The Big Story: Patent Quality Week examines startups’ need for balance
Today we close out our inaugural Patent Quality Week where we partnered with numerous organizations to showcase the importance of patent quality from a variety of perspectives and industries. As we noted when we launched this week, the Biden Administration and the 117th Congress are off to a good start when it comes to patent policy, but with pending nominations and concrete policy suggestions in the wings, it’s a critical time to reflect on the big tent of stakeholders—from across the entire economy—that rely on patent quality.
We launched Patent Quality Week as an effort to make patent policy more accessible and to encourage conversations on the impact of patent quality. Engine’s work has long focused on how and why startups need a patent system focused on quality, because—as we heard this week—it frees companies “to focus on the technology we are building, on standing up teams of developers and business operators, not teams of lawyers.”
But this week was an opportunity to bring more perspectives on that core theme. Throughout the week, we heard from expert panelists about the public’s critical stake in patent policy. We heard directly from innovators who rely on patents to support their work but have also battled against abusive patent assertion. And we reflected on the positive economic impacts of the America Invents Act (AIA), ten years after this major piece of patent legislation passed.
Beyond just events, throughout Patent Quality Week a number of authors with diverse perspectives shared their thoughts on patent quality. Across sectors, from retail, to automotive manufacturing, to competition in the pharmaceutical industry, the quality of U.S. patents is essential. Experts explored economic and legal aspects underpinning the patent system, and offered concrete ideas to improve patent quality. In that vein, Engine also released a new report that addresses a constellation of policy proposals that could help the U.S. better prioritize the goals of quality and balance. For example, we recommend policymakers think about how the the Patent and Trademark Office can do a better job of meeting innovators where they are at and supporting the preparation of high-quality patent applications; how even small changes in the Office’s operations could shift incentives toward greater quality; and levers that policymakers can use to discourage wasteful and abusive patent assertion targeted at startups, from leveling the playing field in litigation to creating some risks to discourage bad actors.
If you missed any of these sessions, or are interested in learning more about patent quality and how it can impact your own innovation or innovators in your community, visit patentquality.engine.is for more information and resources.
Policy Roundup:
DACA decision puts U.S. startup ecosystem at risk. Last week, a federal judge in Texas ruled the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program “unlawful”, blocking new applicants and leaving current recipients concerned about their long term ability to remain in the U.S. Six percent of DACA recipients under the age of 25 have started businesses of their own, as well as nine percent of recipients over that age. This ruling, if upheld, will restrict further innovation and threaten the country’s role as a global leader for entrepreneurship. Policymakers must work to ensure the U.S. remains a place where all founders and owners are welcome to contribute.
FTC Votes to expand merger notification requirements. The Federal Trade Commission voted along party lines this week to revoke a policy that limited merger reporting requirements, in a move that could open up startup acquisitions to more scrutiny. As we’ve explained recently, acquisitions are a crucial part of the U.S. startup ecosystem—especially outside of places like Silicon Valley and New York City—and acquisitions are closely and positively correlated with investment.
Startups and competing around the world. Engine and the Charles Koch Institute have kicked off this year’s “Nuts and Bolts of Competing Globally” with a panel last week focused on how startups scale their companies abroad and the obstacles they face, especially around non-tariff barriers to trade, including data localization requirements and restrictions on user speech. Join us for our next event on July 30, 12 pm ET examining how varying international intermediary liability regimes impact startups.
New ‘misinformation’ bill would hurt startups, speech online. A new bill from Sens. Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) would remove critical intermediary liability protections if a platform amplifies through the use of algorithms “health misinformation,” as determined by the Secretary Health and Human Services. In addition to raising serious concerns about the government determining acceptable speech and questions about constitutionality, the bill would open up startups that host and amplify user-generated content to ruinous legal costs if they are unable to prevent users from sharing content that has been designated as misinformation.
Startup Roundup:
#StartupsEverywhere: Cambridge, Massachusetts. E14 Fund is a venture capital firm working with MIT’s Media Lab to help deep tech startups with an MIT connection launch and scale their business—and donating a portion of its profits back into MIT. We spoke with E14’s co-founder and managing partner, Calvin Chin, to learn more about MIT’s startup community, trends in advanced manufacturing, and how the government might do a better job working with young companies.
