USPTO requests comments on national strategy for expanding innovation

The United States Patent and Trademark Office seeks input that will be used to help draft a national strategy to create more inclusive opportunities for the nation's innovation ecosystem. Feedback must be provided by February 8, 2021.

The request for comments, along with the formation last fall of the national Council for Expanding American Innovation (NCEAI), is part of the USPTO's plan to create a national strategy to promote and increase participation by underrepresented groups in inventing and innovation. The USPTO announced this plan in an October 2019 report to Congress, as required by the Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success (SUCCESS) Act of 2018.

The NCEAI consists of leaders from every corner of the innovation ecosystem—industry, academia, government, and nonprofit organizations. NCEAI representatives will provide input to help the USPTO develop its national strategy to expand innovation demographically, geographically, and economically. This strategy will be organized by a broad conceptual framework that considers the entire pathway along which interest and expertise in innovation is cultivated in an individual.

One element of this framework will focus on “Creating Innovators,” which will address expanding access to foundational exposure and educational opportunities for students and individuals of all ages and backgrounds. Another element will focus on “Practicing Innovation,” which will address the empowerment of all innovative individuals by providing adequate resources and supportive work environments to turn their ideas into protectable inventions. A third element will focus on “Realizing Innovation,” which will address the assurance that all innovators can successfully commercialize their products and services.

Comments must be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. To submit comments via the portal, enter docket number PTO-P-2020-0057 on the homepage and click “search.” The site will provide a search results page listing all documents associated with this docket. Find a reference to this notice and click on the “Comment Now!” icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments. Attachments to electronic comments will be accepted in pdf or Word format.

For more information and a list of questions to help stimulate feedback, visit https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/12/23/2020-28298/request-...

Read the SUCCESS Act report: https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/news-updates/uspto-releases-success-act-r...