Women as Patentees

Academic Studies, Inventors, Patent

Patents are intended to lure potential inventors into the business of innovation.  The truth is, however, that very little is known about how patents really drive innovation.

Historically, only a very small number of women have obtained patents. Data from historic studies:

  • 1790 – 1895: About 1% were granted to women;
  • 1905 – 1921: About 1.4% were granted to women;
  • 1954: 1.5% of issued patents included women inventors;
  • 1977: 2.6% listed one or more women as inventors;
  • 1996: 9.2% listed one or more women as inventors.

Since patentees do not list their sex, all of these studies rely upon segregating inventors according to traditional first-names.

2006: In my own recent study, I looked at a sample of 150,000+ patents issued between 1999 and 2006.  I then made a list-ranking of first-names of first-listed inventors. Can anyone guess how many of of the top-100 inventor-names were traditionally female names???

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PatentDocs: Biotech & Pharma

Blogroll, Patent, Tools

Blog technology has turned out to be an extremely powerful way for attorneys to rapidly communicate with with the world. Although powerful, only a small percentage really do it right. I am very proud to present the newest blog emerging from McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff attorneys: Patent Docs. They do it right!

PatentlyO2006012The Authors of "Patent Docs" are patent attorneys and all hold doctorates in a diverse array of biotech and chemical disciplines (hence the name Patent Docs).  In addition to in-depth case reviews, the site also has a number of useful regular features, including Biotech News, Court Reports, PTO Rules Updates, and Patent Profiles.
Check it out!

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IPO Supports Attorney Fee-Shifting, Opposes PTO Authority

Attorney Fees, Claim Construction, Fee Shifting, Patent, Patent Legislation, ,

The Intellectual Property Owner’s Association (IPO) has taken a new stand on patent reform through its passage of three specific resolutions in reaction to the pending Senate bill S.3818 that had been supported by Senators Hatch and Leahy. Resolutions:

(1) supporting a requirement that a court award attorney fees to the winning party in most patent cases; [fees “shall” be awarded unless the losing position was “substantially justified”or if the award would be unjust because of special circumstances].

(2) opposing any change to give substantive rule-making authority to the USPTO; and

(3) opposing any right for an interlocutory appeal from claim construction decisions in patent litigation. 

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