Patents for Humanity Award Recipients Honored for Work in Providing Global Disease Health Care Solutions
A post about the USPTO from the Department of Commerce
This year’s winners of the Patents for Humanity Award found new and innovative ways to administer and provide health care solutions in some of the most disadvantaged and underserved regions of the world. On November 16, four entities – a university, a federal agency, a business and a nonprofit– were recognized at the National Press Club for their work in tackling the global burden of disease and changing the world for the better.
Winners included Case Western Reserve University for a low-cost malaria detection device, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for an improved meningitis vaccine, GestVision, Inc. for a quick diagnostic test for preeclampsia, and Global Good Fund at Intellectual Ventures for a cooler which can preserve vaccines for over a month with no outside power source. Read more about each of the award recipients.
Launched by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in February 2012 as part of an Obama administration initiative, the Patents for Humanity program promotes game-changing innovations that solve long-standing development challenges. The award is the USPTO’s top honor for recognizing patent owners and licensees who use game-changing technology to meet global humanitarian challenges. In addition to being recognized for their work, winners also receive accelerated processing of select matters at the USPTO.
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro spoke at the awards ceremony, stating: “There is no greater effort that the federal government can be involved in than the opportunity to save lives. Borders are irrelevant to disease, and projects like these help get a discovery to market where it can make a difference.”
“Altogether the work of our Patents for Humanity applicants and awardees proves that great things that can be accomplished when intellectual property rights and innovation work together to solve problems of a truly global scope, ” said Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO Russ Slifer, who delivered remarks at the ceremony. “In addition to the very tangible benefits their inventions will deliver, they will also inspire others to bring the power of innovation to bear on more of the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges.” Read Deputy Director Slifer’s full remarks.
Programs like Patents for Humanity help scale and incentivize innovation by spurring more game-changing work by the innovation community. The winners’ technologies and solutions show tomorrow’s scientists and engineers how the power of innovation can change the world for the better.
See a Facebook album of photos from the ceremony.
Posted at 07:30AM Dec 05, 2016 in patents |