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发帖数: 21 | 1 US Senator's bill aims to ‘close gap’ on lack of women and minority
patent applicants
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http://www.ippromagazine.com/ippromagazinenews/article.php?article_id=6959
A bipartisan group of US senators have introduced legislation that aims to
“close the gap” for women and minorities in terms of obtaining US patents.
Republican senator Steve Stivers and chair of the Senate Judiciary
Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Thom Tillis, and Republican Steve
Stivers are joined by Democrat senator Mazie Hirono and Democrat
congresswoman Nydia Velázquez in introducing and supporting the bill.
The Inventor Diversity for Economic Advancement (IDEA) Act requires the US
Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to collect demographic data on gender,
race, military or veteran status, and income level, from patent applicants
on a voluntary basis. The office is also required to release publish reports
on its collected data, which in turn would allow “outside researchers to
conduct their own analyses and offer insights into the various patent gaps
in our society”.
According to figures from Tillis, only 21 percent of US patents have a woman
listed as an inventor.
African American and Hispanic college graduates apply for patents at
approximately half the rate of their Caucasian counterparts.Tillis
said that women and minority inventors “have made some of the most
significant inventions in this country’s history, yet a recent USPTO study
found that only 21 percent of all US patents list a woman as an inventor and
that women only make up 12 percent of all inventors”. He continued: “We
must work to close this gap to ensure all Americans have the opportunity to
innovate, and I am proud to introduce this bipartisan, bicameral legislation
to get a better understanding of the background of individuals who apply
for patents with the USPTO.” Hirono commented: “The US has long been a
global leader in terms of technological innovation. But if we expect to
continue that leadership in the future, we need to harness the potential of
all Americans.”
“I have long championed increased opportunities for women and other
underrepresented groups in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)
fields. Making sure those same people have equal access to the patent
system is not just the right thing to do, but it will also grow our economy
and ensure American leadership in science and technology for decades to come
.” |
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