[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 119 (Thursday, June 20, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 37200]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-14713]
[[Page 37200]]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
[Document No. AMS-ST-13-0019]
Plant Variety Protection Board; Open Teleconference Meeting
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
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SUMMARY: This notice is intended to notify the public of their
opportunity to attend an open meeting of the Plant Variety Protection
Board.
DATES: July 31, 2013 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., open to the public.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the United States Department of
Agriculture, Room 4530, South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20250.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Jennifer Banks, Plant Variety
Protection Office, Science and Technology Programs, Agricultural
Marketing Service, United States Department of Agriculture, 1400
Independence, Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250. Telephone number (202)
260-8983, fax (202) 260-8976, or email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the provisions of section 10(a)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C., Appendix 2), this
notice is given regarding an upcoming Plant Variety Protection (PVP)
Board meeting. The Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA) (7 U.S.C. 2321
et seq.) provides legal protection in the form of intellectual property
rights to developers of new varieties of plants, which are reproduced
sexually by seed or are tuber-propagated. A Certificate of Plant
Variety Protection is awarded to an owner of a crop variety after an
examination shows that it is new, distinct from other varieties,
genetically uniform and stable through successive generations. The term
of protection is 20 years for most crops and 25 years for trees,
shrubs, and vines. The PVPA also provides for a statutory Board (7
U.S.C. 2327). The duties of the Board are to: (1) Advise the Secretary
concerning the adoption of rules and regulations to facilitate the
proper administration of the Act; (2) provide advisory counsel to the
Secretary on appeals concerning decisions on applications by the PVP
Office and on requests for emergency public-interest compulsory
licenses; and (3) advise the Secretary on any other matters under the
Regulations and Rules of Practice and on all questions under Section 44
of the Act, ``Public Interest in Wide Usage'' (7 U.S.C. 2404).
The purpose of the meeting will be to introduce the topics of the
PVP Office's 2013 achievements, ongoing process improvements, plans for
electronic applications/database conversion, and concepts on using
molecular techniques for PVP distinctness characterization. The
proposed agenda for the PVP Board meeting will include a welcome by
Department officials followed by a discussion focusing on program
activities that encourage the development of new plant varieties and
appeals to the Secretary. The agenda will also include presentations on
the PVP Process Improvement, electronic PVP application/computer
database development, and the use of molecular markers for PVP
applications.
The meeting will be open to the public. Those wishing to attend or
phone into the meeting are encouraged to pre-register by July 24, 2013
with the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. If you
require accommodations, such as sign language interpreter, please
contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Minutes of the meeting will be available for public review 30 days
following the meeting at the address listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT. The minutes will also be posted on the Internet
Web site http://www.ams.usda.gov/PVPO.
Dated: June 14, 2013.
Rex A. Barnes,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-14713 Filed 6-19-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P