June 7 -- The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Department of Commerce, announces a series of meetings exploring Artificial Intelligence (AI)- and Emerging Technology (ET)-related initiatives at the USPTO and IP policy issues impacted by AI and other ET. The USPTO will hold the inaugural AI/ET Partnership meeting virtually on June 29, 2022, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. ET.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is focused on incentivizing more innovation, inclusively and in key technology areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies (ET) (e.g., quantum computing, synthetic biology, blockchain, precision medicine, and virtual reality), protecting that innovation and bringing it to impact to enhance our country's economic prosperity and national security and to solve world problems. In recent years, the USPTO has actively engaged its stakeholders regarding AI/ET. The USPTO has promoted the importance of intellectual property (IP) rights as an incentive to foster and protect innovation in these critical areas.
To expand and scale these efforts, the USPTO seeks to form a partnership (AI/ET Partnership) with the AI and ET communities, including, for example, academia, independent inventors, small businesses, industry, other government agencies, nonprofits, and civil society. The AI/ET Partnership will provide an opportunity to bring stakeholders together through a series of engagements to share ideas, feedback, experiences, and insights on the intersection of IP and AI/ET. Through this notice, the USPTO announces a series of meetings exploring AI/ET-related initiatives at the USPTO and IP policy issues impacted by AI and other ET.
While AI has the potential to provide tremendous societal and economic benefits and foster a new wave of innovation and creativity, the USPTO recognizes it poses novel challenges and opportunities for IP policy. . . . The AI/ET Partnership will be an ongoing, cooperative effort between the USPTO and the AI/ET community to explore various issues resulting from the intersection of ET, including AI, and IP policy. In particular, the USPTO seeks to engage the AI/ET community on ongoing and future AI/ET efforts at the USPTO to promote greater awareness, openness, and inclusivity. These efforts include the USPTO's use of AI and ET within the agency to further its goals of enhancing the quality and efficiency of patent and trademark examination. Additionally, the USPTO seeks to better understand the public's views on the IP policy issues that uniquely affect the AI/ET community to help inform the USPTO's future work in the AI/ET IP policy space. The AI/ET Partnership will commence with a series of meetings exploring AI/ET-related initiatives at the USPTO and IP policy issues impacted by AI and other ET. Further information on the AI/ET Partnership, future events, and participation in these events is available on the AI/ET Partnership web page at www.uspto.gov/aipartnership.
The AI/ET Partnership will begin with a series of virtual events. The inaugural event will explore various patent policy issues including subject matter eligibility, inventorship, and disclosure practice. Future events will engage stakeholders on other IP policy issues and USPTO efforts in the AI/ET space.
The USPTO will hold the inaugural Partnership meeting virtually on June 29, 2022, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. ET. The meeting will explore various patent policy issues including subject matter eligibility, inventorship, and disclosure practice. Speakers will also explore data from patent filings and how they inform innovation trends in these critical technology areas. For registration and further information on the AI/ET Partnership series, please visit the AI/ET Partnership web page at www.uspto.gov/aipartnership.
Director’s blog by Kathi Vidal on Incentivizing and protecting innovation in artificial intelligence and emerging technologies:
https://www.uspto.gov/blog/director/entry/incentivizing-and-protecting-innovation-in
AI/ET Partnership Series #1: Kickoff – USPTO AI/ET activities and patent policy:
https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/events/aiet-partnership-series-1-kickoff-uspto-aiet-activities-and-patent-policy
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2022-12139