USPTO unveils council to promote D&I in innovation and battle IP threats
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has launched an initiative to promote diversity and inclusion in innovation by expanding the scope of invention and entrepreneurship in the US and to ward off IP threats from China.
The National Council for Expanding American Innovation (NCEAI), announced yesterday, September 14, will help guide the USPTO in developing a strategy to foster a more diverse and inclusive environment within US innovation.
US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross has been appointed as council chair. In a speech before the US Department of Commerce's Investment Advisory Council, he outlined the council’s aim in laying the groundwork for a stronger innovation landscape to fortify and strengthen US IP against the threats posed by foreign countries, and by China in particular.
He said: “America’s great multinational companies know that the countries in which they mass produce their products do not contribute to the welfare of the world. They continue to steal IP. They force transfer of proprietary technologies. China in particular has become a bully in its neighbourhood.”
The creation of the NCEAI follows USPTO’s SUCCESS Act study in 2018 and its SUCCESS ACT report, which it submitted to the US Congress in October 2019. The study assessed the participation of women, minorities, and veterans as inventors named on US granted patents, while the report provided recommendations to increase those groups’ participation in innovation.
These included a call to create a council to promote inclusiveness in innovation and increase the development and participation of underrepresented groups as inventors and entrepreneurs.
NCEAI comprises leaders in corporate, academic, non-profit, professional, and government organisations. Ross said: “It is critical that industry, academia, and government work together to strengthen our culture of innovation by encouraging the participation of young people from diverse backgrounds.”
He added: “Through the National Council for Expanding American Innovation, we plan to develop a national strategy for promoting and increasing the participation of underrepresented groups as inventor-patentees, entrepreneurs, and innovation leaders.”
Andrei Iancu, under secretary of commerce for IP and director of the USPTO, will serve as vice-chair. “America’s economic prosperity and technological leadership depend on a strong and inclusive innovation ecosystem,” he said.
He added: “That is why it is so important for us to encourage participation in the patent system so that all Americans are inspired to invent, to protect their inventions, to build thriving businesses, and to succeed.”
The USPTO has invited the US public to comment on the council and provide it with ideas, programmes, and policies that will boost innovation in America. Comments should be sent by email to NCEAI@uspto.gov.
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