A numbers game: D&I targets and the IP profession

10-11-2022

Muireann Bolger

A numbers game: D&I targets and the IP profession

Do D&I targets stimulate change, or alienate those trying to achieve it? WIPR Diversity speaks to lawyers on both sides of the debate

If the legal profession suffers from a lack of diversity, then the IP corner of the business fares even worse.

According to a survey of UK registered patent and trademark attorneys carried out by IPReg in 2021, the IP industry is  55% male, 87% heterosexual and nearly 80% white.

The picture is similar in the US. Women comprise under 22% of US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)-registered attorneys and agents, and USPTO registration for racially diverse registrants averages about 6.5%, according to research by Elaine Spector and LaTia Brand in an article for the American Bar Association. 


USPTO, Diversity & Inclusion,, Mansfield rule,, metrics, targets, diversity, expectations, pipeline, clients

WIPR