Events
Event

Gender Parity in Inventorship—Improving Diverse Representation on U.S. Patents

Online webinar

WATCH WEBINAR RECORDING HERE

Blank Rome Partner Katherine Franco and Associate Anastasia Dodd will present a one-hour webinar on Thursday, January 30, 2020, at 1:00 EST, to discuss the challenges of reaching gender parity in inventorship, and potential strategies for increasing the number of women and other diverse inventors on U.S. patents.

In February 2019, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) released a report titled “Progress and Potential: A Profile of Women Inventors on U.S. Patents.” The report’s authors analyzed inventorship information for U.S. patents granted between 1976 and 2016 and found that women’s participation in science occupations far exceeds their inventorship. According to data from the National Science Foundation, in 2015 28 percent of the total science and engineering workforce were women. Only 12 percent of inventors on granted patents were women. This suggests that while women are innovating, their contributions are not being properly recognized in the patent process. Recently, industry groups such as the IP Owners’ Association have begun tackling this issue by suggesting practices to help organizations move the needle when it comes to diverse inventorship.

We understand that not only is this a missed opportunity for recognition of diverse inventors, it is also a missed opportunity for organizations to protect all of its innovations.

Webinar topics will include:

  • Presentation of the latest research and statistics for inventorship on U.S. patents;
  • Potential strategies for improving these statistics;
  • Services offered by Blank Rome to partner with our clients to foster diverse innovation.

Please contact Courtney Litman at litman-ca@blankrome.com with any questions about this event.