USPTO October Monthly Review

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united states patent and trademark office

A look back at the highlights of October 2021

Journeys of Innovation

Learn how Debbie Sterling challenged the status quo in the toy industry and made STEM more accessible for girls.

Building blocks of opportunity

Growing up, Debbie Sterling’s favorite subjects were math and art, but she didn’t realize her creativity and knack for numbers would set her up for a successful engineering career. In fact, she didn’t even know what engineering was until college. Now, she’s made it her mission to introduce young girls to engineering concepts in fun and engaging ways through GoldieBlox, her visionary line of toys and children’s media.

Read the full story

News and updates

Newly-rebranded Council of industry, academic, non-profit, and government officials aims to increase diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility within innovation ecosystem.

Learn more: https://www.uspto.gov/initiatives/equity/ci2/about

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo to Chair Council for Inclusive Innovation (CI²)

WASHINGTON — In a letter to Council members this week, United States Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced her new role as Chair of the re-branded Council for Inclusive Innovation (CI²). With representatives from industry, academia, non-profit, and government, CI² will assist the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in developing a comprehensive national strategy to build a more diverse and inclusive innovation ecosystem.

Read the press release

A letter to Council members from Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo

“Together, as a Council, it is imperative that we continue working to expand American innovation by tapping into the strength of our nation’s diversity and increasing opportunities for all innovators and entrepreneurs who are creating new technologies, companies, and industries,” wrote Secretary Raimondo. “With the most recent data from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office indicating that only 12.8% of inventors listed on patents granted in a single year are women, and little to no data on the participation of other underrepresented groups, we can all agree that there is much work to be done to build a stronger and more inclusive innovation sector.”

Read the letter

Commerce Department seeks nominations for National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee 

The U.S. Department of Commerce recently published a Federal Register Notice (FRN) requesting nominations to serve on the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee (NAIAC). The National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 calls for the establishment of the NAIAC. 

Read the news brief

Find all USPTO news and updates at https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/news-updates.

Events

Trademark Public Advisory Committee Quarterly Meeting October 15 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET

The TPAC reviews the policies, goals, performance, budget, and user fees of trademark operations and advises the Director on these matters.

Trademark Public Advisory Committee (TPAC) quarterly meeting

This month, the Trademark Public Advisory Committee (TPAC) met with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) virtually for their quarterly meeting. For more information on the TPAC quarterly meetings, meeting transcripts, and annual reports, please visit the committee webpage on the USPTO website.

Trademark Public Advisory Committee webpage

AnitaB.org: Creating an Infrastructure for Inclusive Innovation

This exciting conversation hosted by global nonprofit for women technologists AnitaB.org focused on the importance of getting women and historically overlooked people involved in the innovation ecosystem and rebuilding the economy. Distinguished speakers included U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo and Oracle CEO Safra Catz.

Watch the conversation