In tech, patents are trophies -- and these companies are dominating; CNN, June 19, 2018

Seth Fiegerman, CNN; In tech, patents are trophies -- and these companies are dominating

[Kip Currier: This CNN article has a link to an interesting 2 min. 6 sec. video, "Patents: A history of innovation", highlighting some examples of U.S. patents, from the 1st one--to a Philadelphia inventor for potash in 1790 and signed by Pres. George Washington--to the 10 millionth, issued to a Raytheon employee on June 20, 2018.]

"Google, Apple, Amazon (AMZN) and others are pushing forward with a range of new patents touching on artificial intelligence, cloud computing, drones and virtual reality, according to an analysis of patent activity late last year from CB Insights.

"I do think more recently, companies -- especially startups -- are realizing that just being a cool application is not enough," says Ethan Kurzweil, a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. They want to be "inventing some core piece of technology, whether it be AI, machine learning, autonomous driving, or computer vision. ... Patents will matter a lot more in those contexts.""

10 Million Patents; Patents Through History, U.S. Patent and Trademark office (USPTO), 2018

Patents Through History, U.S. Patent and Trademark office (USPTO); 10 Million Patents

"The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will issue the 10 millionth utility patent in summer 2018. This milestone of human ingenuity perhaps exceeds even the Founding Fathers’ expectations when they called for a patent system in the Constitution to “promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts.” Follow the timeline below for important moments, notable inventors, changing patent designs, and other interesting facts over more than two centuries of innovation in America."

America as a Place of Innovation: Great Inventors and the Patent System: Thursday, February 16, 2017

America as a Place of Innovation: Great Inventors and the Patent System: 

[Kip Currier: Looking forward to attending this panel discussion at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.]

DATE AND TIME

Thu, February 16, 2017

1:00 PM – 2:30 PM EST

LOCATION

National Museum of American History

1300 Constitution Avenue, NW

Washington, D.C 20013

DESCRIPTION

The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the Smithsonian Institution and the Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property (CPIP) at Antonin Scalia Law School invite you to a panel discussion at the National Museum of American History.

This panel will explore the history of innovation and the broader social, political, and legal context for inventors in late nineteenth century America. The panel will address the historical role of patents, research-intensive startups, litigation, and licensing during an important period of disruptive innovation.

• Speakers:

  • Prof. Ernest Freeberg, University of Tennessee, discussing Thomas Edison and how the invention of the electric light impacted American culture. Professor Freeberg is the author of the book The Age of Edison: Electric Light and the Invention of Modern America(Penguin, 2014)
  • Prof. Christopher Beauchamp, Brooklyn Law School, discussing Alexander Graham Bell and the legal disputes that erupted out of Bell’s telephone patent. Professor Beauchamp is the author of the book Invented by Law: Alexander Graham Bell and the Patent That Changed America (Harvard University Press, 2015)
  • Prof. Adam Mossoff, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University, discussing early American innovation by Charles Goodyear, Samuel Morse, and Joseph Singer.Professor Mossoff is the author of the influential article “The Rise and Fall of the First American Patent Thicket: The Sewing Machine War of the 1850s.”
  • Moderator: Arthur Daemmrich, Director, Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation
  • Closing Remarks: Alan Marco, Chief Economist, U.S. Patent & Trademark Office