Director's Blog: the latest from USPTO leadership

« Automating Petitions... | Blog homepage | New Quality Measure... »

Wednesday Mar 16, 2011

Impressions from SXSW

Blog by Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO David Kappos

I had the great pleasure of being in Austin, Texas last weekend for something new and special—not only for me but for the USPTO. The SXSW (South by Southwest) Interactive Conference has been a major destination for technologists for a number of years now and a hotbed destination for many of this country’s prime innovators and entrepreneurs. I spoke at two SXSW Interactive sessions, a great opportunity for us to connect with some new audiences.

At each session we were able to meet and speak with some of the sharpest minds of a young, hipster and entrepreneurial set. Smart, enthusiastic, dedicated—this is both the face of the future of American innovation, and in many notable cases its present face. Like our employees at USPTO, the US innovation community is changing, and we are finding new ways to keep pace with them, on their terms.

We are of course committed to informing and encouraging all of those working in the field of IP. Not only do we have to help support and nurture the cutting edge ideas coming from seasoned professionals, but we must also be there for young people in their teens and twenties, many of whom are creating startups that may employ tens or even thousands within just a couple of years.

We're also aware that even in the growing world of open source, inventive ideas are still property for those who wish to treat them that way by seeking patent protection. Moreover, the open source model itself is highly dependent on the copyright laws as the vehicle for securing the contractual commitments that underpin the open source development model.

And another point that bears remembering: Patent infringement, piracy, copyright infringement and the like steal from our nation’s creators and go-getters. Significantly, they also steal jobs from the US economy. No legitimate business model condones stealing.

Being in Austin surrounded by thousands of innovators and entrepreneurs was inspiring. The USPTO stands ready to assist these innovators as they pursue their dreams. In fact we're not waiting—we're reaching out to them every chance we get!

Posted at 06:46AM Mar 16, 2011 in USPTO | Comments[4]

Comments:

Thank you for sharing an interesting perspective. I's true that the open source community must recognize the reality that many others -- companies of all sizes and individual inventors -- seek patents. Unless the open source movement can convince lawmakers that software-related patents should be abolished (which I don't think is going to happen anytime soon), both models must find, and in fact have already found, ways to co-exist. The second sentence of the fourth paragraph is accurate in terms of open source depending on copyright law. This includes the idea of 'copyleft', which would be unenforceable without copyright. However, I would very much like to clarify that open source does not need patent law in any way. It depends solely on copyright law. One important difference between the two IPRs from the perspective of a software developer is that patent infringement is very often inadvertent while software copyright infringement is, not for legal but practical reasons, impossible without an intent to infringe, just like I wouldn not infringe your copyright in your blog post by unintentionally writing a text similar enough to be deemed infringing.

Posted by Florian Mueller (author of FOSS Patents) on March 16, 2011 at 09:27 AM EDT #

Dear Mr. Kappos, I believe that "Patent Reform" / "America Invents Act" will have a very Negative impact on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the United States. It appears that this bill was designed, and is being promoted, by your former employer (IBM) and takes the rights away from independent inventors and small business. The entirety of Section 118 goes directly against the 'Copyright Clause' which specificly states "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." You will note that it specifically states "to Authors and Inventors". It does not say rights should go to Big Corporations. This legislation is Bad for Inventors, Bad for Innovation, Bad for Entrepreneurship, Bad for Small Business, and Bad for America. Below are a few links with good arguments against this flawed legislation "http://bit.ly/eTsLs9" "http://huff.to/hyrcig" "http://bit.ly/gQCzTE"

Posted by Arthur Blair on March 16, 2011 at 09:55 AM EDT #

Thank you for this post. I wish I could be already in your country. I am still a young researcher as perhaps those you've meet. I am a Student Researcher in Germany and Belgium, on the other side of the Ocean... Looking very much into traveling at least once visiting the country who produces more patents in the world... Have a nice day, Andre

Posted by Andre Zamith Cardoso on March 17, 2011 at 12:06 AM EDT #

We appreciate the visit to Austin, and especially support the USPTO considering the Austin remove office. Austin is one of the top producers of IP in the country, and a source of innovation and entrepreneurship. I am the founder of a software startup in Austin dealing with IP and appreciate the complexities and tradeoffs. We look forward to partnering with you on the new Reform Act as well as being a source of innovation and review for the remote office.

Posted by Tyron Stading on April 08, 2011 at 01:12 PM EDT #