This year we celebrated a special World Intellectual Property Day. We celebrated by launching the Congressional Inventions Project (CIP) along with the creation of the Congressional Inventions Caucus (CIC).
The event was a full day affair with inventors from around the country walking the halls of Congress, telling their stories, sharing the hurdles they had to clear in order to get their products to market, and most importantly the importance of Intellectual Property in their path to success. The day culminated with an inventor expo with more than 80 attendees and speeches from Congresswoman Deborah Ross (Caucus Co-chair) and Congressman Bill Foster.
Members of Congress like Mariannette Jane Miller-Meeks and Congressional Staff circulated the expo talking with our inventors and looking at their inventions. The inventors shared the problems they were solving and the solutions they came to. There were environmental inventions that help with water waste, labor solutions to help efficiency, and quality of life consumer products. Some of the inventions were still prototypes, while others were fully matured and selling in stores. The inventors at the expo were young, old, married, single, male, and female. They represented a cross section of America and a perfect example of what innovation brings to our economy.
It was an exciting day, but we are just getting started.
With a diverse group of co-founders – Charles Sauer, James Edwards, and Cori Kramer – CIP looks forward to supporting creators, inventors, and innovators by educating the public and policymakers about pertinent issues and challenges. Similarly, the CIC is bicameral and bipartisan with Senator Daines and Senator Coons as the Senate Co-chairs and Congresswoman Ross and Congressman Kiley as the House Co-chairs. Like CIP, CIC is also focused on providing Capitol Hill the resources necessary to understand the importance of Intellectual property and the challenges that innovators face by providing a platform for inventors, startups, and businesses (large and small) to communicate with lawmakers in order to foster economic growth and promote American innovation.
Intellectual property secures legal rights to the inventions, discoveries, and the creative works that creators and inventors make. And, these innovations when able to be secured properly are critical to American innovation, job creation, and a robust economy.
Patents are not just important today, patents have been a part of our nation’s history. Our Founders considered the need for patents while writing the Constitution, and patents were not only included they were included as the only “right” in the original constitution. It was important to them as it is important today.
The patent system doesn’t care about someone’s education, background, or network. The only thing that USPTO examines is the technological merits. Lab scientists, day laborers, single mothers, academics, and entrepreneurs are all treated the same.
That is why we’re very pleased that we got to announce the launch of CIP alongside the launch of the CIC on World Intellectual Property Day.
If you have any questions, or would like to join, please contact charles@congressionalinventionsproject.org