IBM Loses Top Patent Spot After Decades as IP Leader; Bloomberg Law, January 6, 2023

Brody Ford, Bloomberg Law; IBM Loses Top Patent Spot After Decades as IP Leader

"International Business Machines Corp. dropped from the top spot for US patents in 2022, the first time in decades Big Blue hasn’t claimed the most in a year, signaling a strategy shift at the longtime intellectual property leader."

Something is afoot with copyright this Public Domain Day; The Guardian, January 1, 2023

John Naughton, The Guardian; Something is afoot with copyright this Public Domain Day

"The issue highlighted by Public Domain Day is not that intellectual property is evil but that aspects of it – especially copyright – have been monopolised and weaponised by corporate interests and that legislators have been supine in the face of their lobbying. Authors and inventors need protection against being ripped off. It’s obviously important that clever people are rewarded for their creativity and the patent system does that quite well. But if a patent only lasts for 20 years, why on earth should copyright last for life plus 70 years for a novel? You only have to ask the question to realise that the founders of the American republic at least got that one right. Happy new year."

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."

How the intellectual property monopoly has impeded an effective response to Covid-19; The Conversation, February 14, 2022

Salam Alshareef; The Conversation ; How the intellectual property monopoly has impeded an effective response to Covid-19

"As of October 2021, only 0.7% of all manufactured vaccine doses had gone to low-income countries. Manufacturers had delivered 47 times as many doses to high-income countries as they had to low-income countries.

Since its inception, COVAX, the UN-backed initiative dedicated to promoting access to Covid vaccines, has struggled to obtain doses. It recently passed the 1 billion doses delivered – half way to its goal of delivering 2 billion doses by the end of 2021. Indeed, AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson have delivered between 0% and 39% of their already inadequate commitments to COVAX in 2021.

The Global Commission for Post-Pandemic Policy, meanwhile, estimates that while Asia and Europe will be able to fully vaccinate 80% of their populations by March 2022 and North America by May 2022, Africa will not reach 80% at current rates until April 2025."

When Does Intellectual Property Expire?; Lexology, January 3, 2022

[Post #4,000, since blog began in 2008]

GHB Intellect, Lexology; When Does Intellectual Property Expire?

"Intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, and copyrights, is not a tangible thing. These assets do not all last forever, and in some cases, they need to be maintained in order to remain something that can be protected under IP. Understanding the terms of these assets is very important if you are going to protect an asset and be able to enforce that protection."

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."

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"

The Path to a Patent, Part VI: Learn how to protect your IP abroad; United States Patent and Trademark Office Webinar: Thursday, December 2, 2021 2 PM EST; 1 PM CST; 12 PM MST; 11 AM PST

United States Patent and Trademark Office Webinar; The Path to a Patent, Part VI: Learn how to protect your IP abroad

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"Did you know that patents offer territorial rights, meaning that there is no such thing as an international or global patent? Learn how to help protect your intellectual property (IP) in foreign jurisdictions. United States Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) International Patent Legal Administration experts will discuss considerations and options for filing foreign patent applications.

Register now for this free virtual event.

You may receive one hour of California Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) credit for attending this seminar. Please check with your USPTO regional office for more information on Continuing Legal Education (CLE) accreditation. The discussion will include an overview of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and the use of the Paris Convention for non-PCT countries.

Contact information for participating offices and local start times for this event are as follows:

• Silicon Valley Regional Office: email SiliconValley@uspto.govor call 408-918-9900.  
  Start time: 11 a.m. PT
• Rocky Mountain Regional Office: email RockyMountain@uspto.gov or call 303-297-4600. 
  Start time: noon MT
• Texas Regional Office: email TXROevents@uspto.gov or call 469-295-9000.
  Start time: 1 p.m. CT
• Midwest Regional Office: email MidwestRegion@uspto.gov or call 313-446-4800. 
  Start time: 2 p.m. ET
• Eastern Regional Outreach Office: email EasternRegionalOutreachOffice@uspto.gov or call 571-272-7100. 
  Start time: 2 p.m. ET

Register today

This event is accessible to individuals with disabilities. To request a reasonable accommodation, including captioning, sign language interpreting, or other, please email SiliconValley@uspto.gov or call 408-918-9900."

Pfizer agrees to let other companies make its COVID-19 pill; Associated Press, November 16, 2021

Maria Cheng, Associated Press ; Pfizer agrees to let other companies make its COVID-19 pill

"Drugmaker Pfizer Inc. has signed a deal with a U.N.-backed group to allow other manufacturers to make its experimental COVID-19 pill, a move that could make the treatment available to more than half of the world’s population. 

In a statement issued Tuesday, Pfizer said it would grant a license for the antiviral pill to the Geneva-based Medicines Patent Pool, which would let generic drug companies produce the pill for use in 95 countries, making up about 53% of the world’s population.""

Marvel Reveals Who Really Owns Iron Man and Mr Fantastic’s First Inventions; Comic Book Resources, October 10, 2021

Amer Sawan, Comic Book Resources; Marvel Reveals Who Really Owns Iron Man and Mr Fantastic’s First Inventions

"WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Deadpool Infinity Comic #1, now available on Marvel Unlimited.

Deadpool's attempt to sneak into a auction for most of the Marvel Universe's villains was prompted by an information leak from the true owners of Iron Man and Mister Fantastic's patents. In the event of their deaths that is. Which has already happened. Quite a few times in fact, so the actual legal rights are a bit up in the air. 

But the question of who owns the intellectual property isn't as important as the question of who Tony Stark and Reed Richards settled upon as the best candidate to look after their life's work. The two geniuses thought it over long and hard and selected Damage Control to be their beneficiary, as revealed in Deadpool Infinity Comic #1, by Gerry Duggan, Lucas Werneck, Geoffo, Rachelle Rosenberg and Joe Sabino."

Want to Reverse Inequality? Change Intellectual Property Rules.; The Nation, February 8, 2021

 Dean Baker, February 8, 2021; Want to Reverse Inequality? Change Intellectual Property Rules.

Changes in IP have done far more than tax cuts to increase inequality—and US protection of IP could lead to a cold war with China.

"While the Reagan, George W. Bush, and Trump tax cuts all gave more money to the rich, policy changes in other areas, especially intellectual property have done far more to redistribute income upward. In the past four decades, a wide array of changes—under both Democratic and Republican presidents—made patent and copyright protection both longer and stronger."

The cool story behind popsicles; CBS Sunday Morning, August 16, 2020

CBS Sunday Morning; The cool story behind popsicles

"...Frank Epperson would have to grow up before he patented his idea, in 1924.

"He called it 'Ep-sicle,'" said Kathleen. "Ep for Epperson, and sicle because it looked like an icicle."

But his four-year-old son George came up with a catchier name: "He ran up and he put his arms around his father's leg and he said, 'Pop, pop, can I have a 'sicle? I want a popsicle!'""

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."

Sold: An 1891 Patent by Granville T. Woods, Innovative Black Engineer; Atlas Obscura, July 22, 2020

Matthew Taub, Atlas Obscura; Sold: An 1891 Patent by Granville T. Woods, Innovative Black Engineer

Woods was prolific, but was largely forgotten for many years after his death.

"Despite his striking productivity, Woods had a difficult time profiting from his inventions. Rayvon Fouché, a professor of American Studies at Purdue University who studies technology and invention, says it’s a common misunderstanding that patents lead to wealth. More often, competition with other inventors—or a simple lack of commercial interest in the product—prevents innovators from seeing major returns, says Fouché, who is also the author of Black Inventors in the Age of Segregation: Granville T. Woods, Lewis H. Latimer, and Shelby J. Davidson."

How to protect algorithms as intellectual property; CSO, July 13, 2020

Stacy Collett, CSO; How to protect algorithms as intellectual property

Algorithms can now be considered trade secrets or even patent-worthy. Prevent them from being stolen by taking these security steps.

"Intellectual property theft has become a top concern of global enterprises. As of February 2020, the FBI had about 1,000 investigations involving China alone for attempted theft of US-based technology spanning just about every industry. It’s not just nation-states who look to steal IP; competitors, employees and partners are often culprits, too.

Security teams routinely take steps to protect intellectual property like software, engineering designs, and marketing plans. But how do you protect IP when it's an algorithm and not a document or database? Proprietary analytics are becoming an important differentiator as companies implement digital transformation projects. Luckily, laws are changing to include algorithms among the IP that can be legally protected."

Data Privacy Law and Intellectual Property Considerations for Biometric-Based AI Innovations; Security, June 12, 2020

Ryan N. Phelan, Security; Data Privacy Law and Intellectual Property Considerations for Biometric-Based AI Innovations

"Artificial Intelligence (AI) innovations that use biometrics data are on the rise. While the Intellectual Property (IP) potential for such innovations is vast, issues can arise with the use of biometrics data in view of newly enacted and developing data privacy laws and regulations."

Statement from Director Andrei Iancu on the loss of former USPTO Director Q. Todd Dickinson; United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), May 5, 2020

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); Statement from Director Andrei Iancu on the loss of former USPTO Director Q. Todd Dickinson

"The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) mourns the loss of The Honorable Q. Todd Dickinson, former Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO. Todd was immensely knowledgeable and influential in the intellectual property community. He was a warm person and a great friend to many.

Todd’s career spanned the IP landscape, having worked in law firms, corporations, trade groups, and government. After serving as Chief IP Counsel at Sun, Todd was appointed by President Clinton in 1998 to be Deputy Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks at the USPTO. With the passage of the American Inventors Protection Act (AIPA) in 1999, Todd became the first person to hold the modern-era title of Under Secretary of Commerce and Director of the USPTO. 

Todd was at the forefront of modernizing the USPTO to make it more user friendly. Under his leadership, the agency started accepting electronic filings and launched the now popular Patent Application Information Retrieval system (PAIR), which makes most patent filings available to the public electronically. He also was central in efforts to harmonize aspects of US and international patent law. 

As Director, he was beloved by USPTO staff and lauded by outside stakeholders. One examiner said that Todd made him proud to serve as an examiner at the USPTO, and another remembered his mantra that the USPTO is the “patent office, not the rejection office.”"

The Difference Between Copyrights, Trademarks and Patents; The New York Times, April 16, 2020

Alexander Webb, The New York Times; The Difference Between Copyrights, Trademarks and Patents

Whether you’re an inventor, a writer or an artist, you need to know what these each mean — and which you need to protect your work.

"Intellectual property theft has always been a problem, but it has never affected as many people as it does today. If you’ve taken a photo, recorded a song or written a letter, you’ve likely created a copyright. If you operate a small business, you probably qualify for trademark protection, and if you invent something, you may be able to patent it. But the same tools that make it easy to distribute your work online make it easier than ever to steal.

Intellectual property, or I.P., is everywhere, but almost nobody who is not a lawyer understands how to protect their art, business or inventions. This article is no substitute for real legal advice, but it should give you an idea of what questions you need to ask next. I.P. law is vast, so this will focus on basic terms you’ve probably heard: copyrights, trademarks and patents. Let’s get started."

Managing Intellectual Property in a Crisis (Part 2); JDSupra, April 1, 2020

Joseph Falcon, III, JDSupra; Managing Intellectual Property in a Crisis (Part 2)


"(Note: This is the second of a three-part series stressing the importance of intellectual property protection in difficult economic times. You can read Part 1 here, and watch for Part 3 tomorrow.)

Maintaining intellectual property first requires identification of intellectual property your business already possesses. Intellectual property rights are classified into various categories, each protectable by different legal instruments such as patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret...

These items for patents, copyrights or trademarks are general, but each business likely will have specific questions on how they can apply to each business."