USPTO Monthly Review -- September 2017

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monthly review

The USPTO's review of major activities
and initiatives in August

united states patent and trademark office

September 2017

Leadership Blogs

Training Teachers to Educate the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs

Joe Matal

As students are starting the school year, teachers are heading back with new lesson plans, some of which include intellectual property concepts. Last month, more than 50 K-12 educators from across the nation took part in the 4th Annual National Summer Teacher Institute (NSTI) on Innovation, STEM, and Intellectual Property. NSTI is a week-long innovation and entrepreneurial boot camp designed to help teachers unleash the innovative potential of their students.

Read the blog by Joe Matal, Performing the Functions and Duties of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO.

Avoiding Intellectual Property Theft Abroad

Hope Shimabuku

Overseas markets present some of the best economic opportunities for U.S. companies, and at the same time can pose some of the greatest risks – such as counterfeiting. According to a recently released White House Fact Sheet on protecting American intellectual property (IP), the annual cost to the U.S. economy from IP theft, including counterfeiting, could be as high as $600 billion.

Read the blog by Director of the Texas Regional U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Hope Shimabuku.

Dream to Reality – Helping Inventors Patent New Technologies

John Kirkpatrick, Associate Pro Bono Coordinator and Staff Attorney, USPTO

Small businesses and independent inventors both serve a vital role in our nation’s economy. And helping those with limited resources is an important goal of the USPTO. The USPTO’s Patent Pro Bono Program provides free legal assistance to financially under-resourced inventors and small businesses interested in securing patent protection for their inventions.

Read the blog by the Department of Commerce.

Federal Agencies Tackling Trademark Scams

Mary Denison

Some trademark applicants and registrants have paid fees to private companies while mistakenly thinking they were paying fees required by the USPTO. To combat this problem, last week, the USPTO co-hosted its first ever public roundtable on fraudulent solicitations with the Trademark Public Advisory Committee. The objectives of the event were to educate the public about the problem of misleading or fraudulent advertisements for trademark services, to learn more about what other government agencies were doing, and to brainstorm new ideas for tackling this complex issue.

Read the blog by Commissioner for Trademarks Mary Boney Denison.

Inspiring Young Minds to be Innovators and Pursue their Dreams

Camp Invention camper works on a project

At Camp Invention, almost two million students have explored their own innate creativity, inventiveness and entrepreneurial spirit in a week-long day camp program that’s been running annually since 1990. Currently held at more than 1,400 sites in 50 states for kindergarten through 6th grade, these students are learning how to think big, be innovators and pursue their dreams.

Read the blog by Joe Matal, Performing the Functions and Duties of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO.

Events

Invention-Con 2017

InventionCon logo

Invention-Con is a free, two-day independent inventors’ conference to inform and equip inventors and small businesses with intellectual property know-how. Held at the USPTO on August 11 and 12, attendees participated in plenary talks, joined in topic specific, small-group breakout sessions, and heard from USPTO officials and experts who presented information on patents, trademarks, and other intellectual property matters and topics of interest to inventors and small businesses.

To learn more about Invention-Con 2017, view the event page or agenda

Patent Quality Chat: “Using Petitions Effectively in Patent Prosecution”

Patent quality chat screen capture

Deputy Commissioner for Patent Quality Valencia Martin Wallace held the eighth Patent Quality Chat in the 2017 webinar series on August 8 on Using Petitions Effectively in Patent Prosecution.”

Speakers Charles Kim, Director, Office of Petitions, and Namrata Boveja, Acting Deputy Director, Office of Petitions, highlighted how petitions are used most effectively to advance patent prosecution, shared best practices to avoid the need to file unnecessary petitions, and discussed electronic petition filing options.

Patent Quality Chat is a monthly, lunchtime webinar series designed to provide information on patent quality topics and gather your input. To learn more about the August Patent Quality Chat, watch the archived video or view the presentation slides.

Biotechnology/Chemical/Pharmaceutical Customer Partnership

Teleconference at the Silicon Valley Regional USPTO

The USPTO’s second Bicoastal Biotechnology, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Customer Partnership (BCBCP) Meeting was held on August 2. This BCBCP expands the USPTO’s long-standing partnership in this industry sector to customers across the country. The BCBCP Meeting was simultaneously available at locations on both the East (Alexandria, Va.) and West (Silicon Valley, Calif.) coasts. During the BCBCP, participants were able to interact with USPTO personnel in-person or via webcast.

To learn more, view the event page

Patent Public Advisory Committee Quarterly Meeting

PPAC meeting in Alexandria, VA

The quarterly Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC) meeting was held on August 2 at USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Va. The PPAC reviews the policies, goals, performance, budget, and user fees of patent operations, and advises the director on these matters.

To learn more, view the event page or watch the recorded Livestream.

USPTO In the News

Newspaper

STEM Camp Teaches Students How to Patent Their Inventions
Morgan Lynch, MeriTalk

FY2017: PTO On Course for Record Number of Issued Patents
Dennis Crouch, Patently-O

USPTO Issues Report on Public Views Regarding Subject Matter Eligibility
Aaron Morrow, The National Law Review

Patent Process Help
Reid Creager, Inventors Digest

You Wouldn't Believe How Fun Learning About Patents and Trademarks Can Be
Becky McDowell Blog

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