Mar 15 -- The United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce, requests comments by May 14, 2024 on Unlocking the Full Potential of Intellectual Property by Translating More Innovation to the Marketplace.
American innovation is a cornerstone of our strong, vibrant economy, with robust development of emerging and early-stage innovation spurring entrepreneurship and other economic activity. Intellectual property (IP) forms the bridge that moves innovation to impact for the benefit of society. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO, or the Agency) is committed to supporting translation of innovations to the marketplace through commercialization and is seeking public comment on how the agency can build on current initiatives to advance this commitment. The USPTO, with support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the National Science Foundation (NSF), seeks input on new ways to unlock the potential of intellectual property for the public good by fostering pathways for innovation to reach the marketplace, with particular attention to green, critical, and emerging technologies. To ensure consideration, written comments must be received by May 14, 2024.
Intellectual property rights create a critical engine that powers our economy and supports our nation as a global leader in innovation and entrepreneurship. For example, patents drive our nation's technological progress and achievement by incentivizing and protecting new ideas, encouraging investment in creative problem solving, and promoting knowledge sharing to inspire others to engage in follow on innovation. When brought to the market through commercialization, patented products save lives, improve our standard of living, and address some of the pressing issues to solve global challenges.
Through this request for comment, the USPTO seeks input on what more the Agency can do to accelerate and incentivize commercialization of innovation. The USPTO also invites specific input on what the Agency can do to accelerate and incentivize the commercialization of green, critical, and emerging technologies. We seek to better understand how the USPTO might build on and expand our current initiatives in this space, detailed below, through direct agency work, through collaboration with other agencies or institutions such as NOAA, NIST, and NSF, as the principal advisor to the President and the Administration on IP through the Secretary of Commerce, and as a technical advisor to Congress on IP. While the USPTO is proud of our recent initiatives to ensure robustness and reliability of IP, as well as the role the agency is playing in the current dialogue on Bayh-Dole rights, pandemic preparedness, and Trade-Related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights waivers, those topics are beyond the scope of this request for comment. Here, we specifically focus on opportunities for positive public impact by bringing innovation to market through commercialization, for example via the licensing of IP rights. Public comments on this notice will be used to evaluate possibilities for amplifying the impact of our current work, and to explore new ways to support the transfer of innovation to the marketplace.
As used here, “technology transfer,” “tech transfer,” and “commercialization” interchangeably refer to the cycle of bringing new technologies to the public through the marketplace, which is often made possible by the licensing of IP rights such as patents.
Bringing innovation to the marketplace through commercialization serves the greater good by creating jobs, improving economic prosperity, and solving world problems. IP rights such as patents play a key role in our economy, creating a mutually beneficial risk-tolerance paradigm for both patent holders and commercialization partners. Patents allow innovators to retain ownership and integrity of their technology while also incentivizing partners to provide the critical resources and support needed to bring that new technology to market through licensing. The societal benefits of this IP rights commercialization paradigm are directly evident in the success of the U.S. economy. For example, in 2019, the U.S. industries that relied most heavily on intellectual property (“IP-intensive” industries) accounted for $7.8 trillion in gross domestic product or 41% of domestic economic activity and account for 63 million jobs, or 44% of all U.S. jobs. These industries also provided 79% (or $1.31 trillion) of all U.S. commodity exports in that year.
Without IP commercialization, we might not have internet search algorithms, the artificial lung, or life-saving COVID–19 therapies. By continuing to build a strong IP system that encourages the transfer of technological advances to the marketplace, we can foster the emerging technologies of the future, such as those that will mitigate the effects of climate change or prepare us for future global health challenges. We also recognize the importance of balancing IP commercialization and innovation with work to increase competition and prevent unnecessary barriers for new entrants into the market.
The following examples of current initiatives illustrate our existing efforts in the tech transfer space, as a reference point for considering ways we might expand or add to this work for greater impact.
I. General Innovation and Technology Transfer -- The USPTO continues to prioritize the development of ecosystems that can unlock IP to create jobs and solutions by translating that IP to the market across sectors, including key technology areas such as healthcare, manufacturing, and climate resilience. . . .
II. Innovation and Tech Transfer for Green Technology -- In addition to its focus on tech transfer in general, the USPTO also recognizes the more specific and immediate need to accelerate the transfer of green technology and climate innovations to the marketplace. . . .
III. Innovation and Tech Transfer for Critical and Emerging Technologies -- The USPTO has been actively involved with the Biden Administration on policies related to critical and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and standards policies. . . .
The USPTO requests comment from all interested parties, including innovators, patent holders, patent applicants, patent licensees, academic personnel (faculty, researchers, administrators), entrepreneurs, consumers of patented products, public interest groups, and other parties interested in and engaged in innovation, research, development, licensing, or commercialization of technology. Responses may address direct agency work, USPTO collaboration with other agencies or institutions such as NOAA, NIST, or NSF, USPTO's role as a principal advisor to the President and the Administration on IP through the Secretary of Commerce, and/or USPTO's role as a technical advisor to Congress on IP. In particular, the USPTO seeks the following information:
1. Please identify the biggest challenges to, and opportunities for, commercialization of innovation through use of the intellectual property system. Please identify what concrete measures the USPTO can take to help.
2. Are there any IP-related challenges or opportunities that are specific to commercializing green technology and climate technologies? Please identify what concrete measures the USPTO can take to help.
3. Are there any IP-related challenges or opportunities that are specific to commercializing critical and emerging technologies? Please identify what concrete measures the USPTO can take to help.
4. Please identify any changes to IP policies and practices that may help streamline or accelerate commercialization of IP in general.
5. Please identify any changes to IP policies and practices that may help streamline or accelerate commercialization of green technology and climate technologies.
6. Please identify any changes to IP policies and practices that may help streamline or accelerate commercialization of critical and emerging technologies.
7. Please identify any IP-related challenges that interested parties face when licensing or acquiring technologies and identify any changes in the law, policies or practices which could help alleviate these challenges.
8. Please identify challenges that interested parties face when attempting to identify potential licensees, and when licensing intellectual property. Please identify any changes in the law, policies or practices that could help alleviate these challenges.
9. Please provide any feedback on the USPTO's Patents 4 Partnerships platform, including any experience with the same, whether it should be expanded to include patents across all sectors, and any comments on how it can otherwise be improved. Please also identify what additional, concrete measures the USPTO can take to better facilitate connections between innovators and funders.
10. Please provide any feedback on the WIPO GREEN initiative including any experience with the same and any comments on how the USPTO may better leverage its role as a partner to enhance the success and influence of the initiative.
11. Please identify opportunities for the USPTO to minimize any current challenges related to commercialization for certain persons, technologies, industries, or companies. If available, please provide supporting data that illustrates the impact of these challenges on those select groups.
12. Please identify opportunities for the USPTO to help underrepresented groups, individual inventors, and small and medium-sized enterprises to gain enhanced awareness of and access to resources for commercializing their innovations and suggest ways to overcome existing challenges that undermine the realization of this goal.
13. Please identify opportunities for the USPTO to expand research commercialization opportunities through IP rights for MSIs, and HBCUs, including any data or information related to the development of research commercialization at these institutions.
14. Please identify any role that the USPTO can play in incentivizing innovations in commercially viable technologies.
15. Are there any laws or practices in other countries that are effective in bringing IP to market? If so, please identify, explain, and indicate how they can be adapted to be applied within the framework of the U.S. patent law, or explain what new legislation would be needed.
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2024-05504