Issues and developments related to Intellectual Property (e.g. Copyright, Fair Use, Patents, Trademarks, Trade Secrets) and Open Movements (e.g. Open Access, Open Data, Open Educational Resources (OER)), examined in the "Intellectual Property and Open Movements" and "Ethics of Data, Information, and Emerging Technologies" graduate courses I teach at the University of Pittsburgh School of Computing and Information. -- Kip Currier, PhD, JD
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."
"Intellectual property, such as inventions, creative content and brands, is created by people. These are people with amazing ideas, creative passions, and desires to improve communities around the world. But it often takes time, money, and personal sacrifices to move these ideas, passions, and desired impacts from conception to reality. When we see these finished products, creative works, or impactful companies, what is their value?
During this year's World Intellectual Property Day celebration, with a global theme of "Women in IP: Accelerating Innovation and Creativity", we will revisit this idea about how we value intellectual property. We will look through the eyes of the women who have made countless sacrifices, overcame hurdles others did not have to face, and yet succeeded and made their companies, inventions and creative works into a thriving reality. This month we will feature incredible women across the U.S. and learn about their years of education, hours spent calling new customers, late nights researching after a full day of work, and money spent for studio time, all so that they can bring their intellectual property to us. These important sacrifices together equals The Value of Her IP!
The Value of Her IP event
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will celebrate World IP Day 2023, centering on the theme of "The Value of Her IP" on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, from 4:30-7:30 p.m. ET., at the U.S. Capitol building's Senate Visitors Center. The focus of the program will be hearing from women business owners, creators and inventors about the financial, time, and personal sacrifices that were necessary for them to create their intellectual property. Their stories will illustrate why it was critical to protect their investments through IP protections such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. The program will also stress the importance of increasing women's participation in the IP eco-system."
"Studies of patent data conducted by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and others have shown that women inventors are significantly underrepresented in the patent system worldwide. Despite an increased number of women entering the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields in recent years, there is still a large gap between the number of women entering these fields and men. This has led to fewer women participating in the intellectual property (IP) system overall.
Register today to hear presentations by representatives of IP offices from around the world, who will discuss these trends and explain how some countries have succeeded in increasing the participation rate of women in their IP systems. Topics will include:
Strategies for increasing the participation of women in the IP system
How to recruit, retain, and promote women in IP fields
You will hear from leading officials from the USPTO, IP Australia, the Canadian IP Office, the IP Office of the Philippines, the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property, the IP Office of New Zealand, the Industrial Property Protection Directorate of Jordan, and other national offices."
"Rory Cooper, who was recognized earlier this year by the office with a trading card
created to honor U.S. inventors, holds more than two dozen patents
related to mobility-improvement research. Cooper is the director at
Pitt’s Human Energy Research Laboratories, a U.S. Army veteran and also
serves as director of the Paralyzed Veterans of America Research
Foundation...
Cooper was recognized in the patent office’s SUCCESS report, an
update on progress achieved through the 2018 Study of Underrepresented
Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success (SUCCESS) Act. The act
aims to promote patent applications by women, minorities, veterans, the
disabled and other underrepresented classes.
“Without diversity of thought, potentially life changing work for
wheel chair users and others with disabilities might not be possible,”
Cooper said. “We have a world-class team at our labs that is committed
to helping people with disabilities and older adults live full lives and
contribute to society as much as they can and they like.”"
