USPTO IP Champions educate communities on the importance of IP protections such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets to innovation. They support local educators and are available to discuss important IP concepts, share our free online resources, and empower the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs.
Many of the patent rules are subtle and cause amateurs (including me) to lose a large chunk of the patent’s strength and value if we prepare a patent on our own.
Despite the significant economic challenges and geopolitical tensions throughout 2023, the year concluded on a positive note with an increase in patent transactions. This upturn in activity within the patent secondary market coincided with a growing interest among companies to invest in research and development, particularly in the technology sector.
Is it worth the time? What has worked before? What will have to change? I look into factors such as demand, market size, manufacturability, cost and trends. I also do an extra layer of evaluation.
Evolutionary and revolutionary product development define how companies improve existing products, introduce new products and innovate. Both approaches have their advantages and drawbacks.
HBCUs have played a crucial role in advancing intergenerational economic mobility for Black families and communities throughout generations. Additionally, HBCUs have been instrumental in fostering innovation and intellectual property (IP) development. A late 2021 report by ThePlug said HBCUs accounted for almost 400 U.S. patents.
This can be a nervy time for the inventor: the real test of whether the device can stand on its own in the marketplace, and whether people want to buy it. Because the launch has such high consequences, you must take the utmost care in preparation to ensure you have everything right.
I have seen inventors with amazing products that never made it to market. The No. 1 reason is that they gave up too soon. Besides a few obvious character traits, these others are consistent in successful inventors.
Efforts by high-tech companies to undermine both the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act of 2023 and the Promoting and Respecting Economically Vital American Innovation Leadership Act ramped up in mid-March, via a joint letter sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee by a number of tech industry organizations and a campaign launched by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Three Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were designated as Patent and Trademark Resource Centers (PTRCs) in 2023, and the USPTO plans to add more. The three are the John B. Cade Library at Southern University and A&M College, John B. Coleman Library at Prairie View A&M University, and Miller F. Whittaker Library at South Carolina State University. Howard University’s Founders Library was designated a PTRC in 1986.
We have done many things at the USPTO to push those doors of opportunity wide open, but I want to highlight a few in particular that I need your help in sharing with others. Collectively, they make access to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) easier and more transparent than ever, for both legal practitioners and the inventors they represent.
Grenada innovation workshop was memorable for beautiful innovation, people and scenery. Once the sample projects were completed, teams had the afternoon to use the parts to build their own prototypes and work on their digital prototypes.