(385) Department of Commerce
Patent and Trademark Office
37 CFR Parts 15 and 15a
[Docket No. 960722200-6200-01]
RIN 0651-XX07
Service of Process; Testimony by Employees and the
Production of Documents in Legal Proceedings
Agency: Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.
Action: Final rule.
Summary: This final rule removes parts dealing with service of process
on Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) employees in their official
capacity and with testimony by employees and production of documents in
legal proceedings. The PTO will rely on analogous Commerce Department
regulations found in title 15 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Effective Date: August 19, 1996
For Further Information Contact: Kenneth Corsello by telephone at (703)
305-9041; by mail marked to his attention and addressed to the Office of
the Solicitor, Box 8, Washington, D.C. 20231; by electronic mail to
corsello@uspto.gov; or by fax marked to his attention at (703) 305-9373.
Supplementary Information: In March 1995, President Clinton issued a
directive to Federal agencies regarding their responsibilities under his
Regulatory Reform Initiative. This initiative is part of the National
Performance Review and calls for immediate, comprehensive regulatory
reform. The President directed all agencies to undertake, as part of
this initiative, an exhaustive review of all of their regulations--with
an emphasis on eliminating or modifying those that are osbolete or
otherwise in need of reform. This final rule is part of the Regulatory
Reform Initiative.
The Department of Commerce regulations dealing with service of
process (15 CFR Part 15) and with employee testimony and the production
of documents (15 CFR Part 15a) apply to the PTO. Therefore, the PTO is
removing 37 CFR Parts 15 and 15a because they are unnecessary and
duplicative.
This rule is not a significant rule for the purposes of Executive
Order 12866. Notice and comment is not required for this rulemaking
because it relates to agency management or personnel, 5 U.S.C.
553(a)(2), and thus no regulatory flexibility analysis is required, 5
U.S.C. 603(a). This rule does not change the paperwork burden imposed on
the public. See 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
List of Subjects
37 CFR Part 15
Attorneys, Administrative practice and procedure, Courts, Government
employees.
37 CFR Part 15a
Attorneys, Administrative practice and procedure, Courts, Government
employees.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, and pursuant to the authority
contained in 35 U.S.C. 6, 37 CFR Chapter I is amended as follows:
Part 15 -- [Removed and Reserved]
1. Part 15 is removed and reserved.
Part 15a -- [Removed and Reserved]
1. Part 15a is removed and reserved.
August 13, 1996 BRUCE A. LEHMAN
Assistant Secretary of Commerce and
Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks
[1190 OG 46]
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