828696808780b3868083879cdd949c85">[email protected]</span></a> and must be received by 11:59 p.m.
Eastern Time on December 21, 2022. Requests to participate as a
panelist at a roundtable made in any other form, including as part of
comments submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal, will not be
considered. If email submission of requests to participate as a
panelist is not feasible, please contact the Offices using the contact
information below for special instructions. The submission of written
comments in response to this notice is not a prerequisite to
participation as a panelist in a roundtable. Please note that the
Offices will review all requests to participate and will endeavor to
invite participants representing diverse viewpoints on the subject
matter discussed at each roundtable. The Offices may not be able to
accommodate all requests.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin R. Amer, Senior Level Attorney,
USPTO, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f69d93809f98d8979b9384b68385868299d8919980"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f49f91829d9ada95999186b4818784809bda939b82">[email protected]</span></a>, 571- 272-9300; Branden Ritchie, Senior
Level Attorney, USPTO, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#345646555a50515a1a465d40575c5d5174414744405b1a535b42"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="dfbdadbeb1bbbab1f1adb6abbcb7b6ba9faaacafabb0f1b8b0a9">[email protected]</span></a>, 571-272-9300; Andrew
Foglia, Senior Counsel, USCO, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5130373e363d383011323e212823383639257f363e27"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a7c6c1c8c0cbcec6e7c4c8d7ded5cec0cfd389c0c8d1">[email protected]</span></a>, 202-707-8350; or
Jen[eacute]e Iyer, Counsel, USCO, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#eb8182928e99ab88849b9299828c839fc58c849d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="503a3929352210333f202922393738247e373f26">[email protected]</span></a>, 202-707-8350.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 23, 2022, the Offices published
a notice in the Federal Register announcing that the Offices are
conducting a joint study regarding issues of intellectual property (IP)
law and policy associated with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in response
to a June 9, 2022 request from Senators Patrick Leahy and Thom Tillis.
See Notice of inquiry; notice of public roundtables, 87 FR 71584 (Nov.
23, 2022). In that notice, the Offices indicated that they are seeking
public comments on these matters to assist in their work on IP policy
related to NFTs and in conducting the study. To assist in gathering
public input, the Offices published questions and sought focused
written public comments on various (IP) law and policy issues
associated with NFTs. The notice requested written public comments be
submitted on or before January 9, 2023. In addition, the Offices
announced a series of three public roundtables to allow them to gather
further input.
Through this notice, the Offices are extending the period for
written public comments until February 3, 2023, to give interested
members of the public additional time to submit comments. Previously
submitted written comments do not need to be resubmitted.
The Offices are also changing the dates of the three public
roundtables. The roundtable on Trademarks and NFTs will now be held on
Tuesday, January 24, 2023; the roundtable on Patents and NFTs will now
be held on Thursday, January 26, 2023; and the roundtable on Copyrights
and NFTs will now be held on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. The deadline
for requests to participate as a panelist in one or more of the
roundtables is unchanged. Such requests must be received by 11:59 p.m.
Eastern Time on December 21, 2022.
All other information and instructions to commenters provided in
the November 23, 2022, notice remain unchanged.
Katherine K. Vidal,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Shira Perlmutter,
Register of Copyrights and Director, United States Copyright Office.
[FR Doc. 2022-27694 Filed 12-20-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P; 1410-30-P
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