AI and inventorship guidance: Incentivizing human ingenuity and investment in AI-assisted inventions; United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), February 12, 2024

Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) ; Director's Blog: the latest from USPTO leadership

AI and inventorship guidance: Incentivizing human ingenuity and investment in AI-assisted inventions

"Today, based on the exceptional public feedback we’ve received, we announced our Inventorship Guidance for AI-Assisted Inventions in the Federal Register – the first of these directives. The guidance, which is effective on February 13, 2024, provides instructions to examiners and stakeholders on how to determine whether the human contribution to an innovation is significant enough to qualify for a patent when AI also contributed. The guidance embraces the use of AI in innovation and provides that AI-assisted inventions are not categorically unpatentable. The guidance instructs examiners on how to determine the correct inventor(s) to be named in a patent or patent application for inventions created by humans with the assistance of one or more AI systems. Additionally, we’ve posted specific examples of hypothetical situations and how the guidance would apply to those situations to further assist our examiners and applicants in their understanding."

Inventorship guidance for AI-assisted inventions webinar; United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), March 5, 2024 1 PM - 2 PM ET

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) ; Inventorship guidance for AI-assisted inventions webinar

"The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) plays an important role in incentivizing and protecting innovation, including innovation enabled by artificial intelligence (AI), to ensure continued U.S. leadership in AI and other emerging technologies (ET).

The USPTO announced Inventorship Guidance for AI-Assisted Inventions in the Federal Register. This guidance is pursuant to President Biden's Executive Order 14110 on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence (October 30, 2023) with provisions addressing IP equities. The guidance, which is effective on February 13, 2024, provides instructions to USPTO personnel and stakeholders on determining the correct inventor(s) to be named in a patent or patent application for inventions created by humans with the assistance of one or more AI systems. 

The USPTO will host a webinar on Inventorship Guidance for AI-Assisted Inventions on Tuesday, March 5, from 1-2 p.m. EST. USPTO personnel will provide an overview of the guidance and answer stakeholder questions relating to the guidance.

This event is free and open to the public, but virtual space is limited, so please register early."

AI cannot patent inventions, UK Supreme Court confirms; BBC, December 20, 2023

BBC ; AI cannot patent inventions, UK Supreme Court confirms

"The UK Supreme Court has upheld earlier decisions in rejecting a bid to allow an artificial intelligence to be named as an inventor in a patent application.

Technologist Dr Stephen Thaler had sought to have his AI, called Dabus, recognised as the inventor of a food container and a flashing light beacon."

Atlanta; New Hampshire county selected for new USPTO outreach office locations; United States Patent and Trademark Office e (USPTO), December 13, 2023

Press Release, United States Patent and Trademark Office e (USPTO); Atlanta; New Hampshire county selected for new USPTO outreach office locations

"The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today announced that it will open a new regional office in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area serving innovators in the Southeast region, and a new community outreach office in Strafford County, New Hampshire, serving innovators in the New England region.

The new regional office and community outreach office will serve as an extension of the agency’s outreach operations. The offices will function as important resource centers to better serve local inventors and entrepreneurs, including those from underrepresented backgrounds. The new regional office in Atlanta is expected to be fully opened and operational by December 2025, with the New Hampshire outreach office soon thereafter.

“President Biden often says that America can be defined in a single word: possibilities. These new offices support the Administration’s commitment to drive economic growth and job creation by enhancing USPTO’s ability to meet people where they are and connect them with important resources to help inspire and strengthen the innovation ecosystem,” said Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO. “I look forward to expanding our work in the Southeast and Northeast to facilitate increased economic activity throughout these regions."

Rory Cooper honored at White House by President Biden; University Times, University of Pittsburgh, November 2, 2023

University Times, University of Pittsburgh; Rory Cooper honored at White House by President Biden

"Rory Cooper, who has been given a slew of awards over the years for his work in rehabilitation sciences, found himself at the White House last week, where President Joe Biden bestowed on him the nation’s highest honor for technological achievement.

Cooper is founding director of Pitt’s Human Engineering Research Laboratories and, since 2021, assistant vice chancellor for research for STEM-health sciences collaborations.

He was among several people Biden presented the National Medal of Technology and Innovation to on Oct. 24. On Oct. 26, Cooper, who holds nine U.S. patents and has nine more pending, also was inducted into the 50th class of the National Inventors Hall of Fame at a gala in Washington, D.C."

If AI invents a new medicine, who gets the patent?; Stat, June 8, 2023

Brittany Trang, Stat; If AI invents a new medicine, who gets the patent?

"Pharmaceutical and biotech companies are increasingly using artificial intelligence to discover and make drugs and therapeutics. Congress on Wednesday asked the question: Does that mean AI can be an inventor on a patent?"

World Intellectual Property Day – April 26, 2023; World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); World Intellectual Property Day – April 26, 2023

Women and IP: Accelerating innovation and creativity

"In 2023, we celebrate the “can do” attitude of women inventors, creators and entrepreneurs around the world and their ground-breaking work.

Women in all regions are shaping the world through their imagination, ingenuity and hard work, but often face significant challenges in accessing the knowledge, skills, resources and support they need to thrive."

Webinar: Proud Innovation 2022, part one: From ideas to innovations; United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Wednesday, June 15, 2022 3 PM - 4:05 EDT

Proud Innovation 2022, part one: From ideas to innovations 

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Do you have an idea you want to bring to life? Join the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to get inspired by successful innovators turning concepts into creations. Register for the free, online Proud Innovation 2022 series, part one: From ideas to innovations.

The Proud Innovation series highlights the accomplishments of LGBTQIA+ innovators, entrepreneurs, and small business owners who are using their intellectual property to promote advancements and serve as mentors.

This page will be updated with speaker biographies as the event approaches.

Agenda

(All times ET)

3-3:05 p.m. Program welcome and overview    

• Sean Wilkerson, Innovation Outreach Program Manager, USPTO 

3:05-3:10 p.m.  Leadership greetings  

3:10-4 p.m.  Panel discussion: How to transform your idea into reality  

Hear how these innovators are using their experiences and inventions to build a better tomorrow:

• Arianna T. Morales, Ph.D., Staff Research Scientist, General Motors R&D Center
• Suma Reddy, Co-Founder and CEO, Future Acres 
• David Taubenheim, Senior Data Scientist, NVIDIA 
• Theodore ‘TJ’ Ronningen, Ph.D., Chair, Out to Innovate; Research Scientist, Ohio State University (moderator)

4-4:05 p.m. Wrap-up and resources   

• Sean Wilkerson, Innovation Outreach Program Manager, USPTO 

Arianna T. Morales, Ph.D., Staff Research Scientist, General Motors R&D Center

Google honors the Black inventor who likely inspired the phrase 'the real McCoy'; NPR, May 2, 2022

Joe Hernandez, NPR ; Google honors the Black inventor who likely inspired the phrase 'the real McCoy'

"Pull up Google on Monday, and you'll see a doodle of a Black man next to a stack of patents, gazing at an old-fashioned train.

That's Elijah McCoy, the revolutionary Black inventor who was born 178 years ago today...

McCoy patented his invention in 1872 and continued to improve on the design."

David Boggs, Co-Inventor of Ethernet, Dies at 71; The New York Times, February 28, 2022

 Cade Metz, The New York Times; David Boggs, Co-Inventor of Ethernet, Dies at 71

Thanks to the invention he helped create in the 1970s, people can send email over an office network or visit a website through a coffee shop hot spot.

"David Boggs, an electrical engineer and computer scientist who helped create Ethernet, the computer networking technology that connects PCs to printers, other devices and the internet in offices and homes, died on Feb. 19 in Palo Alto, Calif...

Before becoming the dominant networking protocol, Ethernet was challenged by several other technologies. In the early 1980s, Mr. Metcalfe said, when Mr. Boggs took the stage at a California computing conference, at the San Jose Convention Center, to discuss the future of networking, a rival technologist questioned the mathematical theory behind Ethernet, telling Mr. Boggs that it would never work with large numbers of machines.

His response was unequivocal. “Seems Ethernet does not work in theory,” he said, “only in practice.”"

The sled that steers; Journeys of Innovation series, United States Patent and Trademark Office; December 2021

 Journeys of Innovation series, United States Patent and Trademark Office; The sled that steers

"In the 1880s, Samuel Leeds Allen reinvented winter with the Flexible Flyer, a sled on red steel runners that riders could steer with their hands or feet. A self-taught inventor, Allen knew he’d hit it big when the kids told him so."

4 Things to Know About Intellectual Property and COVID-19 Vaccines; U.S. Chamber of Commerce, December 9, 2021

U.S. Chamber of Commerce; 4 Things to Know About Intellectual Property and COVID-19 Vaccines

Intellectual property enabled the discovery of lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines. Here’s why calls to waive IP rights would undermine medical innovation and our ability to respond to the next pandemic.

"Key takeaways

• Some governments, including the United States, are considering a proposal to waive intellectual property laws for COVID-19 vaccines.
• But waiving intellectual property laws could jeopardize medical innovation, including the development of new or adapted vaccines to combat COVID-19 variants like Omicron.
• Waiving intellectual property rights for COVID vaccines could have ripple effects on innovators and investments across industries."

Diversity in innovation: Best practices; United States Patent and Trademark Office Webinar: Tuesday, December 7, 2021 12 PM EST - 1 PM EST

United States Patent and Trademark Office Webinar: Tuesday, December 7, 2021 12 PM EST - 1 PM EST; Diversity in innovation: Best practices 

"Join us virtually on Tuesday, December 7 for a presentation on best practices for diversity in innovation, followed by a discussion led by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Midwest Regional Director Damian Porcari.

In 2020, the USPTO collaborated with Santa Clara Law’s High Tech Law Institute (HTLI) to propose a study designed to increase diversity in the patenting process. The study specifically targeted in-house international property (IP) legal departments and their practices. The goal of the study was simple: to harvest the collective knowledge of nationwide IP professionals and to produce a practical guide to fostering a more diverse population of inventors. Join the USPTO and HTLI at this free event to learn more about the Diversity in Innovation Best Practices Guide and the goal of increasing the diversity of inventors within the innovation ecosystem.

The guide is presented in three categories of easy-to-read tables:

• Do it now: Practices that are likely to be budget-neutral, easily implemented, and within the authority of an in-house attorney or IP manager.
• Do it this year: Practices that may require 3–9 months of planning, e.g., because they require coordination with other groups or departments, and/or the creation of content, tools, or systems.
• Do it next year: Practices that will likely take 6–12 months of planning to implement, e.g., because they need to be coordinated with different departments, require moderate or significant budgetary planning, and/or require buy-in from high level management.

Register today to gain insights from the guide's authors from HTLI: Laura Norris and Mary Fuller. An open discussion moderated by Midwest Regional Director Damian Porcari will follow the presentation.

Please see registration page for states where CLE credit is available.

Materials 

• Diversity in Innovation Best Practices Guide"

Why Patents Don't Stop People From Stealing Your Invention; Forbes, June 4, 2020

Stephen Key, Forbes; Why Patents Don't Stop People From Stealing Your Invention

"Here are effective and practical ways of protecting your ownership of your creativity."

Why AI systems should be recognized as inventors; TNW, February 17, 2020

Thomas Macaulay, TNW; Why AI systems should be recognized as inventors

"Existing intellectual property laws don’t allow AI systems to be recognized as inventors, which threatens the integrity of the patent system and the potential to develop life-changing innovations.

Current legislation only allows humans to be recognized as inventors, which could make AI-generated innovations unpatentable. This would deprive the owners of the AI of the legal protections they need for the inventions that their systems create.

The Artificial Inventor Project team has been testing the limitations of these rules by filing patent applications that designate a machine as the inventor— the first time that an AI’s role as an inventor had ever been disclosed in a patent application."

Faculty Council reexamines lost intellectual property rights policy; The Ithacan, April 24, 2019

Ashley Stalnecker, The Ithacan; 

Faculty Council reexamines lost intellectual property rights policy

"Peter Rothbart, professor in the Department of Music Theory, History and Composition, said that when he was the chair of the Faculty Council before Swensen took over the position in Fall 2016, the Intellectual Property Policy Committee extensively researched documents from other academic institutions and asked for input on the policy from staff, students, faculty and administrators.

“The resulting document was among the most liberal and supportive of creators of content and invention offered by any academic institution,” Rothbart said."

Pittsburgh is filled with people trying to win patents. PPG is at the front of the line. One of an occasional series: Patented in Pittsburgh; The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 20, 2018

Courtney Linder, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Pittsburgh is filled with people trying to win patents. PPG is at the front of the line.
One of an occasional series: Patented in Pittsburgh

"Between 2005 and 2015, PPG was awarded 583 patents, the most in the Pittsburgh region, and certainly enough to warrant the structure PPG has crafted to protect its secrets until it has the force of a U.S. patent seal...

Pittsburgh universities churning out patents 

Between 2008 and 2017, Pittsburgh's research universities have tripled their patent generation and doubled the number of technology licenses granted for commercial use."

Inventors Corner: Here's why you should search for patent; Sioux Fall Business Journal, September 19, 2018

Jeffrey Proehl, Sioux Fall Business Journal; Inventors Corner: Here's why you should search for patent

"Jeffrey Proehl is a registered patent attorney with Woods, Fuller, Shultz & Smith P.C. in Sioux Falls. 

The searching of patents and published patent application publications may be performed for a number of purposes, but there are two primary types of searches that are requested by inventors and businesses for their developments."

The Story of the American Inventor Denied a Patent Because He Was a Slave; Gizmodo, August 28, 2018

Matt Novak, Gizmodo;

The Story of the American Inventor Denied a Patent Because He Was a Slave

"The world of invention is famous for its patent disputes. But what happens when your dispute wasn’t with another inventor but whether the Patent Office saw you as a person at all? In 1864, a black man named Benjamin T. Montgomery tried to patent his new propeller for steamboats. The Patent Office said that he wasn’t allowed to patent his invention. All because he was enslaved."

Brush Yourself Off And Try Again: An Invention Story; NPR, August 4, 2017

Joe Palca, NPR; Brush Yourself Off And Try Again: An Invention Story

"We told the story of MD Brush in 2014. At that point, it had taken seven years to go from the idea for a new toothbrush to an actual product: seven years of designs, redesigns, re-redesigns, manufacturing obstacles, marketing stumbles and website crashes. When our story aired in August 2014, a production run of 100,000 MD Brushes was underway at a factory in Vietnam.

But not long after the first shipment arrived in the U.S., they ran into the dental industrial complex. One of the big toothbrush companies filed suit against them, accusing them of patent infringement."