dent, secretary, or other executive officer or a director of the corporation or unincorporated association to be served; or (iii) By delivery to an address. A copy thereof may be left at the principal office or place of business of the person, partnership, corporation, or unincorporated association, or it may be left at the residence of the person or of a member of the partnership or of an executive officer or director of the corporation, or unincorporated association to be served. (2) Documents other than complaints, orders, and other processes of the Commission, the service of which starts the running of prescribed periods of time provided or allowed by any of the rules or by any order of the Commission or a hearing examiner for the performance of some act or the occurrence of some event or development, shall be served in the same manner as complaints, orders, and other processes of the Commission. (3) All other documents may be similarly served, or they may be served by certified or ordinary first-class mail. (b) By other parties. Service of documents by parties other than the Commission shall be by delivering copies thereof as follows: Upon the Commission, by personal delivery or delivery by first-class mail to the office of the Secretary of the Commission; upon any other party, by delivery to the party. If the party is an individual or partnership, delivery shall be to such individual or a member of the partnership; if a corporation or unincorporated association, to an officer or agent authorized to accept service of process therefor. Delivery to a party other than the Commission means handing to the individual, partner, officer, or agent; leaving at his office with a person in charge thereof, or, if there is no one in charge or if the office is closed or if he has no office, leaving at his dwelling house or usual place of abode with some person of suitable age and discretion then residing therein; or sending by mail. (c) Proof of service. (1) When service is by mail, registered, certified, or ordinary first-class, it is complete upon delivery of the document by the post office. (2) When a party is represented by a person qualified pursuant to § 4.1(a), and such representative has filed a notice of appearance as required by § 4.1 (c), any notice, order, or other process or communication required or permitted to be served upon a person or party shall be served upon such representative in addition to any other service specifically required by statute. (3) When a party has appeared in a proceeding by a partner, officer, or attorney, service upon such partner, officer, or attorney of any document other than a complaint, order, or other process of the Commission shall be deemed service upon the party. (4) The return post office receipt for a document registered and mailed, or the verified return or certificate by the person serving the document by personal delivery or ordinary mail, setting forth the manner of said service, shall be proof of the service of the document. § 4.5 Fees. (a) Deponents and witnesses. Any person compelled to appear in person in response to subpoena shall be paid the same fees and mileage as are paid witnesses in the courts of the United States. (b) Presiding officers. Officers before whom depositions are taken shall be entitled to the same fees as are paid for like services in the courts of the United States. (c) Responsibility. The fees and mileage referred to in this section shall be paid by the party at whose instance deponents or witnesses appear. § 4.6 Cooperation with other agencies. It is the policy of the Commission to cooperate with other governmental agencles to avoid unnecessary overlapping or duplication of regulatory functions. § 4.7 Ex parte communications. (a) In an adjudicative proceeding, no person not employed by the Commission, and no employee or agent of the Commission who performs any investigative or prosecuting function in connection with the proceeding, shall communicate ex parte, directly or indirectly, with any member of the Commission, or the hearing examiner, or any employee involved in the decisional process in such proceeding, with respect to the merits of that or a factually related proceeding. (b) In an adjudicative proceeding, no member of the Commission, hearing examiner, or employee involved in the decisional process of such proceeding, shall communicate ex parte, directly or indirectly, with any person not employed by the Commission, or with any employee or agent of the Commission who performs any investigative or prosecuting function in connection with the proceeding, with respect to the merits of that or a factually related proceeding. (c) In an adjudicative proceeding, if an ex parte communication is made to or by any member of the Commission, the hearing examiner, or employee involved in the decisional process, in violation of paragraph (a) or (b) of this section, such member, hearing examiner, or employee, as the case may be, shall promptly inform the Commission of the substance of such communication. and the circumstances thereof. The Commission will take such action thereon as may be considered appropriate. (d) A request for information with respect to the status of an adjudicative proceeding shall not be deemed to be an ex parte communication prohibited by this section. § 4.8 Availability of public information. (a) All of the public records of the Commission are available for inspection at the principal office of the Commission, and copies of some of those records are available at the field offices and the textile and fur field stations, on each business day from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. As indicated in § 4.9, certain of those records are published periodically in official reports under the title "Federal Trade Commission Decisions"; copies of others may be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, at regularly established fees, and copies of others may be obtained without charge upon request to the Secretary of the Commission. Copies of all other identifiable public records of the Commission may be obtained pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (b) of this section. (b) Reasonable facilities for copying and for producing copies are provided at each of the offices of the Commission. Subject to appropriate limitations and the availability of facilities, any person may copy without charge any of the public records available for inspection at each of those offices, or copies of any such records will be provided by the Commission to any person upon request in person and payment of the prescribed fees, or copies of any identifiable public records of the Commission will be provided by the Commission to any person upon written request. All written requests for copies of identifiable public records should be addressed to the Secretary of the Commission, should specify as clearly and accurately as reasonably possible the records desired, and should include the prescribed fees. In any instance the Commission, the Secretary of the Commission, or the official in charge of each office may restrict the use of the Commission's facilities to providing only one copy of any public record, or may refuse to permit the use of those facilities for copying or producing copies of records which are published or are publicly available at places other than the offices of the Commission, or may supply to any person only one copy of any record when copies thereof may be obtained from the Commission without charge. (c) Except to the extent that copies are provided by the Commission without charge, copies of its public documentary records will be provided by the Commission to any person pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (b) of this section at the following fees (and, when appropriate, a reasonable search fee): Mechanical reproduction: Pages up to 9′′ x 12′′-30 cents each. Pages 12" x 18" (two 9" x 12" units) 40 cents each. Pages 18" x 24" (four 9" x 12" units). 60 cents each. Photographic film and prints: $2 additional for each certification. Copies of other public records provided by the Commission will be at such fees as the Commission may determine in each instance fairly represent the costs involved. Copies of its public records will be provided by the Commission to other governmental agencies at no charge for small quantities, or with appropriate adjustments or charges when warranted by the circumstances. § 4.9 Public records. (a) The records of the Commission are available for public inspection and copying except to the extent that they are exempted from public availability by the provisions of § 4.10. Records which are routinely available for public inspection and copying pursuant to the provisions of § 4.8, generally referred to in the rules in this chapter as the public records of the Commission, are listed insofar as practicable in a current index maintained at the principal office of the Commission. They include those referred to in the other paragraphs of this section, which also indicate where copies of the specified records may be obtained. (b) Annually, subsequent to the end of the fiscal year, the Commission makes a report to Congress summarizing its work during the year. Such reports are available for inspection at each of the offices of the Commission and copies thereof may be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. (c) The Commission currently publishes in the FEDERAL REGISTER for the guidance of the public, descriptions of its organization and statements of its rules, procedures, policies, and administrative interpretations. In some instances, with the approval of the Director of the Federal Register, material and information which is otherwise readily available to the public with respect to such descriptions and statements is incorporated in the FEDERAL REGISTER by reference. Included in the material published by the Commission in the FEDERAL REGISTER, copies of which may be obtained without charge upon request to the Secretary of the Commission, are: (1) Descriptions of its organization, including the places at which, the officers from whom, and the methods whereby, the public may secure information, make submittals or requests, and obtain decisions; (2) Statements of its general procedures and policies, its nonadjudicative procedures, its rules of practice for adjudicative proceedings, and its miscellaneous rules, including descriptions of the nature and requirements of all formal and informal procedures available; (3) Cease and desist orders and orders of divestiture, industry guides, texts or digests of selected advisory opinions, and other administrative interpretations; (4) Notices of proposed rulemaking proceedings and rules and orders issued in such proceedings; and (5) Every amendment, revision, or repeal of any of the foregoing. (d) The Commission publishes periodically in official reports under the title "Federal Trade Commission Decisions": the initial decisions of hearing examiners in adjudicative proceedings; the decisions of the Commission in adjudicative proceedings, including statements of the reasons or basis for its action and any concurring and dissenting opinions; significant orders and opinions on inter locutory matters in adjudicative proceedings; the decisions of the Commission in proceedings disposed of by the entry of consent orders to cease and desist; and texts or digests of selected advisory opinions. (e) Included in the public records of the Commission which are routinely available for inspection and copying pursuant to the provisions of § 4.8, in addition to those referred to elsewhere in this section, are: (1) A current index of opinions, orders, statements of policy and interpretations, staff manuals and instructions that affect any member of the public, and other public records of the Commission; (2) A current record of the final votes of each member of the Commission in every agency proceeding; (3) The petitions, applications, pleadings, briefs, and other records filed by the Commission with the courts in connection with adjudicative, injunctive, and condemnation proceedings, and opinions and orders of the courts and the Commission in disposition thereof; (4) The pleadings, motions, certifications and orders, and the transcripts of hearings, including public conferences, testimony, oral arguments, and other material made a part thereof, and exhibits and all documents received in evidence or made a part of the record in adjudicative proceedings (except testimony and exhibits placed in camera); (5) Petitions filed with the Secretary of the Commission for the promulgation or issuance, amendment, or repeal of industry guides and of rules or regulations within the scope of § 1.11 of this chapter, including petitions for exemptions; (6) Transcripts of hearings and written statements filed in connection therewith in all industry guides and rulemaking proceedings; (7) Continuing guaranties filed under the Wool, Fur, Textile, and Flammable Fabrics Acts; (8) Published reports by the staff or by the Commission on economic surveys and investigations of general interest; (9) Registration statements and annual reports filed with the Commission by export trade associations, and bulletins, pamphlets, and reports with respect to such associations released by the Commission; (10) Agreements containing orders to cease and desist after acceptance by the Commission; (11) Releases from time to time through the Commission's Office of Information supplying additional information concerning the activities of the Commission, copies of which may be obtained without charge upon request to the Office of Information or to the Secretary of the Commission; and (12) Reprints of the principal laws under which the Commission exercises enforcement or administrative responsibilities, which may be obtained without charge upon request to the Secretary of the Commission. (f) Reports of compliance which are approved by the Commission as evidencing compliance with its orders to cease and desist pursuant to the provisions of § 3.61 of this chapter, and written assurances of voluntary compliance which are accepted under § 2.21 of this chapter (excluding matters disposed of under § 1.34 of this chapter) are available at the principal office of the Commission for inspection and copying, unless at the time a report of compliance or an assurance of voluntary compliance was filed the party filing it requested that it be classified as confidential, showing justification therefor, and the Commission, with due regard to statutory restrictions, its rules, and the public interest, granted the request. § 4.10 Confidential information. (a) The records of the Commission which are exempt from availability for public inspection and copying pursuant to the provisions of § 4.8 include: (1) Records related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of the Commission; (2) Trade secrets and names of customers and commercial or financial information obtained from any person which is customarily privileged or which is expressly received by the Commission in confidence, including the identities of holders of registered identification numbers issued by the Commission pursuant to § 1.32 of this chapter, and reports of compliance and assurances of voluntary compliance classified as confidential pursuant to § 4.9 (f); (3) Official minutes of Commission meetings; (4) Interagency or intra agency memorandums or letters which would not be available by law to a private party in litigation with the Commission; (5) Personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; (6) Investigatory files compiled for law enforcement purposes except to the extent available by law to a private party, and testimony, exhibits, and other material placed in camera in adjudicative proceedings pursuant to § 3.45 of this chapter; and (7) Such other files and records of the Commission as may be exempted from disclosure by statute or by Executive order. (b) To the extent required to prevent clearly unwarranted invasions of personal privacy, the Commission may delete, with written explanation thereof, identifying details when it makes any of its records publicly available. (c) All records, files, documents, memorandums, correspondence, exhibits, and information of whatever nature coming into the possession or within the knowledge of the Commission or any of its officers or employees in the discharge of their official duties which fall within the scope of the exemptions from public availability in paragraph (a) and the deletions in paragraph (b) of this section constitute the confidential records of the Commission. All other records and information of the Commission not clearly identifiable as public records pursuant to the provisions of § 4.9 and not listed in the current index of the public records of the Commission also constitute a part of its confidential records unless and until otherwise directed by the Commission. Except to the extent that the disclosure of information contained in the confidential records of the Commission is specifically authorized by the rules in this chapter or by the Commission, or to the extent that its use may become necessary in connection with adjudicative proceedings, it may be disclosed, divulged, or produced for inspection or copying only under the procedure set forth in § 4.11. (d) Under section 10 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, any officer or employee of the Commission who shall make public any information obtained by the Commission and contained in its confidential records, without its authority. unless directed by a court, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, may be punished by a fine not exceeding five thou (a) Upon good cause shown, the Commission may by order direct that certain records, files, papers, or information contained in its confidential records be made public or disclosed to a particular applicant. To the extent that copies of such records are provided by the Commission, the fees prescribed in § 4.8(c) will apply. (b) Application by a member of the public for such disclosure shall be in writing, under oath, setting forth the interest of the applicant in the subject matter; a description of the specific information, files, documents, or other material, inspection of which is requested; whether copies are desired; and the purpose for which the information or material, or copies, will be used if the application is granted. Upon receipt of such an application the Commission will take action thereon, having due regard to statutory restrictions, its rules, and the public interest. (c) In the event that information contained in the confidential records of the Commission is desired for inspection, copying, or use by another governmental agency, a request therefor may be made by the administrative head of the agency. Such request shall be in writing and shall describe the information or material desired, its relevancy to the work and function of the agency, and, if the production of documents or records or the taking of copies thereof is asked, the use which is intended to be made of them. The Commission will consider and act upon such requests, having due regard for statutory restrictions, its rules, and the public interest. (d) Any official or employee of the Commission who is served with a subpoena or other compulsory process, except a subpoena issued within the scope of § 3.36 of this chapter, requiring the production of any document or record or the disclosure of any information which is designated in § 4.10 as a part of the confidential records of the Commission shall promptly advise the Commission of the service of such subpoena or other compulsory process, the nature of the documents or information sought, and all relevant facts and circumstances. The Commission will thereupon enter such order or give such instructions as it shall deem advisable. If the official or employee so served has not received instructions from the Commission prior to the return date of the subpoena or other compulsory process, he shall appear in response thereto and respectfully decline to produce the documents or records or to disclose the information called for, basing his refusal upon this paragraph. [32 F.R. 8436, June 13, 1967, as amended at 33 F.R. 7033, May 10, 1968] PART 13-PROHIBITED TRADE AUTHORITY: The provisions of this Part 13 issued under sec. 6(g), 5, 38 Stat. 722, 719, sec. 2 (a), (c), (d), (e), 49 Stat. 1526, 1527: 15 U.S.C. 46, 45, 13 (a), (c), (d), (e). SOURCE: The provisions of this Part 13 appear at 24 F.R. 10287, Dec. 19, 1959, unless otherwise noted. NOTE: In the revision of Title 16 as of January 1, 1960, the listing of individual actions under each section of Part 13 is discontinued. For Federal Register citations to cease and desist orders issued under the various sections of this part from January 1, 1949 through December 31, 1963, see List of Sections Affected, 1949-1963, and from January 1, 1964 to the present, see the List of Sections Affected at the end of this volume. Commencing with the list for 1959, the Federal Trade Commission docket numbers are included. The notation "o" following a docket number indicates an opinion; "c.o." indicates a consent order. Complete listings of all firms and individuals named in cease and desist orders are carried in the Annual Indexes to the Federal Register. For public information services of the Federal Trade Commission, see § 1.132 of this title. Subpart-Acquiring Confidential § 13.1 Acquiring confidential information unfairly. Subpart-Acquiring Corporate Stock or Assets § 13.5 Acquiring corporate stock or assets. [29 F.R. 1797, Feb. 6, 1964] 13.5-20 Federal Trade Commission Act. [29 F.R. 4795, Apr. 4, 1964] § 13.7 Joint ventures. [31 F.R. 11747, Sept. 8, 1966] |