CAPITULO 5: DISTRITO DE PACHACÁMAC
5.12. ACTIVIDAD TURÍSTICA
PROPERTY POLICY AND AWARENESS
The USPTO works to meet Objective 1 by conducting a wide variety of educational programs on IP, by leveraging technology to enhance those programs, by encouraging and enhancing empirical studies on the economic impacts of IP and innovation, and by improving access to IP-related data. In addition, the USPTO plays a leadership role in domestic and international IP initiatives and policy development for the Administration, and engages with Congress and U.S. government agencies on legislation that improves the IP system.
Provide Empirical Evidence on the Economic Impact of USPTO Operations
The U.S. economy relies on IP, because virtually every industry either produces or uses some form of it.4 4 As cited in the April 11, 2012, Secretary of Commerce released report titled “Intellectual Property in the U.S. Economy: Industries in Focus,” co-authored by the USPTO and the Economics and Statistics Administration.
One aspect of OPIA's mission of providing domestic leadership on IP policy issues is enhancing understanding of the economics of IP. Through the Office of Chief Economist, OPIA encourages and supports empirical studies of the economic impacts of IP and innovation. This is achieved partly through the Thomas Alva Edison Distinguished Scholars Program, a program that enlists the services of academic researchers to study IP matters. The program was launched in 2012, and since then, Edison Scholars have studied ways to improve USPTO’s efficiency and performance, decrease burdens on applicants, and improve patent quality and clarity, among other topics. Joshua Sarnoff, Professor of Law at DePaul University, became a Distinguished Edison Scholar in FY 2014. His work focuses on patent quality and patent examination.
In June 2013, the White House Task Force on High-Tech Patent Issues announced an expansion of USPTO’s Edison Scholar program (Executive Action No. 4:
Expanded Outreach and Focused Study). The goal was to bring additional academic experts to the USPTO to develop and make available to the public more robust data and research on patent litigation issues. Three new Edison Research Fellows began their work in FY 2014. Current Edison Research Fellows include J. Jonas Anderson (Associate Professor of Law at American University), Joseph P. Bailey (Research Associate Professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business), and Deepak Hegde (Assistant Professor of Management and Organization at New York University’s Stern School of Business).
Other efforts to enhance understanding of IP-related matters in FY 2014 included the hosting of the first in a series of “Big Data”5 classes over a 13-week period. Among other topics, the classes focused on new methods for creating and displaying information about innovation.
5 “Big Data” is a collective term for any collection of large data/data sets that exceeds the capabiliites of traditional data processing applications.
In addition, the USPTO also co-sponsored two events to encourage empirical economic research and to inform IP policy. The Workshop on Empirical Methods in Intellectual Property was hosted at the Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago–Kent College of Law in September 2014, and the Entrepreneurship and Innovation
conference was held at the Northwestern University Searle Center on Law, Regulation, and Economic Growth in June 2014.
Improve Transparency and Access to Intellectual–Property–Related Data
In May 2014, the USPTO published a paper entitled “Monetizing Marks: Insights from the USPTO Trademark Assignment Dataset,” along with a public-use dataset that contained detailed information on assignments, mergers, security interests, and other transactions involving trademarks that were recorded at the USPTO. These data were released as part of an ongoing initiative to make patent and trademark information available in a form convenient for public use and academic research. In releasing the data, the USPTO aims to encourage new streams of research on trademarks, the market for brands, trademark collateralization, and the
evolving ways owners are employing and monetizing their IP assets.
Provide Domestic Education Outreach and Capacity Building
The USPTO, through the Global Intellectual Property Academy (GIPA) in OPIA, provides IP educational programs for U.S. and foreign government officials, domestic small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), universities, and the public.
The GIPA also works with various other agencies and components of the U.S. government, including the Small Business Administration and bureaus of the U.S. Department of Commerce, including the International Trade Administration, the Minority Business
Development Agency, and the U.S. Export Assistance Centers of the U.S. Commercial Service.
Leverage Technology to Increase Domestic and International Education, Training, and Outreach at all Levels
The GIPA continues to utilize technology to make its training programs more efficient and to expand the reach of those programs. For example, the GIPA hosts distance- learning modules on the USPTO website. The modules are available in seven different languages and have received over 42,000 hits since they were first made available in FY 2010.
Engage Congress and U.S. Government Agencies on Legislation that Improves the Intellectual Property System
Throughout FY 2014, the USPTO continued to engage Congress, other U.S. government agencies, and
stakeholders to discuss, develop, promote, and implement effective and balanced IP-related legislation and
administrative actions. The USPTO discussions and briefings focused on congressional proposals to address patent litigation abuse, cyber security, trade secrets, copyright updates, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), USPTO funding, and other matters related to domestic and international IP rights. On July 30, 2014, Deputy Under Secretary Michelle Lee testified on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet on “The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: The America Invents Act and Beyond, Domestic, and International Policy Goals.”
The U.S. IP environment has benefited from the legislative changes enacted in the 2011 AIA. The AIA reforms made important improvements to the patent examination process and overall patent quality. During the last 3 years, USPTO has worked with Congress and IP stakeholders to implement the significant AIA
changes to modernize the U.S. patent system, such as transitioning to a first-inventor-to-file system, establishing new post-grant review proceedings at the USPTO’s redesigned PTAB, and taking advantage of new authority to enable sustainable funding and other operational efficiencies.
In June 2013, the White House Task Force on High-Tech Patent Issues announced major steps to address abusive patent litigation and to improve incentives for future innovation in high-tech patents. The steps include five executive actions and seven legislative recommendations designed to protect innovators from frivolous patent litigation and to ensure the issuance of the highest quality patents. The USPTO has begun implementation of four of the five executive actions it was charged with and has continued its engagement with Congressional staff and stakeholders to develop consensus legislative language consistent with the seven recommended legislative measures identified by the White House.
The USPTO believes that additional legislative changes to build upon the AIA are needed to further enhance patent quality and to lessen litigation abuses in the system and will continue to work with Congress to support efforts to develop consensus legislation. The AIA required the USPTO to establish regional satellite locations as part of a larger effort to modernize the U.S. patent system. On June 30, 2014, the USPTO opened its permanent satellite office in Denver, CO. In FY 2014, Congress continued its review of our nation’s copyright laws. It held numerous hearings and introduced several pieces of copyright-related legislation in FY 2014. In July 2013, the U.S. Department of Commerce's
Internet Policy Task Force (IPTF) released the paper “Copyright Policy, Creativity, and Innovation in the
U S P T O FA C T
The USPTO Overseas Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Attaché programwas formally instituted in 2006 to promote high standards of IP protection and enforcement internationally for the benefit of U.S. stakeholders.
Digital Economy” (“Green Paper”) to advance discussion of copyright issues critical to economic growth. The Green Paper was drafted by the USPTO with input from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
In FY 2014, the IPTF worked on the issues identified in the Green Paper. This involved (1) establishing an ongoing multistakeholder dialogue on improving the operation of the notice and takedown system under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA); (2) soliciting public comment and convening roundtables around the country on three policy issues—the legal framework for the creation of remixes, the relevance and scope of the first
sale doctrine in the digital environment, and the application of statutory damages in the context of individual file-sharers and secondary liability for large- scale online infringement; and (3) convening an
interagency group to consider the appropriate role for the government, if any, to help improve the online licensing environment, including access to comprehensive public and private databases of rights information.
Provide Policy Formulation and Guidance on Key Intellectual Property Issues in all Fields of Intellectual Property Protection and Enforcement
Throughout the fiscal year, OPIA officials organized numerous briefings for congressional staff and other government agencies on various IP policy topics, including the status of international agreements and activities in China, the potential impact of proposed legislation relating to patent assertion entities, copyright issues including the Department of Commerce Green Paper work and WIPO discussions of a proposed treaty for the protection of broadcasters and of limitations and exceptions, the IP attaché program, the impact of proposed legislation relating to trade secrets, progress of the USPTO satellite offices, and the status of patent and trademark operations. In addition, the USPTO conducted extensive outreach to, and interaction with, our stakeholder community on the full range of current IP issues.
The China Resource Center, located in the USPTO Executive Library, was established in 2014 to collect and provide research material on a wide range and variety of China IP protection and enforcement issues. These data will be used to help the U.S. government develop China IP policy.
U S P T O F A C T
In 2005, the U.S. Department of Commerce launched new initiatives to fight IP theft. One of the initiatives included theGlobal Intellectual Property Academy (GIPA). GIPA has provided training to 4,960 foreign officials from over 129 countries on a variety of intellectual property topics. In addition, GIPA provided training to 1,543 people associated with U.S. small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Chief Policy Officer and Director for International Affairs, Shira Perlmutter and former Attorney Advisor Garrett Levin from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and Associate Administrator, Office of Policy Analysis and Development, John Morris, from the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) at the December 12, 2013 public meeting on the Green Paper on Copyright Policy, Creativity and Innovation in the Digital Economy.
Deputy Director Lee welcomed Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Commerce of China, Daochi Tong, and his delegation of Chinese intellectual property (IP) officials on Wednesday September 10, 2014, as part of the opening of the US–China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade IP Working Group meeting. The meeting included a tour of USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, VA, and commemorated 35 years of USPTO and Commerce Department training and assistance on IP matters with China.