Ocean Tomo Senior Director Molly Keelan shares insights from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) report, “Where are U.S. women patentees? Assessing three decades of growth.”
In the last 230, years the United States has issued over 9 million patents representing key technologies, life-saving drugs, medical devices and products that make our lives more productive and enjoyable. Not surprisingly, most of these patents are credited toward male inventors, whereas women have contributed only 13% of all patents since the Patent Office issued its first patent in 1790.
Economists have indicated that if women were to patent at the same rate as men, commercialized patents would increase by 24% year-to-year.
Some key indicators of why women may not be applying for patents at the same rate as their male counterparts lies in: (1) the socio-geographic data of where these women-inventors grew up, (2) local economic conditions such as labor markets and gender-based income discrepancies where they reside, and (3) lack of educational opportunities related to Intellectual Property (IP) value and the importance of its protection.
Ocean Tomo actively supports Diversity and Inclusion in IP and is a strong believer in the importance of equal access to education in the field of IP for future generations.
Molly Keelan is the Senior Director, Strategic Accounts overseeing relationship development and growth for Ocean Tomo, a part of J.S. Held. She is a Founder of Chicago Women in IP “ChiWIP”. Formed in 2015, ChiWIPs mission is to connect and promote women who work in the IP field in Chicago and to provide a forum for women to support their colleagues and our community.
For further information, contact Molly Keelan at [email protected] or +1 312 377 4857.