U.S. Patent and Trademark Office working to streamline its processes

2012/03/15

The federal government's patent and trademark office has been working to streamline its application process, provide free legal aid to entrepreneurs and otherwise reshape itself in an effort to grow the pool of viable entrepreneurial ventures in the United States, the head of the office said Tuesday. David Kappos said the United States Patent and Trademark Office has implemented several programs recently to improve the cumbersome and time-consuming process of applying for and receiving patents and trademarks. The office also has reduced the backlog that existed for years for patent and trademark applications, said Kappos, under secretary of commerce.

Last year the United States patent office received 500,000 applications. This year the office is expecting 530,000, Kappos said. Kappos said the number is climbing because the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship is thriving in the United States.

Count Arman Sadeghpour among the growing number of entrepreneurs seeking out the United States Patent and Trademark Office for assistance growing his firm. Sadeghpour is the CEO ofTheodent LLC, a New Orleans company that manufactures and sells toothpaste that contains no fluoride, which it says has been associated with a number of health problems. Theodent relies instead on a proprietary blend of cocoa extract and other minerals that has been found to strengthen and harden tooth enamel.

Sadeghpour, one of the researchers who created the product, has two patents through the patent and trademark office and another still making its way through the application process. Tuesday, he wanted to know how to protect his ideas from foreign, particularly Chinese, manufacturers who can flout U.S. patent and trademark laws in their own countries and copy his intellectual property.

Kappos could offer little in the way of advice to Sadeghpour.

"It is my own personal view that there should be these type of programs," Kappos said. "It is a great shame that you can't protect your innovation in China."

But the United States is doing what it can to protect American inventors in this country. Right now that means keeping an eye on patent applications from China.

"So far we are not seeing a flood. We are continuing to see increases," Kappos said. "What we're doing is watching the changes in filing patterns carefully."

Kappos also encouraged entrepreneurs Tuesday to do their homework before submitting an application to have the best chance of receiving a favorable response.

"I think the most important thing to do isn't necessarily to file a patent application, it's to decide whether you need intellectual property protection and when," Kappos said.

Kappos spoke during the quarterly meeting of the National Advisory Council on Innovation & Entrepreneurship. The meeting was held in New Orleans to coincide with New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, a celebration of entrepreneurship that began Sunday and ends Friday.

(Source: Nola.com)