3170-0080 30-day FRN (published)

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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 190 / Tuesday, October 1, 2024 / Notices

service directly. For fiscal year 2022, the
USPTO estimates it expended more than
$15 million in incurred costs associated
with examiners considering the merits
of AFCP 2.0 submissions. This cost is in
addition to the time spent by examiners
to initially evaluate the AFCP 2.0
request for program compliance,
interview time, and any additional
consultation with supervisors and
primary examiners.
On April 3, 2024, the USPTO
proposed a new fee for participation in
the AFCP 2.0 when setting and
adjusting patent fees for fiscal year 2025
(See Setting and Adjusting Patent Fees
During Fiscal Year 2025, 89 FR 23226).
The agency proposed to charge fees for
filing a request for consideration under
the AFCP 2.0 as follows: $500 for
requests filed by undiscounted entities;
$200 for requests filed by entities
entitled to the small entity discount;
and $100 for requests filed by entities
entitled to the micro entity discount.
The proposed fee would have offset the
USPTO’s costs of administering the
AFCP 2.0. The USPTO stated that if
there is sufficient public support for the
proposed fees, the USPTO would favor
continuing the pilot program. However,
the USPTO explained that if it was
unable to recover the costs of the AFCP
2.0 from participants, the USPTO would
consider terminating the program.
In response to the proposed new fee
for participation in the AFCP 2.0,
commenters expressed concerns about
the program and the fee. Because the
public is not widely receptive to paying
a fee to participate in the AFCP 2.0, the
USPTO has decided to terminate the
program after a brief extension to
December 14, 2024. Accordingly, the
USPTO will not consider any request for
consideration under the AFCP 2.0 filed
after December 14, 2024.
The USPTO is providing the
extension of the AFCP 2.0 until
December 14, 2024, to provide program
users with reasonable time to adjust to
the program’s upcoming termination
should they be in the process of
preparing a request for consideration
under AFCP 2.0. Applicants still have
various options available for after final
consideration. For example, under
routine examination practice, after the
close of prosecution, proposed
amendments that will place the
application either (1) in condition for
allowance or (2) in better form for
appeal, may be entered. See 37 CFR
1.116(b). Additionally, an examiner may
have an interview with the applicant to
advance prosecution. See sections
713.09 and 714.12 of the Manual of
Patent Examining Procedure (9th ed.,
Rev. 07.2022, February 2023) (MPEP),

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which may be viewed on, or
downloaded from the USPTO website at
mpep.uspto.gov or www.uspto.gov/
MPEP. Moreover, applicants still have
the option to file a pre-appeal brief
request for review at the time of the
filing of a notice of appeal, which
provides applicants with the
opportunity to have a panel decide if an
issue for appeal is, in fact, present in the
record. See section 1204.02 of the
MPEP.
Katherine K. Vidal,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual
Property and Director of the United States
Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2024–22481 Filed 9–30–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–16–P

CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION
BUREAU
[Docket No. CFPB–2024–0049]

Agency Information Collection
Activities: Comment Request
Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau.
ACTION: Notice and request for comment.
AGENCY:

In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau (CFPB) requests the
revision of the Office of Management
and Budget’s (OMB’s) approval for an
existing information collection titled
‘‘Making Ends Meet Survey’’ approved
under OMB Number 3170–0080.
DATES: Written comments are
encouraged and must be received on or
before October 31, 2024 to be assured of
consideration.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this
notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/
PRAMain. Find this particular
information collection by selecting
‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open
for Public Comments’’ or by using the
search function. In general, all
comments received will become public
records, including any personal
information provided. Sensitive
personal information, such as account
numbers or Social Security numbers,
should not be included.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information
should be directed to Anthony May,
Paperwork Reduction Act Officer, at
(202) 435–7278, or email: CFPB_PRA@
cfpb.gov. If you require this document
in an alternative electronic format,
SUMMARY:

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please contact CFPB_Accessibility@
cfpb.gov. Please do not submit
comments to these email boxes.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title of Collection: Making Ends Meet
Survey.
OMB Control Number: 3170–0080.
Type of Review: Revision of a
currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Individuals or
households.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
5,500.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 2,060.
Abstract: The Dodd-Frank Wall Street
Reform and Consumer Protection Act
charges the CFPB with researching,
analyzing, and reporting on topics
relating to the Bureau’s mission
including consumer behavior, consumer
awareness, and developments in
markets for consumer financial products
and services. To improve its
understanding of how consumers
engage with financial markets, the CFPB
has successfully used surveys under its
‘‘Making Ends Meet’’ program. The
‘‘Making Ends Meet’’ program has also
used the CFPB’s Consumer Credit
Information Panel (CCIP) as a frame to
survey people about their experiences in
consumer credit markets. The CFPB
seeks approval for two yearly surveys
under the ‘‘Making Ends Meet’’
program. These surveys solicit
information on the consumer’s
experience related to household
financial shocks, particularly shocks
related to the economic effects of the
COVID–19 pandemic, how households
respond to those shocks, and the role of
savings to help provide a financial
buffer.
The first survey will be a follow-up to
respondents from the CFPB’s 2024
‘‘Making Ends Meet’’ survey to better
understand household financial
experiences dealing with medical debt
as well as consumers’ interactions with
various financial products. The second
survey will go to a new sample of
consumers from the CCIP and will
address several topics of interest to the
CFPB, possibly including the impact of
natural disasters and other
environmental events, credit shopping
behavior, additional follow-up regarding
debt collection, and the assessment of
various fees throughout the financial
services ecosystem.
Request for Comments: The CFPB
published a 60-day Federal Register
notice on March 26, 2024 (89 FR 20950)
under Docket Number: CFPB–2024–
0013. The CFPB is publishing this
notice and soliciting comments on: (a)
Whether the collection of information is

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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 190 / Tuesday, October 1, 2024 / Notices
necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the CFPB, including
whether the information will have
practical utility; (b) The accuracy of the
CFPB’s estimate of the burden of the
collection of information, including the
validity of the methods and the
assumptions used; (c) Ways to enhance
the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (d)
Ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on
respondents, including through the use
of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
Comments submitted in response to this
notice will be reviewed by OMB as part
of its review of this request. All
comments will become a matter of
public record.
Anthony May,
Paperwork Reduction Act Officer, Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2024–22491 Filed 9–30–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810–AM–P

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. CPSC–2024–0030]

Notice of Availability and Request for
Comment: Public Playground
Handbook Update
Consumer Product Safety
Commission.
ACTION: Notice of availability and
request for comment.
AGENCY:

The U.S. Consumer Product
Safety Commission (Commission or
CPSC) is announcing the availability of
draft updates to its ‘‘Public Playground
Safety Handbook.’’
DATES: Comments must be received by
December 2, 2024.
ADDRESSES: You can submit comments,
identified by Docket No. CPSC–2024–
0030, by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit
electronic comments to the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
Do not submit through this website:
confidential business information, trade
secret information, or other sensitive or
protected information that you do not
want to be available to the public. CPSC
typically does not accept comments
submitted by email, except as described
below.
Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier/
Confidential Written Submissions: CPSC
encourages you to submit electronic
comments by using the Federal

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eRulemaking Portal. You may, however,
submit comments by mail, hand
delivery, or courier to: Office of the
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety
Commission, 4330 East West Highway,
Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone: (301)
504–7479. If you wish to submit
confidential business information, trade
secret information, or other sensitive or
protected information that you do not
want to be available to the public, you
may submit such comments by mail,
hand delivery, or courier, or you may
email them to: [email protected].
Instructions: All submissions must
include the agency name and docket
number. CPSC may post all comments
without change, including any personal
identifiers, contact information, or other
personal information provided, to:
https://www.regulations.gov. Do not
submit to this website: confidential
business information, trade secret
information, or other sensitive or
protected information that you do not
want to be available to the public. If you
wish to submit such information, please
submit it according to the instructions
for mail/hand delivery/courier/
confidential written submissions.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received, go to: https://
www.regulations.gov, and insert the
docket number, CPSC–2024–0030, into
the ‘‘Search’’ box, and follow the
prompts.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Daniel Taxier, Children’s Program
Manager, Division of Mechanical and
Combustion Engineering, U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission,
5 Research Place, Rockville, MD 20850–
3213; email: [email protected];
telephone: (301) 987–2211.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission
published the first Handbook for Public
Playground Safety (the Handbook) in
1981. This original document was a
two-volume set containing technical
guidance intended to reduce deaths and
injuries to children associated with
playground equipment. In 1991, the
Handbook was revised to a single
volume, which contained
recommendations based on a COMSIS
Corporation report to the CPSC.1 Also in
1 The

1990 COMSIS report, Development of
Human Factors Criteria for Playground Equipment
Safety, is available in six parts on the CPSC website.
Part 1 is available at: https://www.cpsc.gov/content/
Development-of-Human-Factors-Criteria-forPlayground-Equipment-Safety-Part-1. Part 2 is
available at: https://www.cpsc.gov/content/
Development-of-Human-Factors-Criteria-forPlayground-Equipment-Safety-Part-2. Part 3 is
available at: https://www.cpsc.gov/content/
Development-of-Human-Factors-Criteria-for-

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1991, the first ASTM International
(ASTM) standard for playground safety,
F1292: Standard Specification for
Impact Attenuation of Surface Systems
Under and Around Playground
Equipment, was published. In 1993,
ASTM F1487: Standard Consumer
Safety Performance Specification for
Playground Equipment for Public Use
was published. CPSC published minor
revisions to the Handbook in 1994. In
1997, the Handbook was updated based
on ASTM F1487, a playground safety
roundtable meeting held in October of
1996, and comments received in
response to a May 1997 CPSC request.
Due to the lack of a Commission
quorum at the time, 2008 revisions to
the Handbook were released as a draft
staff document. Later in 2008, members
of ASTM’s voluntary standards
committee on playground equipment
and the International Play Equipment
Manufacturers Association (IPEMA)
identified areas where the voluntary
standards and the Handbook did not
align. In 2010, CPSC published a revised
the Handbook that resolved many of
these issues.
Since 2010, ASTM has published new
and revised public playground
standards,2 and new materials and
equipment have been installed in
playgrounds. Additionally, members of
ASTM, the National Program for
Playground Safety (NPPS), IPEMA, and
members of the general public have
requested clarifications and
recommended an update to the
Handbook. Based on the current
editions of the relevant ASTM
standards, feedback from the public,
and comments from ASTM and NPPS,
CPSC is publishing a revised draft
Handbook with a focus on
improvements to safety.
The staff memorandum accompanying
the draft Handbook, available at https://
cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/BallotVote-PublicPlayground-Handbook-Update-2.pdf?,
summarizes major revisions included in
the draft. These changes include
updated signage and labeling guidance;
updated guidance on common hazards
for supervisor awareness; references to
new impact attenuation testing for
suspended elements in ASTM F1487; an
updated warning label on potential
Playground-Equipment-Safety-Part-3. Part 4 is
available at: https://www.cpsc.gov/content/
development-human-factors-criteria-playgroundequipment-safety-part-4. Part 5 is available at:
https://www.cpsc.gov/content/Development-ofHuman-Factors-Criteria-for-Playground-EquipmentSafety-Part-5. Part 6 is available at: https://
www.cpsc.gov/content/development-humanfactors-criteria-playground-equipment-safety-part6.
2 See section 1.4.1 of the draft Handbook for a list
of relevant standards.

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