Cutting Edge Pro Bono: Patent Law and Low-Income Inventors
August 12, 2016
Over the past several years, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Patent Pro Bono Program, working with partners across the U.S., has offered unique pro bono opportunities that engage lawyers to help low-income inventors apply for and secure patents. The first client-side patent pro bono program to assist low-income inventors in prosecuting patents was initially piloted in Minnesota with attorneys from Smiths Medical and Patterson Thuente Pedersen, among others. Since then, the Patent Pro Bono Program has become a nationwide effort, available in 47 states. For low-income inventors, the impact of pro bono assistance is significant. A patent can be extremely