Public listening session: Innovating ideas on standards and intellectual property

Strength in standards development has been instrumental to the United States’ global technological leadership. The event was a public listening session with intellectual property (IP) stakeholders to discuss implementation strategies for standards-setting identified in the National Standards Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technology that the White House released in May 2023.

This program was an opportunity for IP stakeholders, researchers, businesses, and other parties to provide their input on the current state of U.S. firms’ participation in standard-setting processes, especially as they relate to the standardization of critical and emerging technologies (CETs) and standard essential patents (SEPs).

Sessions covered the following key objectives identified in the National Standards Strategy and how they support international standards for CETs:

• Long-term investments in standards development
• U.S. participation in international standards-setting activities and bodies
• Investment in a U.S. workforce that can effectively contribute to technical standards development
• Ensuring that international standards are established on the basis of merit through fair processes

Subject to confirmation, opening remarks were offered by:

• Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent Office (USPTO)
• Laurie E. Locascio, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology
• Diane Farrell, Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade

This program is organized by the USPTO in collaboration with the International Trade Administration and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. It is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required.

A recording of this event is now available.

Additional information

For questions, contact Lakeshia Harley in the USPTO’s Office of Policy and International Affairs.

This program is presented by the USPTO’s Global Intellectual Property Academy, a unit of the USPTO’s Office of Policy and International Affairs (OPIA). The office advises the administration and other federal government departments and agencies on domestic and international IP legal and policy issues. It also provides technical assistance and training on IP-related matters to U.S. stakeholders and both U.S. and foreign government officials.