Inclusive Innovation Ecosystems

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.

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4iP have launched an ‘IP Stories’ podcast, looking at individuals’ unique perspectives on IP. 

We think they are great and definitely worth a listen!! 

Click here to listen to the podcasts 

Innovation Council submitted these perspectives to the ITC investigation of COVID-19 Diagnostics and Therapeutics and Flexibilites under the TRIPS Agreement.

The United Stated Patents and Trademark Office undertook a randomized control trial to assess the value that could be provided by increasing guidance and information for inventors, especially women, about patents.

Women are more likely to enter the patent system through small and micro entities, which do not have legal patent support or advice, therefore providing additional guidance can aid women in patenting their inventions, subsequently closing the gender gap in patenting. The Pro Se Pilot Examination Unit was able to increase all women’s likelihood of receiving a patent by 16.8 percentage points.

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WIPO has released the 2022 Global Innovation Index with Switzerland once again placing first, for a 12th year in a row. The United States has climbed to take second position and the United Kingdom has stayed in fourth, the same as in 2021. Even though there was an expectation for a decrease in R&D after the COVID-19 pandemic, this has not been the case for many of the large corporate companies, with there being an almost 10% increase in R&D in 2021, reaching a figure of over $900 billion in 2021. Some countries increased their R&D budget spending for 2021, such as Germany, while other such as Japan and the United States didn’t. Intellectual Property filling also continued to increase in 2021 with a rise of 15%. Data was also found that 26 countries are outperforming their development with innovation, including countries such as India and Indonesia.

The Global Innovation Index predicts two new innovation waves to come, contradicting those who believe innovation driven growth is going to stay at a low. The Digital Age innovation wave and the Deep Science innovation wave are predicted to be the next two biggest breakthroughs in innovation, but it is well accepted that these will take time. The Digital Age innovation wave would focus on automation and artificial intelligence, while the Deep Science innovation wave is thought to look at bio- and nanotechnologies which would revolutionise science.

Click here to read the full report.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office today released a new report, titled “Where are U.S. women patentees? Assessing three decades of growth.” The report examines women’s patenting by U.S. counties from 1990 through 2019. Over that 30-year period, women inventors patented in 411 new counties, an increase of 32% in the number of counties where women patent.

The law is in a state of disarray that has led to inconsistent case decisions, deep uncertainty in the innovative, investment and legal communities, and unpredictable outcomes in prosecution and litigation. David Kappos, Paul Michel, Corey Salsberg and Matthew Dowd argue that the United States’ legislators must act to ensure the country maintains its long-standing competitive edge in the global innovation race.

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