Category Archives: Federal Initiatives

USPTO Launches Page on Facebook

17 Tuesday Aug 2010

Posted by in Bloggers, Federal Initiatives, Patent, Tech Developments, Trademark

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The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has launched its official page on Facebook. Intended to engage the public and the intellectual property community directly and provide real-time information, the USPTO’s page on Facebook will offer a series of regular updates on a range of issues, and gives Facebook users the chance to comment on, discuss, and offer feedback to the USPTO about announcements and initiatives. The page can be found at www.facebook.com/uspto.gov.

The Facebook page will not replace the Agency’s Web site (www.uspto.gov) as the official source of USPTO information. Rather, the Facebook page will provide a new channel for the public to connect with the USPTO.

In addition to communicating directly with the USPTO, Facebook users can expect to see an array of content and information, including press releases, posts from Director Kappos’ “Director’s Forum” blog, event information, photos and video.

Governor Daniels Announces New Online University for Indiana

21 Monday Jun 2010

Posted by in Federal Initiatives, Indiana, Tech Developments

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Governor Mitch Daniels recently announced the establishment of WGU Indiana, a new online, competency-based university aimed at expanding access to higher education for Hoosiers. Formed by a partnership between the state and Western Governors University, the nation’s only non-profit, competency-based university, WGU Indiana offers fully accredited bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business, teacher education, information technology, and health professions, including nursing.

“Today we mark the beginning of, in a real sense, Indiana’s 8th state university. WGU Indiana will fill the clearest and most challenging gap remaining in our family of higher education opportunities, helping thousands of adult Hoosiers attain the college degrees they’ve wanted and needed, on a schedule they can manage, at a cost they can afford,” said Daniels, who was elected to the board of directors of WGU in January.

WGU Indiana’s academic model is unique–rather than earning degrees based on credit hours or time spent in class, students are required to demonstrate competency in degree subject matter. They advance by writing papers, completing assignments, and passing exams that demonstrate their knowledge of required subject matter. This allows students to move quickly through areas where they have prior work or academic experience and focus on the areas they still need to learn. Learning is individualized and guided by the one-on-one support of a faculty mentor. Degree programs are rigorous and challenging, but designed to allow students to schedule their studies to accommodate work and family obligations. Tuition is affordable, approximately $6,000 per year for most degree programs, and Indiana state and federal financial aid are available.

WGU Indiana is being established with support from the Lumina Foundation for Education and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The university will operate independent of direct state funding and be self-sustaining on tuition. The Indiana Commission for Higher Education has adopted a resolution supporting the governor’s executive order that establishes WGU Indiana in partnership with Western Governors University.

Allison Barber has been appointed as WGU Indiana Chancellor. A native of Indiana and former Indiana public school teacher, Ms. Barber has served in development and education roles in the government and non-profit sector for nearly 20 years. She will be based in the WGU Indiana main office in Indianapolis, but will work with community and business leaders throughout the state to help increase awareness of the university. In addition, the governor has named seven Hoosiers to the WGU Indiana Advisory Board:

Source: WGU Indiana

What Could Have Been Entering the Public Domain on January 1, 2010?

04 Monday Jan 2010

Posted by in Authors, Copyright, Federal Initiatives, Legislation

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Current US law extends copyright protections for 70 years from the date of the author’s death. (Corporate “works-for-hire” are copyrighted for 95 years.) But prior to the 1976 Copyright Act (which became effective in 1978), the maximum copyright term was 56 years (an initial term of 28 years, renewable for another 28 years).  Under those laws, works published in 1953 would be passing into the public domain on January 1, 2010.

This includes:

  • Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451
  • C.S. Lewis’s The Silver Chair (the fourth book in The Chronicles of Narnia)
  • Walt Disney’s Peter Pan
  • H.G. Well’s The War of the Worlds
  • From Here to Eternity (starring Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, and Donna Reed)

Click here for a full discussion and additional works.

Source: Center for the Study of the Public Domain

U.S. Patent Office Announces Program for Accelerated Review of Green Technology Patent Applications

11 Friday Dec 2009

Posted by in Federal Initiatives, Intellectual Property, Patent, Tech Developments

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The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently launched the Green Technology Pilot Program to accelerate the development and deployment of green technologies, help create green jobs, and promote U.S. competitiveness in the clean technology sector. In the press release announcing the Pilot Program, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, David Kappos explained, “Every day an important green tech innovation is hindered from coming to market is another day we harm our planet and another day lost in creating green businesses and green jobs.”

According to its own statistics, the USPTO takes on average 30 months to issue an initial office action for green technology patent applications and approximately 40 months to make a final determination on the patentability of such applications. In the normal process, applications are taken up for examination based on their filing date. Recognizing that over a three and half year wait is too long in the green technology sector, the Pilot Program provides a mechanism for green technology patent applications to be advanced, out of turn, to examination without having to pay any additional fees or provide any additional examination support documentation. The USPTO estimates that this Pilot Program will reduce the examination time of these applications on average by one year.

The Pilot Program broadly defines the term “green technologies” as technologies that pertain to environmental quality, energy conservation, development of renewable energy resources, or greenhouse gas emission reduction. Despite this broad definition, the USPTO currently requires that a patent application be classified in one of 79 specific U.S. patent classifications outlined in the Pilot Program to be eligible.

The Pilot Program only applies to non-provisional utility applications filed prior to December 8, 2009 that have yet to be examined. Applications that are either filed after December 8, 2009 or already being examined are not eligible for the Pilot Program. The Pilot Program is set to expire on December 8, 2010 and the USPTO only guarantees that it will accept the first 3,000 petitions to make an application special under the Pilot Program. Thereafter, the USPTO will evaluate whether the Pilot Program should be extended based on the USPTO’s workload and available resources. Thus, time is of the essence for those wanting to take advantage of the Pilot Program.

While there are limitations on the number and type of claims that can be included in the application and a requirement that an applicant waive its right to object to a restriction requirement, the Pilot Program does provide an inexpensive mechanism to expedite the examination of a green tech patent application. Such an expedited examination can prove beneficial to those looking to enforce their patent rights as quickly as possible and/or those looking for funding options.

Source: Inside INdiana

The Official Notice of the Pilot Program can be found at 74 Fed. Reg. 64666 (Dec. 8, 2009) and the USPTO Press Release for the Pilot program can be found at www.uspto.gov/news/pr/2009/09_33.jsp.

Indiana University to utilize “Facebook for Scientists”

26 Monday Oct 2009

Posted by in Federal Initiatives, Indiana, Intellectual Property, Tech Developments

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana University has received more than $1.8 million from the National Institutes of Health to collaborate on a $12.2 million, seven-university project designed to network researchers around the country.

samplegateWhile the proposed new networking system will contain authentication mechanisms to protect sensitive data and intellectual property, it is being described as a Facebook for scientists.

IU will be implementing VIVO, a networking template currently in place at Cornell University that brings together publicly available information on the people, departments, graduate fields, facilities and other resources that collectively make up the research and scholarship environment in all disciplines at Cornell.

“This could gather all the related information for one researcher into one place and further links to any other related semantic datasets. Linking and formal representation generate great power to realize more intelligent knowledge discovery.”

Click here for full story.