Why Minority Inventors Lack Access to the Patent System
Why Minority Inventors Lack Access to the Patent System
There are many reasons why minority inventors lack access to the patent system, and this article focuses on Black inventors. This article also covers women and Creole inventors. You can learn more about their experiences with patenting their inventions by reading the following articles. Despite their difficulties, these inventors are able to make great contributions to the world of technology. The following three cases demonstrate that minority inventors are often overlooked in the patenting process.
Black inventors
The Patent Act of 1793 required that patent applicants be U.S. citizens to file for patents, but many Black inventors lacked the legal qualifications for citizenship. This prevented African Americans from obtaining patents for their inventions. Furthermore, the patent office required applicants to take an oath of citizenship. This decision further excluded many African American inventors, especially those born outside the United States. In the years that followed, lawmakers and patent offices took steps to make the patent system more inclusive. However, little has changed.
The historical absence of patents for Black people highlights the racial divide in the United States, where whites have long dominated the economy. Although Black people contributed to American industrialization in the era of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the patent system has historically excluded Black inventors and prevented them from accessing economic opportunities. Jim Crow laws and racial violence have forced African-American inventors to remain underrepresented in the patent system. Despite this, Black inventors continue to be underrepresented in patent applications, awardees, and inventors.
The patenting rates of Black and white residents differ from one another, but a few states provide better opportunities for Black inventors than others. This suggests that there may be a specific reason for the disparity. For example, states with a large historical slave population have higher rates of Black patenting than those with a low rate of African Americans. These conditions may have prevented African Americans from practicing in these states, leading to the lack of practice opportunities.
The decline in African American patenting can be traced to various historical events, such as race riots and acts of violence. For instance, in 1921, a white mob destroyed the Black business community in Tulsa, Okla. The laws preventing African Americans from patenting their inventions exacerbated the situation. Further, many patent attorneys were located in white-only commercial districts. For this reason, it was difficult for African Americans to find Black-owned patent attorneys.
In order to find the patents of Black inventors, Lisa Duffin must first identify their race. To do this, she looks for common African American names in census records. This way, she can cross-reference these names with the patent records. Some black names are similar to those of African American presidents. However, some African American inventors never filed patents. It is still a shame that black inventors are not able to access the patent system.
The lack of access to the patent system has also impacted the creation of innovative industries in the United States. It is not just a lack of recognition, but also of financial compensation. In 1858, the United States Attorney General issued an opinion titled “Invention of a Slave” declaring African-American inventions unpatentable. After this ruling, the case faded into history, but the consequences of this decision remained.
Women inventors
While the majority of people are aware that men are more likely to file for patents, studies have shown that women are much less likely to do so. This is largely because women typically have lower-level connections and smaller professional networks. It is important to include women in the patent system, however, because technological innovation is one of the biggest drivers of economic growth in the United States. Moreover, technological innovation creates high-paying jobs and stimulates the economy.
In the United States, women make up only 13 percent of patent holders. Their lack of access to the patent system can negatively impact health outcomes. If fewer women focus on developing personalized treatments for ovarian and breast cancer, fewer lives could be saved by the innovations resulting from their work. This gap could be addressed by making the patenting process easier for women. Aside from making it easier for women to file patents, mentoring and inclusive events are also essential.
Increasing access to the patent system for women and minorities is an important step in achieving greater economic growth. Adding women and minorities to the patent system will help widen the spectrum of perspectives and experiences among inventors and improve their odds of success. Furthermore, this inclusion will help solve problems with the best and most useful solutions. And as a bonus, it will also boost the number of patents awarded to women and minorities in the U.S. and worldwide.
There are a number of initiatives addressing the needs of women entrepreneurs. Among these are organizations such as Women Presidents’ Organization, Ellevate, Golden Seeds, and Tory Burch Foundation. These organizations can make a difference in the patent system and help women inventors realize their full potential. But there is much more that can be done to increase the number of women inventors and increase their share in the overall patent system.
Increasing women’s participation in the patent system is essential to the development of the technology sector. Women make up 12% of the patents granted in 2016 and this gap is crippling the country’s economy. Research co-authored by John Van Reenan found that early exposure to innovation and female role models would have significantly increased the likelihood of women creating high-impact inventions. This disparity is a significant obstacle to the success of any company.
The study also found that women tend to work on more complicated ideas and focus on subjects that benefit women. However, they are less likely to file patents than their male counterparts. Moreover, women were found to be less likely to study the problems that men don’t face and thus, fewer ideas are developed by them. This gap limits the potential for life-saving innovations. The study also concluded that gender parity will not be achieved until 2070 at the current rate.
Creole inventors
Black and Creole inventors did not participate in the same degree in innovation and the patent system as other American citizens, according to a study by the Brookings Institution. Even though Black Americans were under-represented in the patent system in the early nineteenth century due to repressive institutions, they contributed more patents to American society than immigrants from any other country except Germany. Furthermore, Black inventors in the Northern part of the country had an eight-fold increase in their chance of obtaining a patent.
https://www.ycombinator.com/documents/
https://techcrunch.com/
https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/startup-resources
https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/plan-your-business/fund-your-business
https://hbr.org/1998/11/how-venture-capital-works
http://patentpc.com/
http://uspto.gov/
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