Inclusive Innovation Ecosystems
European Patent Office Report
In 2022, the European Patent Office (EPO) released this study providing evidence and insights on gender and patenting across Europe. The study reveals that just 13.2% of inventors in Europe are women. While the percentage has been steadily rising, there is clearly still work to be done to close the patenting gender gap.
This report presents data regarding gender and patenting across a wide range of countries, for different time periods, patent application profiles, and in different technology fields. The report indicates that the gender gap in relation to patenting could be harming technological progress, for European societies as a whole, given that the ingenuity of all people is not being fully leveraged. It recommends that policymakers enact policies and programs to close the gap and increase access to patents for female inventors.
Click here to read the report.
Future-Proofing SME and Entrepreneurship Policies – OECD
The OECD has a new publication reporting on discussions that were held at its SME and Entrepreneurship Ministerial Meeting, 27-28 June 2023. With the global context having radically evolved in the last three years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine conflict, and other challenges, policies will also need to evolve in order to ensure that SMEs are resilient and have access to the support they require. The publication notes the need to find a balance between guaranteeing long-run financial support and providing the right conditions for SMEs to compete and become more productive. Furthermore, the policies need to be people-centred and granular as SMEs can widely differ, with no one policy fitting all of their collective needs.
Click here to read the full paper.
Invent Together Executive Director: Investments in Female Inventors and Success in Tech Innovation are Directly Related
New research from WIPO about gender representation on PCT applications reveals that China has been able to grow the quantity of women inventors at nearly double the rate of the U.S. in recent decades, with 42% female inventors in China compared to 22% in the U.S. This Fortune article from Holly Fechner, the Executive Director of Invent Together, highlights the importance of utilizing the ideas and ingenuity of female inventors as well as those from other historically underrepresented groups, especially since global competition in technology is so intense and thus the stakes are high.
Click here to read the full article.
The Inventor’s Patent Academy Updates
Invent Together and Qualcomm Inc recently updated TIPA to enhance the course content as well as increase its functionality and accessibility. TIPA is now accessible via mobile, has voice narration, shortened learning capsules and extra resource links. Currently around 1200 students are enrolled in the program and USPTO’s First-Time Filer Expedited Examination Pilot Program is using TIPA as a learning resource. This is a brilliant resource, and we hope TIPA can keep expanding to create further innovation and patenting opportunities for underrepresented groups.
Click here to read more
The Hidden Bridge featuring Laurie Self and Holly Fechner
This insightful article from LINE Publication features Laurie Self and Holly Fechner as they highlight the progress that is being made to make the patent system as accessible as possible.
Less than 13% of all inventors listed on U.S. patents are women and Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and multiracial Americans account for even less at only 8% of all U.S. inventors. Qualcomm and Invent Together are partnering to try and tackle this inequality, as well as signifying the importance of universities, non-profits and other stakeholders in understanding the diversity gaps and helping to close them.
Click here to read the article
IP Podcast Series by 4iP
4iP have launched an ‘IP Stories’ podcast, looking at individuals’ unique perspectives on IP.
We think they are great and definitely worth a listen!!
Innovation Council submission to the ITC investigation on the TRIPS Agreement
Innovation Council submitted these perspectives to the ITC investigation of COVID-19 Diagnostics and Therapeutics and Flexibilites under the TRIPS Agreement.
There are many actions that could help to improve the availability of COVID therapeutics and diagnostics; setting aside IP protection is not one of them. Based on experience, we expect this will not help in establishing further manufacturing capacity – and, in fact, weaker IP could make this likely to succeed. IP protection supports the extension of global biomanufacturing capacity, by making tech transfer more legally certain, and support innovation and commercialization of new solutions in this sector.
https://innovationcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Innovation-Council-ITC-Submission.pdf
Moderated Discussion with Geneva Delegates: Insights from Biomanufacturing Experts
Innovation Council recently hosted an insightful webinar with leaders in biologics manufacturing and R&D from emerging markets.
The speakers, Syed Ahmed from TechInvention, Charlie Nemugumoni from AVMI and Rajinder Suri from DCVMN drew on lessons from COVID-19 and practical experience to discuss how to reinforce global biomanufacturing R&D networks for overall healthcare delivery as well as pandemic preparedness.
Thank you to the speakers for an informative and exciting discussion!