By Natalia Olson-Urtecho
The US Small Business Administration (SBA) and the US Patent and Trade Office (USPTO) are teaming together to put intellectual property protection at the top of the minds of today’s entrepreneurs. As an aspiring small business owner with great ideas, one of the most significant considerations that may come to your mind is how to protect your investment.
USPTO’s trade protection experts not only provide training but can also provide free services for businesses with limited resources that need help applying for patents on an invention through their Nationwide Pro Bono Program. Recently, we kicked off our partnership with two free intellectual property webinars–one of which was in Spanish. The sessions, which covered trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and patents, booked solid in 24 hours to demonstrate to us once again the power of the patent. We’re so encouraged by the turnout; you can expect more collaborations like this between SBA and USPTO in the future.
USPTO calls itself America’s Innovation Agency, which is right in tune with SBA’s mission to support entrepreneurs who are bringing innovation to the business world. Fifty years ago, a company’s most valuable assets were more tangible: the factory, machinery and inventory. Today, the most valuable assets of many of our most valuable companies are the intangible–designs, brand and processes–all protected by intellectual property rights. According to one study, the entire U.S. economy now relies on some form of intellectual property. Intellectual property-intensive industries support at least 40 million jobs, or more than a quarter of all U.S. jobs, and they also contribute more than $5 trillion dollars, or more than a third, of our gross domestic product.
As small businesses begin to tap the consumer-rich markets overseas, the patent and trademark protection is a huge question. I’d like you to think about the steps this administration is also taking to protect your intellectual property when you leave the protection of the US legal system.
President Obama’s trade agenda is dedicated to expanding economic opportunity for American workers and businesses. That’s why the Administration is negotiating 21st century trade agreements to boost U.S. economic growth, support American jobs and grow Made-in-America exports to some of the most dynamic and fastest growing countries in the world.
These new trade agreements, such as Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) between the United States and the European Union and the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) between the United States and eleven countries in the Asia Pacific region, are critical to helping level the playing field for our nation’s small business exporters, which have fewer resources to overcome trade barriers and gain market access than larger companies
Customs and trade facilitation reforms through TPP and TTIP make it easier for businesses to participate in trade across Asian, European and Western economies and to support jobs through that trade. Small businesses will benefit from these reforms through their need for strong protection of their intellectual property rights, particularly because they are often highly vulnerable to infringement.
When your business is ready to take the leap into foreign markets, make sure you know what you’re facing and where your rights begin and end. Find out about USPTO courses at www.uspto.gov, or find out how to speak with an SBA partner organization like SCORE or a Small Business Development Center at www.sba.gov. We’ll get you all the information you need.
About the Author
Natalia Olson-Urtecho is the Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration. She oversees the delivery and management of the SBA’s services to small business owners and entrepreneurs throughout Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington D.C.
