By Drew Hirshfeld
In response to a January 2021 Executive Order (EO) on economic relief during the COVID-19 pandemic, we established an Economic Relief Working Group (ERWG) comprised of individuals from across the USPTO to identify and develop programmes and strategies to fulfill the goals of the EO – specifically, “to provide the greatest relief to individuals, families, small business; and to State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments.”
Similar to our Council for Inclusive Innovation (CI2) initiative, our goal with this working group is to vastly increase awareness of the benefits of patents and trademarks among aspiring innovators and creators, and to remove barriers to access for those who have historically been underrepresented in the US intellectual property (IP) system. We want more people to utilize our resources to start new companies, develop new products and brands, expand their enterprises and, in some cases, create entirely new industries.
Notably, a year later, we have initiated more than a dozen projects for achieving this goal. Below we’ve highlighted just a few new and upcoming programmes.
Expanding USPTO resources to wider audiences
We will soon unveil an “AccessUSPTO Pilot Programme” aimed at providing IP training to new audiences through enhanced collaboration with national organizations who assist small businesses and creators not traditionally versed in IP. With this new programme, we hope to reach more aspiring inventors and entrepreneurs and empower them with the tools they need to protect their ideas, creations, and brands.
Another upcoming programme is the Tribal Nations Partnership, a year-long initiative to assist Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians who are interested in establishing or expanding their e-commerce presence, through monthly sessions focused on topics ranging from entrepreneurship to marketing and planning. We also are expanding our IP education programmes to regions of the country that have been underrepresented in the innovation economy through strategic collaboration with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and community colleges to offer training and outreach programs that seek to broaden participation in the innovation ecosystem at all levels.
Enhanced Training opportunities for filing applications
In addition, through our new Stakeholder Application Readiness Training (StART) programme, which will launch as a pilot program this spring, a selected group of aspiring inventors will be able to participate in a three-day intensive training programme on the application process to empower them with the tools and knowledge to successfully file a patent application. Further, the ERWG will be piloting a Customer Ambassador Programme this summer to help a selected group of individual or joint inventors file on their own and avoid common mistakes throughout the application process.
New pro bono programmes
The costs of preparing a patent application should never discourage those who want to protect their inventions. That’s why for many years, the regional not-for-profit organizations that make up the Patent Pro Bono Programme have endeavored to match volunteer patent professionals with financially under-resourced inventors and small businesses in their regions for the purpose of securing patent protection. Based on the success of the programme, not only will we be launching a new Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) pro bono programme in 2022, but we will also soon be starting a new Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) pro bono programme. These programmes will provide free legal assistance to financially under-resourced individuals and businesses involved in patent or trademark proceedings before the Boards. These important programmes were born out of our valued collaborations with the PTAB Bar Association and the International Trademark Association (INTA), and will connect volunteer member attorneys with those eligible inventors and entrepreneurs seeking legal assistance to secure and defend their patents and trademark registrations.
