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Today is the 24th annual World Intellectual Property Day. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) established the holiday in 2000 to raise awareness of the ways intellectual property rights — like patents, trademarks, and copyrights — promote creativity and improve our daily lives. Each year, World IP Day centers on a different theme. This year,

C4IP is recognizing Wilbur and Orville Wright, better known as the “Wright Brothers,” for inventing the airplane. The Wright Brothers grew up in Dayton, Ohio, in the late 1800s. Neither brother attended university, and they opted to launch the West Side News, a local newspaper company, in 1889. The two ultimately opened up a bike

Claim: Former Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) alleged that “our innovation economy is groaning under the weight of…thousands of meritless legal actions” brought forth by “patent trolls [wielding] low-quality patents.” Rep. Goodlatte claimed that the country needs significant reforms to stop these “patent trolls” from “generating waste and inefficiencies” and to “make the patent system work

C4IP is recognizing an inventor who paved the way for more people to participate in democracy through his patented voting machine. Roland J. Harp, American inventor and founder of Harp Enterprises, Inc. Harp invented a voting machine that employs audio presentation, allowing visually-impaired and blind individuals – as well as individuals with lower literacy skills

C4IP is recognizing a renowned American inventor who provided cold-weather protection — and altered the course of his hometown — with his patented invention: earmuffs. Chester Greenwood, American inventor and founder of Greenwood’s Ear Protector Factory. Born in Maine, with an affinity for ice skating outdoors, Greenwood was no stranger to winter-weather discomforts — including

The USPTO has launched a new Cancer Moonshot Expedited Examination Pilot Program. The program — which began on February 1, 2023 — expedites the examination of patent applications pertaining to a host of technologies that prevent cancer and cancer mortality. This is a promising measure taken by the Biden administration to encourage IP-based investments in

C4IP is recognizing the late inventor and candy company executive who mechanized the process of making marshmallow chicks and was affectionately known as “Father of Peeps.” Bob Born, American inventor and executive of the Pennsylvania-based Just Born Quality Confections. Bob Born was the son of a Russian immigrant who came to New York in 1909.

Digital piracy — the illegal download or distribution of copyrighted digital content — continues to be on the rise. A recent report from research firm Muso found that illegal film streaming increased nearly 39% between 2021 and 2022. Meanwhile, website traffic for pirated television content rose by almost 9% over the same period. This nefarious

Claim: President Biden recently lauded the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) proposal to ban all non-compete agreements — which prevent employees who leave jobs from working for rival firms for a period of time — as a positive step taken to “restore the dignity of work.” He claimed that, under the current agreements, “a cashier at

This year’s star-studded GRAMMY Awards featured extraordinary performances by Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Missy Elliott, Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z, and more. Their groundbreaking careers and presence on the stage are reminders that the journey to superstardom is not easy. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, it can cost $2 million to break an

Dr. Rachel Goode, an executive at a German generic pharmaceutical company, recently argued that “brand-name drug companies are gaming the [U.S.] patent system” by filing duplicative patents meant to block generics manufacturers from entering the market with cheaper copy-cat treatments. But there’s scant evidence to support that claim. Brand-name drugmakers file patents at a rate