Boston Patent Law Association Response to USPTO Request for Comments on the National Strategy for Expanding American Innovation

Jonathan Roses was the lead author on behalf of the Boston Patent Law Association's (BPLA’s) Patent Office Practice and ad hoc Diversity & Inclusion Committees of a February 2021 Response to USPTO Request for Comments on developing a national strategy to build a more demographically, geographically and economically inclusive innovation ecosystem. The Response provided answers to some of the seventeen questions posed in the Request, including on how the USPTO can provide training and outreach to populations of potential innovators and future IP practitioners to help bring much needed diversity to the US IP system. The Response particularly noted that a multifaceted approach directed to infusing concepts of science, technology, engineering, math, and innovation into all aspects of the educational system, beginning at the elementary level and extending through post-graduate studies, will be critical to reaching populations that are currently underrepresented in our innovation ecosystem.