We need your PanelPicker® vote!
The annual South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference in Austin, Texas, provides an opportunity for global professionals at every level to participate, network, and discuss economic and cultural issues. The wide range of participating individuals and organizations have one thing in common: they all work with intellectual property (IP).
SXSW is a prime opportunity for the USPTO to highlight the importance of protecting intellectual property. SXSW crowdsources their conference programming through the PanelPicker platform, and community voting counts for 30 percent of the panel selection decisions.
We need your PanelPicker vote to ensure IP is part of the SXSW conversation. From August 6-30, 2018, you can vote for the USPTO’s 2019 PanelPicker session proposals. Make sure you leave comments about what you’d like us to talk about, and share the details about the panels with friends. You can vote for more than one panel, and you can vote even if you don’t plan to attend SXSW personally. Let SXSW know how vital IP protection is by voting for our four panels today!
How to cast your vote:
- Create a free SXSW account
- Vote for the USPTO's panels
- Leave comments or questions for us on the panel page
- Join the conversation on social media with #USPTOatSXSW
Battle of the Brands: Bands and Intellectual Property
Nirvana. The Beatles. The Rolling Stones. Music icons. Lucrative brands. You think of intellectual property protection for your music, but what about for the brand you are building with your Blood, Sweat & Tears?
Our speakers will discuss how to build and protect your band’s valuable goodwill and reputation with real-world examples of brands that have gone global—and what happens to that brand if the music stops and members go their separate ways.
Panelists:
- Mary Boney Denison, United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Commissioner for Trademarks
- Brendon Anthony, Director of Texas Music Office (TMO)
IP and the Internet of Things
The internet of things, or IoT, is a system of devices, objects, animals, or people that are provided with unique identifiers (UIDs) and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.
By 2020, there may be nearly 50 billion smart devices seeking to communicate and share data to enhance user experiences amongst the IoT. This paradigm shift presents difficult questions regarding innovation, IP rights, and access to technology.
Our speakers will discuss the issues and opportunities in standardization and its role in innovation in the midst of increasing demand for IoT infrastructure in daily life.
Panelists:
- Hope Shimabuku, Director of the Texas Regional United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
- Susann Keohane, Global Research Leader for Aging, Master Inventor, Academy of Technology
IP to IPO: Protect and Get Your Idea to Market
You’ve got a great idea, but now what? Whether you want to produce and market your invention yourself or license it to another company, the best way for you to profit from your idea is to file for a patent with the USPTO. Venture capitalists often prefer to invest in ideas or start-ups that have already secured a patent or provisional patent.
Our speakers will discuss how and why inventors should obtain IP protections and how entrepreneurs benefit from those protections.
Panelists:
- Molly Kocialski, Director of the Rocky Mountain Regional United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
- Arlyne Simon, Biochemical Engineer, Author, Inventor, Entrepreneur
- Steve Katsaros, CEO and Founder of Nokero Solar
The IP Ecosystem: Why it Matters to You
Have you ever wondered how and why IP affects you? It’s a pervasive part of our modern world, and whether you know it or not you are part of the IP ecosystem. Understanding that system is vital, whether you’re creating music, starting a business, or just using social media.
Without legal protection for their ideas, businesses and individuals would not reap the full benefits of their inventions and would focus less on research and development. Similarly, artists would not be fully compensated for their work and the vitality of our culture would suffer as a result.
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office Andrei Iancu will discuss how our agency is working to strengthen and stabilize the IP ecosystems that fuel innovation, and what roles we all play within that system.
Panelist:
Andrei Iancu, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office