This Week in Washington IP: Raimondo’s Nomination as Commerce Secretary, Tech Advances in the U.S. Military and the U.S. Chamber’s Report on Digital Assets

This week in Washington IP news, the Senate will hold a hearing to discuss the nomination of Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo to serve the Biden Administration as the Secretary of Commerce. Elsewhere, both the Brookings Institution and the Center for Strategic & International Studies host events exploring the future of the U.S. military, including air threats that must be addressed during the Biden Administration as well as efforts to incorporate advanced technologies into the military through Project Convergence. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also hosts an event this week to discuss the findings of its latest report on blockchain technologies and the digitalization of business assets. 

Monday, January 25 

Center for Strategic & International Studies 

Project Convergence and Army Modernization – A Conversation With General John M. Murray

At 11:00 AM on Monday, online video webinar.

Project Convergence is a program within Army Futures Command dedicated to exploring ways of incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies into military battlefield capabilities. Recent Project Convergence efforts include multi-domain operations warfighting displays for battlefield management and an electronic system known as Firestorm designed to interface between various sensor and weapon systems. This event features a discussion between General John M. Murray, Commanding General, Army Futures Command; and Mark F. Cancian, Senior Advisor, International Security Program, CSIS.

Tuesday, January 26 

U.S. Chamber of Commerce 

Going Green: Electrifying the Last Mile Delivery Network

At 10:00 AM on Tuesday, online video webinar.

Automakers in the U.S. and across the world have been embracing electric vehicle (EV) technologies through robust R&D programs, spurred on by many supply chain companies who are looking to find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while ensuring that goods are still deliverable to consumers around the globe. This event will explore the challenges creating obstacles to increased EV deployment for American businesses and how Congress and the White House can support advances in this field. 

Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation 

Nomination Hearing

At 10:00 AM on Tuesday in 253 Russell Senate Office Building.

On Tuesday morning, the Senate Commerce Committee will convene a hearing to discuss President Biden’s nominee for Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo. Raimondo, currently the Governor of Rhode Island, reportedly has ties with Big Tech from her private career in venture capital and in 2016, Rhode Island passed an “anti-patent troll” measure through the state legislature during Raimondo’s gubernatorial tenure.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Learn Online How Examiners Approach After Final Practice

At 1:00 PM on Tuesday, online video webinar.

This is the first of a series of USPTO events this week designed to educate inventors and USPTO practitioners about the practice and procedure of agency examiners for after final practice. Topics covered during this webinar include hypothetical examples on best practices for handling examiner responses to arguments and examiner final rejections as well as information on examiner implementation of the After Final Consideration Pilot 2.0.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce 

Digital Assets: Promoting Prosperity

At 2:00 PM on Tuesday, online video webinar.

Blockchain technology holds a great deal of promise that can be used to digitize many different types of business assets, including smart contracts and supply chain nodes. On Tuesday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will discuss the findings of its latest report on how the United States can regulate blockchain technologies so that the nation can remain a leader in this space as it continues to develop and impact many industries, especially the financial sector.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Intellectual Property (IP) Workshop for K12 Educators

At 6:00 PM on Tuesday, online video webinar.

On Tuesday evening, the USPTO will hold its latest webinar in a regular series of professional development workshops designed for teachers from kindergarten to 12th grade who are interested in incorporating intellectual property (IP) topics into their students’ curriculum. Teachers will learn about specific activities they can introduce into a STEM/STEAM curriculum as well as methods for teaching about basic forms of IP including patents, copyright, trademark and trade secrets.

Wednesday, January 27

New America

Taking the Slow Lane

At 1:00 PM on Wednesday, online video webinar.

The world of technological advancement often takes place at blinding speeds with rapid versioning and constant updates to address previously unforeseen user needs. Although public interest technology is a growing field, the incredible pace of innovation often doesn’t allow time for the meaningful conversations that have to happen for technological practitioners developing tools for the public interest sector. This event, which will explore how slowing down the technological process can lead to more beneficial tech advances, will feature input from speakers including Eric Dawson, CEO and Co-Founder, Peace First; Sascha Haselmayer, Public Interest Technology Fellow at New America; Sonya Passi, Founder and CEO, FreeFrom.org; and moderated by Karen Bannan, Editor-in-Chief, The Commons. 

Brookings Institution

Challenges for the Biden Administration: Addressing the Evolving Air and Missile Threat

At 2:00 PM on Wednesday, online video webinar.

The complexity of airborne military technologies has increased a tremendous amount over the past ten years. While ballistic missile technologies were state-of-the-art a decade ago, innovations in drones and hypersonic weapons have created new threats to which the U.S. and its allies must respond during the early months of the Biden Administration. This event will feature a discussion with a panel including Rear Admiral Archer Macy, Jr. (Ret.), Former Director, Joint Integrated Air and Missile Defense Organization; Laura Grego, Senior Scientist, Global Security Program, Union of Concerned Scientists; Tom Karako, Senior Fellow, International Security Program, and Director, Missile Defense Project, Center for Strategic & International Studies; and moderated by Frank A. Rose, Co-Director and Senior Fellow, Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology.

Thursday, January 28 

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office 

Learn About Recent Developments for AIA Trials

At 12:00 PM on Thursday, online video webinar.

This Thursday marks the latest edition of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Boardside Chat in which USPTO officials from the PTAB discuss recent developments affecting America Invents Act (AIA) patent validity trials at the PTAB. A question and answer session will follow the main presentation given by USPTO officials at this webinar.

Friday, January 29

American Enterprise Institute 

Modernizing Congress: A Conversation With Former Reps. Brian Baird (D-WA) and Tom Graves (R-GA)

At 11:00 AM on Friday, online video webinar.

In early January, the U.S. House of Representatives adopted the proposed rules package for the 117th Congress, which included a measure reauthorizing the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress to continue its work on supporting modernization efforts at the House through 2023. Among the Select Committee’s recommendations for modernizing Congress include reestablishing the Office of Technology Assessment and requiring House Information Resources to prioritize certain technology projects including video calls and virtual private network (VPN) technology. This event will feature a discussion with a panel including Brian Baird, Former Member of Congress, House of Representatives; John C. Fortier, Resident Scholar, AEI; Tom Graves, Former Member of Congress, House of Representatives; Kevin R. Kosar, Resident Scholar, AEI; and moderated by Zachary Courser, Codirector, Claremont McKenna College Policy Lab.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

The Path to a Patent, Part VI: Learn How to Draft a Patent Application

At 1:00 PM on Friday, online video webinar.

This virtual workshop features input from USPTO officials and employees on best practices for drafting a patent application, especially common pitfalls to avoid so that applicants can meet all of the requirements for filing a proper application without issue. This event is designed for individuals who have an intermediate knowledge of patents. The agency recommends that anyone interested in this event first attend any of the agency’s IP basics events that have a patent focus.

Image Source: Deposit Photos
Author: jovannig
Image ID: 12633480