United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO);
Blog by Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the USPTO Laura Peter
"Recently, I spoke with John Cabeca,
USPTO Silicon Valley Regional Director in San Jose, California, about
his experience at the USPTO and what’s next for him. John is a 30-plus
year veteran of the USPTO. He served in numerous key leadership roles
throughout his tenure and has dedicated much of his career working with
significant customers of the USPTO on IP matters and through outreach
and education programs to help small and large businesses, startups, and
entrepreneurs. Over the years, he served the USPTO in important roles,
including in the Office of Patent Legal Administration, the Office of
Governmental Affairs, and most recently in the Office of the Under
Secretary as Regional Director of the Silicon Valley...
LP: What does an average week on the job entails? What traits make a regional officer director successful?
JC: Every day is different and exciting. I could be meeting with
entrepreneurs, seeing the latest technologies, doing a STEM activity
with kids, or giving a keynote on IP policy. In essence, the USPTO
regional director serves as an emissary for the USPTO in the region and
as a conduit for policy recommendations. Often, we meet with
stakeholders from some of the most innovative companies in the world and
help address their needs and priorities. I also travel quite a bit to
all the states in the region, to make sure I understand stakeholder’s
needs and concerns. I’m also fortunate to work alongside a talented,
dedicated and hard-working team at the USPTO Silicon Valley Regional
Office, that enable us to stay on top of everything! I’d say some
important traits for a USPTO regional office director are in-depth
knowledge of intellectual property, good listening skills, adaptability,
the ability to think outside the box, as well as being a relentless
advocate for our IP stakeholders.
LP: Can you share some of your accomplishments that you are
most proud of during your time as a regional director of the SV office?
JC: Looking back over the past six years, it’s been amazing to be
at the forefront of new technologies and see how rapidly they are being
developed, including artificial intelligence, driverless cars, 5G, and
more. To be able to see these firsthand and help those innovators get
those products protected and to market has been really fulfilling. Every
day is different, and it energized me to know that every day I was
going to learn something. In addition, I’m proud to have led the design,
build-out and opening of the USPTO Silicon Valley office facilities. We
built an educational component throughout our space, and the office has
become a destination for a wide range of visitors, including many
international IP delegations coming to meet with us. Our staff works
tirelessly to provide resources to the public, reviews applications
thoroughly and quickly, and increases the understanding of IP rights. As
for the Silicon Valley team, they have been an absolute treasure to
work with. I am so very proud of the culture we created together, and
honored to work alongside the amazing, talented, hard-working workforce
of over 100 employees working out of the USPTO Silicon Valley office and
to get to know many of the nearly 500 USPTO employees working from
their homes across the region."
Thursday, December 12, 2019
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Elsevier signs first open-access deal in the United States; Science, November 25, 2019
Science News Staff, Science; Elsevier signs first open-access deal in the United States
"Publishing giant Elsevier has signed its first open-access deal with a U.S. institution, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Inside Higher Ed reports. The arrangement, which CMU announced on 21 November, will allow CMU scholars to publish articles in any Elsevier journal on an immediately free-to-read basis. CMU researchers will also continue to have access to paywalled Elsevier articles, which previous contracts covered with subscription fees.
CMU did not disclose the cost of the arrangement, which has been a sticking point in Elsevier’s open-access negotiations with other research institutions. After the University of California system insisted on a price cut, Elsevier’s negotiations failed in February; in April, a research consortium in Norway cut a deal with Elsevier similar to CMU’s, while agreeing to a price hike. “All I can say is that we achieved the financial objectives we set out to achieve,” Keith Webster, dean of CMU’s university libraries and director of emerging and integrative media initiatives, tells Inside Higher Ed.
CMU researchers only publish about 175 papers annually in Elsevier journals. That low volume gives Elsevier an opportunity to test the 4-year arrangement with relatively low financial risk."
"Publishing giant Elsevier has signed its first open-access deal with a U.S. institution, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Inside Higher Ed reports. The arrangement, which CMU announced on 21 November, will allow CMU scholars to publish articles in any Elsevier journal on an immediately free-to-read basis. CMU researchers will also continue to have access to paywalled Elsevier articles, which previous contracts covered with subscription fees.
CMU did not disclose the cost of the arrangement, which has been a sticking point in Elsevier’s open-access negotiations with other research institutions. After the University of California system insisted on a price cut, Elsevier’s negotiations failed in February; in April, a research consortium in Norway cut a deal with Elsevier similar to CMU’s, while agreeing to a price hike. “All I can say is that we achieved the financial objectives we set out to achieve,” Keith Webster, dean of CMU’s university libraries and director of emerging and integrative media initiatives, tells Inside Higher Ed.
CMU researchers only publish about 175 papers annually in Elsevier journals. That low volume gives Elsevier an opportunity to test the 4-year arrangement with relatively low financial risk."
Defying the doubters; United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), 2019
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO);
"Inspired by his father and his eighth-grade science teacher, Bob Metcalfe developed an early interest in science and engineering. While pursuing these passions as an adult, he decided to minimize the number of wires needed to connect office computers to printers and the internet. In a 1973 memo, Metcalfe proposed his idea of the Ethernet as a solution. What followed was a long but successful journey to develop, patent, and commercialize this wire, which is used today all over the world."
Defying the doubters
"Inspired
by his father and his eighth-grade science teacher, Bob Metcalfe
developed an early interest in science and engineering. While pursuing
these passions as an adult, he decided to minimize the number of wires
needed to connect office computers to printers and the internet. In a
1973 memo, Metcalfe proposed his idea of the Ethernet as a solution.
What followed was a long but successful journey to develop, patent, and
commercialize this wire, which is used today all over the world.
"Inspired by his father and his eighth-grade science teacher, Bob Metcalfe developed an early interest in science and engineering. While pursuing these passions as an adult, he decided to minimize the number of wires needed to connect office computers to printers and the internet. In a 1973 memo, Metcalfe proposed his idea of the Ethernet as a solution. What followed was a long but successful journey to develop, patent, and commercialize this wire, which is used today all over the world."
FAU sues grad for using an owl logo in tutoring business; The Palm Beach Post, Decemeber 10, 2019
FAU sues grad for using an owl logo in tutoring business
"In the lawsuit filed this week in U.S. District Court, FAU officials claim Neil Parsont intentionally named his business Owl Tutoring and is using an owl logo to confuse students into thinking his private lessons are affiliated with free Owl-to-Owl Tutoring offered at the school."
"In the lawsuit filed this week in U.S. District Court, FAU officials claim Neil Parsont intentionally named his business Owl Tutoring and is using an owl logo to confuse students into thinking his private lessons are affiliated with free Owl-to-Owl Tutoring offered at the school."
Register of Copyrights Karyn Temple Is Leaving; Publishers Weekly, December 9, 2019
Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly; Register of Copyrights Karyn Temple Is Leaving
"Just months after her permanent appointment as Register of Copyrights, Karyn Temple is leaving for a new position as the global general counsel of the Motion Picture Association...
Of course, the big question may be whether Temple’s departure will spur another attempt to remove the Register of Copyrights position out of the purview of the Library of Congress.
In October of 2016, Hayden’s abrupt removal of then-register, Maria Pallante (who is now president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers) angered many in the content and entertainment industries, who viewed Pallante as an ally. What followed was a campaign by lobbyists to paint Hayden as “anti-copyright,” and a subsequent bill, the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act (HR 1695), which proposed to take the register of copyrights position out of the purview of the Librarian of Congress and make it a presidential appointment. That bill died in the Senate last year, but for more than two years it effectively blocked Hayden from appointing a permanent successor to Pallante."
"Just months after her permanent appointment as Register of Copyrights, Karyn Temple is leaving for a new position as the global general counsel of the Motion Picture Association...
Of course, the big question may be whether Temple’s departure will spur another attempt to remove the Register of Copyrights position out of the purview of the Library of Congress.
In October of 2016, Hayden’s abrupt removal of then-register, Maria Pallante (who is now president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers) angered many in the content and entertainment industries, who viewed Pallante as an ally. What followed was a campaign by lobbyists to paint Hayden as “anti-copyright,” and a subsequent bill, the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act (HR 1695), which proposed to take the register of copyrights position out of the purview of the Librarian of Congress and make it a presidential appointment. That bill died in the Senate last year, but for more than two years it effectively blocked Hayden from appointing a permanent successor to Pallante."
Why “Move Fast and Break Things” Doesn’t Work Anymore; Harvard Business Review, December 10, 2019
Greg Satell, Harvard Business Review; Why “Move Fast and Break Things” Doesn’t Work Anymore
"Shift 2: From Rapid Iteration to Exploration. Over the past 30 years, we’ve had the luxury of working with technologies we understand extremely well. Every generation of microchips opened vast new possibilities, but worked exactly the same way as the last generation, creating minimal switching costs. The main challenge was to design applications.
So it shouldn’t be surprising that rapid iteration emerged as a key strategy. When you understand the fundamental technology that underlies a product or service, you can move quickly, trying out nearly endless permutations until you arrive at an optimized solution. That’s often far more effective than a more planned, deliberate approach.
Over the next decade or two, however, the challenge will be to advance technology that we don’t understand well at all. Quantum and neuromorphic computing are still in their nascent stages. Exponential improvements in genomics and materials science are redefining the boundaries of those fields. There are also ethical issues involved with artificial intelligence and genomics that will require us to tread carefully.
So in the future, we will need to put greater emphasis on exploration. We will need to spend time understanding these new technologies and how they relate to our businesses. Most of all, it’s imperative to start exploring early. By the time many of these technologies hit their stride, it may be too late to catch up."
"Shift 2: From Rapid Iteration to Exploration. Over the past 30 years, we’ve had the luxury of working with technologies we understand extremely well. Every generation of microchips opened vast new possibilities, but worked exactly the same way as the last generation, creating minimal switching costs. The main challenge was to design applications.
So it shouldn’t be surprising that rapid iteration emerged as a key strategy. When you understand the fundamental technology that underlies a product or service, you can move quickly, trying out nearly endless permutations until you arrive at an optimized solution. That’s often far more effective than a more planned, deliberate approach.
Over the next decade or two, however, the challenge will be to advance technology that we don’t understand well at all. Quantum and neuromorphic computing are still in their nascent stages. Exponential improvements in genomics and materials science are redefining the boundaries of those fields. There are also ethical issues involved with artificial intelligence and genomics that will require us to tread carefully.
So in the future, we will need to put greater emphasis on exploration. We will need to spend time understanding these new technologies and how they relate to our businesses. Most of all, it’s imperative to start exploring early. By the time many of these technologies hit their stride, it may be too late to catch up."
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
5 Easy Ways To Protect Your New Ideas And Intellectual Property; Forbes Technology Council, December 3, 2019
Michael Gargiulo, Forbes Technology Council; 5 Easy Ways To Protect Your New Ideas And Intellectual Property
"Ideas and work can be stolen unless you take steps to protect them. This especially applies to concepts involving lucrative inventions, industrial secrets or medical abstractions. If a bright, creative lightbulb suddenly illuminates your world in the middle of the night, consider using one of these five ways to safeguard your idea...
Intellectual Property Theft (IPT) is not just a buzzword. This crime is common across the world in the 21st century, especially in places like China -- CNBC reports one in five North American companies surveyed had their IP stolen by Chinese companies in the last year. I believe combating IP theft should now be a top priority of the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI and the CIA. Avoid being a victim of intellectual property theft by following these simple steps and proactively securing the very best ideas you and your organization have."
"Ideas and work can be stolen unless you take steps to protect them. This especially applies to concepts involving lucrative inventions, industrial secrets or medical abstractions. If a bright, creative lightbulb suddenly illuminates your world in the middle of the night, consider using one of these five ways to safeguard your idea...
Intellectual Property Theft (IPT) is not just a buzzword. This crime is common across the world in the 21st century, especially in places like China -- CNBC reports one in five North American companies surveyed had their IP stolen by Chinese companies in the last year. I believe combating IP theft should now be a top priority of the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI and the CIA. Avoid being a victim of intellectual property theft by following these simple steps and proactively securing the very best ideas you and your organization have."
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