U.S. Patent Office Aims to Boost Innovation By Women, Minorities

Efforts to encourage innovation by women, underrepresented minorities and people from lower socioeconomic rungs will get a new push from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The agency aims to “expand the American innovation ecosystem” by pulling together venture capitalists, industry titans and educators to create a national strategy, Andrei Iancu, director of the patent office, said in an interview.

The new National Council for Expanding American Innovation is an outgrowth of congressionally-mandated studies that showed white and Asian males dominate as inventors named on patents. Patents are often drivers of new products, help attract investment funding, and can ...