auniqueusernameongab (@auniqueusernameongab)

Posted on the website of the #UnitedStatesPatentAndTrademarkOffice (#uspto website), here: https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/news-updates/new-uspto-welcome-letter-seeks-demystify-patent-and-trademark-process-early, is a study from Berkley which may be of interest: "Try, Try, Try Again?" The focus of the study is "Persistence and the Gender Innovation Gap". Direct Link: https://www.haas.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/Try-try-try-again-Persistence-and-the-Gender-Innovation-Gap.pdf This research paper says, in part (bottom of page 1): "If... women do not patent at the same rates as men, women's inventions may be lost..." In my observation and experience, this is untrue. Women's inventions are not "lost." This is because the patent application process requires full documentation and disclosure of the construction and use of the invention: - The inventor provides detailed specifications and drawings which reveal and teach their invention. - The inventor concludes with specific claims describing what has been invented. The complete application is then published online by USPTO and made available to the general public, worldwide. If women’s inventions are not lost, then what are the results of a patent not being issued? - Inventor(s) not acknowledged for the invention. - Inventor(s) not given exclusive rights to their #IntellectualProperty (#IP). - Inventor(s) not given protected time period during which to benefit from invention. - Inventor(s) loss of their financial investment in the patent process. - Inventor(s) loss of their time invested in research and development. - Invention(s) "adopted" (stolen) by others. - Others benefit from the inventor(s)' work. In summary, seeking a #patent on an #invention can be a predatory process. After the inventor has invested time, money, creativity, and fully shared the fruits of their labor, they have no negotiating power. They must rely on IP attorneys and the USPTO to follow through to have a patent granted, and not lead to abandonment or rejection.