This Week in Washington IP: Aligning Medicare and Telehealth During COVID-19, Library of Congress Budget Hearing and Balancing Privacy and Innovation in Virtual Reality Tech

This week in Washington IP news, the House of Representatives hosts a pair of hearings that may interest IP enthusiasts: the House Legislative Branch Subcommittee will convene a hearing to discuss the Library of Congress’ budget appropriations for the 2022 fiscal year while the House Health Subcommittee will explore how telehealth has benefited patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and ways of bridging the current gap of Medicare funding for remote doctor visits. Elsewhere, the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation explores the balance between innovation and privacy in virtual reality tech, the Center for Strategic & International Studies discusses how to support the coming wave of quantum computing innovation, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office hosts a public roundtable on implementation of provisions of the Trademark Modernization Act.

Monday, March 1

Aspen Institute 

CityLab: Urban Solutions to Global Challenges

Online video webinar.

CityLab is a global summit on urban innovation topics featuring presentations by mayors and innovators working together to unlock the next generation of smart city technologies. This annual event is hosted in partnership between the Aspen Institute and Bloomberg Philanthropies. This year, the all-virtual event will start Monday, March 1, and run through Wednesday, March 3. Despite the all-virtual nature of this year’s CityLab, there are four official host cities for this year’s edition: San Francisco, California; Bogotá, Columbia; Freetown, Sierra Leone; and Helsinki, Finland.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office 

Roundtable on the Implementation of the Trademark Modernization Act

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

In late December, the Trademark Modernization Act was passed into law, creating new mechanisms to challenge fraudulent registered marks and applications to improve the integrity of the Principal Register of trademarks. This public roundtable is being held to gather public input in advance of the USPTO’s issuance of a notice of proposed rulemaking later this spring that will kickstart the implementation of this recently enacted law. Speakers at this event will include David Gooder, Commissioner for Trademarks; Amy Cotton, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy; and Gerard Rogers, Chief Administrative Trademark Judge.

Tuesday, March 2

House Subcommittee on Health 

The Future of Telehealth: How COVID-19 is Changing the Delivery of Virtual Care

At 10:30 AM on Tuesday, online video webinar.

Telehealth services that can deliver healthcare remotely for addressing many routine medical concerns have been a boon to Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Medicare reimbursements for telehealth services have been limited owing mainly to statutory restrictions on Medicare payments for remote health care, which is typically limited to rural citizens and even then Medicare funds can only reimburse certain types of telehealth services. The witness panel for this hearing, which will explore ways of increasing Medicare’s flexibility for funding telehealth services during and after the pandemic, will include Megan R. Mahoney, M.D., Chief of Staff, Stanford Health Care; Ateev Mehrotra, M.D., M.P.H., Associate Professor of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School; Elizabeth Mitchell, President and CEO, Purchaser Business Group on Health; Jack Resneck, Jr., M.D., Board of Trustees, American Medical Association; and Frederic Riccardi, President, Medicare Rights Center.

New America 

Growing New Ideas in the National Security Space

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

A new Presidential administration in place in Washington, D.C. is giving many groups an opportunity to take a fresh look at various issues, including how innovation can impact national security concerns. This event, co-hosted by Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security’s (WCAPS) Redefining National Security Initiative and New America’s New Models of Policy Change Initiative, will explore ideas generated by essayists competing in New America’s recent essay contest for reshaping U.S. national security. This event will feature a discussion with a panel including Liza Arias, Owner and CEO, Your Wealth Legacy, LLC; Queshia Bradley, Founding Partner, Trailblazers 4 Global Health LLC; Emma Claire Foley, Program Associate, Global Zero; Christopher Jackson, Ph.D. Candidate in Chemistry, UC Berkeley; and moderated by Laicie Heeley, Founder, Inkstick Media.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Trademark Basics Boot Camp, Module 5: Responding to an Office Action

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

This workshop is the fifth module in the USPTO’s eight-part Trademark Basics Boot Camp designed for small business owners and entrepreneurs with a beginner level understanding of trademarks. This module will focus on issues related to responding to office actions taken during the process of examining a trademark application including response timeframes and deadlines, how to file a response and best practices for successful responses. This workshop will conclude with a question and answer session following the main presentation.

Wednesday, March 3 

House Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch 

Library of Congress FY 2022 Budget Hearing

At 12:30 PM on Wednesday, online video webinar.

On Wednesday afternoon, the House Legislative Branch Subcommittee will convene a hearing to discuss the 2022 fiscal year budget for the Library of Congress, which houses activities for the U.S. Copyright Office and the Copyright Royalty Board. In late December, an appropriations bill for fiscal year 2021 was approved which set aside $757.3 million in funding for the Library of Congress, a $32 million increase over that agency’s budget from the previous year. Library of Congress funding will be very important to the modernization efforts currently underway at the Copyright Office. The panel list for this hearing will include Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, Library of Congress; Mary B. Mazanec, Director, Congressional Research Service; and Maria Strong, Acting Director, U.S. Register of Copyrights, U.S. Copyright Office.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office 

Attend the 2021 Women’s Entrepreneurship Symposium

At 12:30 PM on Wednesday, online video webinar.

On Wednesday, the USPTO will host the annual Women’s Entrepreneurship Symposium that brings together female experts in innovation and business to discuss how to help support other women in similar career fields and to hear personal stories from those with career success stories. A discussion on entrepreneurship and the art of the pivot will be held with a panel including Jennifer Camacho, Founder and Principal Member, Taitle LLC and Member, Patent Public Advisory Committee; Kimberly Meckwood, Owner and Inventor, Click & Carry, Inc.; Molly Kocialski, Regional Director, Rocky Mountain Regional Office, USPTO; and moderated by Elizabeth L. Dougherty, Eastern Regional Outreach Director, USPTO. A discussion on creating a pathway to innovation will be held with a second panel including Holly Fechner, Partner, Covington & Burling, LLP; Suzanne Harrison, Founder, The Gathering; Dara Kendall, Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Global Fabric & Home Care, Procter & Gamble Co.; and moderated by Valencia Martin Wallace, Deputy Commissioner for Patents, USPTO.

Center for Strategic & International Studies

Taking the Quantum Leap

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

Quantum computing promises the next major leap forward in computing technologies as we reach the end of advancements that can be made to classical computing, which is limited to the type of binary code programming with which many of us are familiar. Policymakers looking into computing, however, recognize that they must do more than encourage innovation but must also work to encourage educational programs delivering the type of technical skills from early education through postgraduate schooling. Speakers at this event will include Talitha Washington, Director, Data Science Initiative, Atlanta University Center Consortium; Zaira Nazario, Technical Lead, Quantum Theory, Algorithms and Applications, IBM Quantum; Tara Fortier, Project Leader, Time and Frequency Division, NIST; Naomi Nix, Reporter, Bloomberg; and James Andrew Lewis, Senior Vice President and Director, Strategic Technologies Program, CSIS.

Thursday, March 4 

Information Technology & Innovation Foundation 

How to Balance Privacy and Innovation in Augmented and Virtual Reality

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

There is no industrial sector that will go untouched by the advent of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies which leverage state-of-the-art imaging and display tech. However, many VR and AR applications will take place in schools, hospitals, places of worship and other locations where the collection of biometric and other data may create unique concerns. At the same time, overregulation can risk delays to innovation without materially advancing data privacy interests. This event, which will discuss existing and proposed privacy laws related to VR and AR, will feature a panel including Joan O’Hara, Senior Director of Public Policy, XRA; Brittan Heller, Counsel, Corporate Social Responsibility, Foley Hoag LLP; Joseph Jerome, Director, Platform Accountability and State Advocacy, Common Sense Media; Brian Wassom, Partner, Warner Norcross + Judd; and moderated by Ellysse Dick, Policy Analyst, ITIF.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office 

Protecting and Enforcing Intellectual Property Rights in Southeast Asia: What Small Businesses Need to Know

At 7:00 PM on Thursday, online video webinar.

This USPTO webinar is designed for small business owners who are contemplating expanding their operations to reach consumers in Southeast Asia, especially in any of the 10 countries that are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the ASEAN Economic Community. A discussion on protecting and enforcing IP in architecture, engineering and construction markets will take place with a panel including Alan Adcock, Partner and Deputy Director, Intellectual Property, Tilleke & Gibbins, Bangkok, Thailand; Frederic J. Rocafort, Attorney, Harris Bricken, and Co-Host, Global Law and Business Podcast, Seattle, Washington; Say Sujintaya, Partner and Regional Chair, Intellectual Property Group in Asia Pacific, Baker McKenzie, Bangkok, Thailand; and moderated by Peter N. Fowler, Senior Counsel, Office of Policy and International Affairs, USPTO. A discussion on practical market experiences in Southeast Asia will take place with a second panel including Christopher E. Knight, CEO, Everett Knight Ltd., and Co-Chair, Legal Committee, U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Thailand; Jerry Cook, Vice President for Government and Trade Relations, Hanesbrands, Inc.; Heather S. Stutz, Corporate Counsel, Intellectual Property, Law & Corporate Affairs, Starbucks Corporation; Danny Wang, Brand Protection Manager, Nike; and moderated by John Breidenstine, Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs, U.S. Embassy Bangkok and ASEAN Regional Senior Commercial Officer, U.S. Commercial Service, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. A discussion on U.S. government resources will also take place with a third panel including Stevan D. Mitchell, Director, Office of Standards and Intellectual Property,, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce; and Kitisri Sukhapinda, Regional Intellectual Property Attaché for Southeast Asia, USPTO, U.S. Embassy Bangkok.

Friday, March 5 

Learn to Protect Your IP on a Budget

 At 3:00 PM on Friday, online video webinar.

Registering intellectual property can be expensive for small businesses but this USPTO workshop is designed to show how many businesses on a budget can still find ways to protect their intangible assets. Presentations during this event will be made by Tom Cowan, Co-Chair, Licensing Executives Society San Diego Chapter and Partner, Knobbe Martens; and Wayne Stacy, Silicon Valley Regional Director, USPTO.

Image Source: Deposit Photos
Author: kzlobastov
Image ID: 15257991