Vote for our PanelPicker® sessions November 10-20!
We need your PanelPicker votes to ensure intellectual property (IP) is part of the SXSW Online 2021 conversation. From November 10-20, 2020, you can vote for the United States Patent and Trademark Office's 2021 PanelPicker session proposals. Make sure you leave comments about what you’d like us to talk about, and share the details about the panels with friends.
You can vote for more than one panel, and you can vote even if you don’t plan to attend SXSW.
SXSW crowdsources conference programming through the PanelPicker platform, and community voting counts for 30% of the panel selection decisions.
SXSW is a prime opportunity for the USPTO to highlight the importance of protecting intellectual property. Let SXSW know how vital IP protection is by voting for our four panels today!
How to cast your vote:
- Create a free SXSW account
- Vote for the USPTO's panels
- Leave comments or questions for us on the panel page
- Join the conversation on social media with #USPTOatSXSW
Strengthening the Innovation Ecosystem
The share of patents that include at least one woman as an inventor increased from about 7% in the 1980s to 21% by 2016. And though the number of women in science and engineering classes and workplaces is growing, men continue to outnumber women at the top levels of science, innovation, and invention. Employers, educational institutions, and other organizations strive to correct the gender imbalance in STEM and innovation, but where does the discrepancy between men and women in innovation come from, and what can be done to change it? How do we achieve gender parity in STEM fields, particularly when it comes to invention and innovation? We must level the playing field so that all innovators, regardless of gender or background, may have the opportunity to change the world.
Panelists:
- Andrew A. Toole, Chief Economist of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- Ingrid Vanderveldt, CEO of Empowering a Billion Women by 2020, MintHER
- Jayme Cellitioci, Creativity and Innovation Strategist, National Inventors Hall of Fame
- Lisa Seacat Deluca, IBM Distinguished Engineer, Director, and Master Inventor
Patents and Business, Building a Better Tomorrow
In order to build a better tomorrow, we must learn from our past. Patents help people improve upon ideas that may or may not have been previously successful. Patents also protect ideas so that people have the flexibility to develop and improve them. They provide security to businesses on a global scale. So if you’re wondering: what resources and skills you need to bring your ideas to life, how to create a marketable business out of intellectual property, and how to protect your ideas on a global scale, this panel is for you. Representatives from the USPTO and the United States Chamber of Commerce will discuss resources and services aimed at single inventors, micro entities, and small businesses.
Panelists:
- Patrick Kilbride, Senior Vice President, Global Innovation Policy Center, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- Nathanya Ferguson, Supervisory Innovation Development Program Manager, USPTO
Feeding the Force: Army Food Trucks?
Join a discussion with the U.S. Army, the USPTO, and experienced logistics professionals to learn about the improvements being made in food tech. How does the Army feed its soldiers across the globe? What does it take to resupply in austere, immature locations? This panel will review the latest supply chain technologies, preservative techniques, and packaging that have direct applications in other industry sectors.
Panelists:
- Chris Burke, The University of Texas at Austin
- Stephen Moody, U.S. Department of Defense Combat Feeding Directorate
- Hope Shimabuku, Director of the Texas Regional Office of the USPTO
- John Landry, Chief of Communications Plan, Army Futures Command
About SXSW
The USPTO has helped spread the word about intellectual property (IP) at South by Southwest (SXSW) in years past, and we are looking forward to 2021. The annual SXSW Conference provides an opportunity for global professionals at every level to participate, network, and discuss economic and cultural issues. The wide range of participating individuals and organizations have one thing in common: they all work with IP.
Formerly held in Austin, Texas, SXSW will be a virtual experience, SXSW Online 2021, and will be held on March 16-20, 2021. Visit the SXSW website for more information.