Intellectual Property

Inventing Invention...

The IP community should be focusing on solutions that will encourage women to innovate in the first place.

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Last week, the USPTO issued a report on the relative dearth of patents obtained by women inventors, even in an age of “[g]ains in female participation in science and engineering occupations and entrepreneurship.” Citing a recent study discussing the environmental factors — e.g., family income, growing up in a high-innovation area — that led to increased inventorship activity, the USPTO laments the female “lost Einsteins” that could have contributed to innovation, but didn’t because they lacked proper “access to the patent system.” At the same time, the report notes that women’s patent activity has increased since the 1980s, even if it is nowhere near where it could be based on the increased participation of women in technology jobs.

The USPTO’s report was widely picked up in the tech media (example here), focusing on the theme that while progress had been made, there was much more work to do in order to maximize female participation in the patent system. Unlike the general populace, however, we as IP lawyers actually have the ability to do something to close the gap. The truth is that the numbers paint a stark picture that should motivate the patent community to contribute towards encouraging more women to invent and patent. Back in August of last year, I suggested on these pages that pro bono work by IP lawyers willing to share their expertise with prospective female inventors could help. Whether or not any law firms or individual patent lawyers heed that call to action is out of my hands. All I can say is that I personally try my best to give free guidance to female inventors when they approach me.

Pro bono work on this front by IP lawyers is just one potential solution, however, and is in fact dependent on women inventors having the gumption to ask for guidance from a lawyer that they may not know well. The understandable reluctance of some inventors to ask for free help makes pro bono a limited solution at best. Perhaps more importantly, the IP community should be focusing on solutions that will encourage women to innovate in the first place, while also building up their confidence that once they do so, patents will be reasonably obtainable.

We already know that women are more likely to innovate in fields where other women have innovated before. We also know that companies and organizations that create an infrastructure that supports and rewards patent activity generate more patents. The traditional example is IBM (among many others), which has long sustained an ecosystem driven towards helping employees identify potentially patentable innovations, while making it easy for those innovations to get patented once identified. Building that ecosystem requires a commitment, of course, but there are plenty of examples that companies of all sizes can model themselves on if they are ready to do so. To that end, in-house counsel at companies well-versed in patenting could perhaps offer to share their expertise with female and minority-owned businesses on how to implement a robust patent program and incentivize innovation. That could be a real contribution to supporting diversity and bringing real change over time.

Likewise, it is important that we remember that once an inventor goes through the patent process, they are more likely to invent again in the future — while also turning into ambassadors for obtaining patents when they interact with others. An amusing example of this phenomenon was perhaps unwittingly highlighted in a recent Outline article about the LoveSync, a Kickstarter-funded set of buttons designed to take some of the awkwardness out of intimate relationships — or something like that. While I will pass on the opportunity to share my thoughts about whether such an invention could be of use to this readership, I was intrigued by the fact that at least one of the inventors already holds patents in various landscaping-directed power equipment (a snow thrower and lawnmower, apparently.) Why he bridged out from helping other take care of their lawn to perhaps taking care of other needs is not spelled out, but his history of innovation at least provides some support for the idea that once the invention bug is caught, it will continue to fester and lead to more innovation. Innovation of all kinds, even if New York Magazine chose to refer to the LoveSync buttons as “truly insane.” Albeit insanity that met its funding target in two days.

Ultimately, the patent process is a complex one, and like all complex processes, the more it is demystified for novices, the more likely it is that those novices will eventually participate. Accordingly, it is the responsibility of everyone in the patenting chain to do their part to demystify the patent process for women — and the general public, if we are really serious about maximizing innovation — so that they have the confidence to participate. IP lawyers should be willing to lend their services on a pro bono basis, at least to start, which is simply good marketing in the long term. Companies should do their best to encourage and reward innovation from all employees, while keeping in mind that women are underrepresented in terms of procuring patents. And existing women inventors should do their part in helping other women understand that that procuring patents is possible, and can make a significant contribution to their businesses and professional contentment. By working together, we can start inventing invention.

Please feel free to send comments or questions to me at gkroub@kskiplaw.com or via Twitter: @gkroub. Any topic suggestions or thoughts are most welcome.

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Gaston Kroub lives in Brooklyn and is a founding partner of Kroub, Silbersher & Kolmykov PLLC, an intellectual property litigation boutique, and Markman Advisors LLC, a leading consultancy on patent issues for the investment community. Gaston’s practice focuses on intellectual property litigation and related counseling, with a strong focus on patent matters. You can reach him at gkroub@kskiplaw.com or follow him on Twitter: @gkroub.

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