Protecting and Encouraging Technological Innovation		Our Purpose	Position Statements	Key Legislation & Public Policy	Employee Inventors
National Inventor's Hall of Fame		Issues & Activities	Online Resources	Testimony & Communications	Committee Info

PURPOSE

19 JUNE 2009 The next meeting of the IPC will be held in the IEEE-USA's offices at: 2001 L Street, NW Suite 700 Washington, DC 20036 TIME: 12:30pm NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS 2009 Collegiate Inventors Competition This prestigious program shines a spotlight on deserving researchers and innovators early in their careers in an effort to provide support and inspiration to those who have tremendous potential to make the world healthier, the economy stronger, and the planet safer. Go to for more information and to download the application. All applications must be postmarked by June 16, 2009. Grand Prize $25,000 Top Undergraduate Prize $15,000 Top Graduate Prize $15,000 The presenting sponsors of this year's Competition are the USPTO and the Abbott Fund. (Informational brochure) (Video from 2008 Award's ceremony) Questions?  Please email collegiate@invent.org or call Joyce Ward at 800.968.4332, ext. 6951 for guidance on the advisor requirement, invention summary, the patent search or any other parts of the application. Not sure whether your project is actually an "invention", call or email collegiate@invent.org.

The Intellectual Property Committee's (IPC) objective is to promote IP issues of importance to the IEEE U.S. membership (employed engineers, faculty, scientists, inventors, tech workforce, entrepreneurs, etc.), including fast moving technology, technology transfer, inventor's rights and U.S. competitiveness and innovation. The IPC prepares testimony and position statements, drafts legislation, and delivers expert testimony before the U.S. Congress & the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

The IPC is often called upon to offer advice to the U.S. Copyright Office, Office of Science and Technology Policy, the United States Trade Representative Office, and to the Office of the Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust issues.

All IPC-developed positions represent a consensus of a diverse group of engineers and lawyers who are either sole practitioners or work for industry.

ISSUES & ACTIVITIES

During 2009, the IPC is focusing on the patent reform issue. The IPC is prepared to also act on other IP issues as they arise.

NATIONAL INVENTOR'S HALL of FAME

The National Inventors Hall of Fame™ honors the women and men responsible for the great technological advances that make human, social and economic progress possible. Each year, the Selection Committee - including representatives of IEEE - of the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation selects inventors for induction. Their peers and the public nominate Individuals for selection. Please visit http://www.invent.org/ for more information and nomination forms, and help to gain recognition for the colleagues and peers who inspire you.

Collegiate Inventors: The Hall of Fame also awards collegiate inventors for their contributions. The program - presented in partnership with the United States Patent and Trademark Office - is designed to recognize, honor and encourage innovators at the early stages of their careers, and is open to undergraduate and graduate students who are (or have recently been) enrolled in a college or university in the United States or Canada.  Since its inception in 1990, the Competition has awarded over $1 million to young innovators, working alone or in teams, for their outstanding contributions to society and for their innovative work in discovering breakthroughs and solving engineering and scientific challenges.  Past winning inventions and inventors have ranged from biotech to nanotech, from chemical engineering to electrical engineering and from robotics to optics. More info: http://www.invent.org/collegiate/

CALL FOR JUDGES! IEEE MEMBERS WANTED!

The National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation is seeking volunteer judges for the 2009 Collegiate Inventors Competition (CIC) . Now in its 18th year, the Competition is seeking volunteers with a PhD or equivalent experience in a particular field to evaluate entries during the initial judging phase.  Each first round judge will receive a maximum of eight entries (approx. ten pages each with accompanying audio/visual material occasionally). Scoring sheets, judging criteria and a non disclosure form will be provided to the judges. The entries will be mailed out to judges during the week of June 10, 2009.  All scores and materials should be returned to the Competition by August 10, 2009. (CIC allows 3-4 weeks for judging although we don't expect more than a few days of your time to actually complete the judging process.)

Entries are judged on the originality and inventiveness of the new idea, process or technology presented in the application. The invention in question must be complete, workable and well articulated. The potential value of the invention to society (socially, environmentally and economically) and the range or scope of use should also be considered. The Competition typically receives entries in a wide range of fields including:  electrical engineering; material sciences; medicine; biotechnology; chemistry, nanotechnology, and mechanical engineering. Judges are only asked to review projects in areas where they have expertise.

If you are interested in serving as a first round judge or participating in some other way in the Competition, please contact Joyce Ward at jward@invent.org or 703.706.0081 by May 29th.

The National Inventors Hall of Fame will send you a certificate of appreciation for your help as well as provide you with a complimentary invitation to the annual Collegiate Inventors Competition Award Ceremony.

IEEE's PRINCIPLES OF SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING

In 2007, IEEE's leadership engaged in a series of strategic discussions related to the IEEE Envisioned Future. The IEEE Publication Services and Products Board (PSPB), and in particular its Strategic Planning Committee, focused efforts on current challenges in the scholarly publishing field.

To provide a framework to discuss solutions to those challenges, PSPB drafted IEEE's Principles of Scholarly Publishing. The IEEE Board of Directors reviewed and adopted the principles in November 2007.

LEGISLATION

• 111th Congress: Introduced Legislation of Interest:

Senate - S.515 ( Summary and info on changes from 110th Legislation)

House - H. R. 1260

EMPLOYEE INVENTORS

IEEE-USA Wants Feedback on Pre-Assignment Agreements - IEEE-USA wants your thoughts, experiences and suggestions about intellectual property pre-assignment agreements. Please submit your response by e-mail to pre-assignment@ieee.org

This is a research program. All submitted data is voluntary and will be used for informational purposes only. Any reports and findings will be depersonalized. If you wish to receive results from this investigation, so indicated in your e-mail by providing contact information.

June 2008 Today's Engineer article, "What You Need to Know about Pre-Assignment Agreements to Protect Your Intellectual Property"

November 2005 The IPC approved draft legislation that would establish limits for employment agreements clarifying what intellectual property created by an employee can be claimed by the company and what belongs to the employee. Text of draft legislation.

Intellectual Property & The Employee Engineer by Orin Laney - www.ieeeusa.org/members/IPandtheengineer.pdf

TESTIMONY & POLICY COMMUNICATIONS

For a list of all IEEE-USA initiated testimony and communications to the U.S. Congress and the Administration, visit: http://www.ieeeusa.org/policy/policy/index.html

• Letter to House and Senate Leaders and Judiciary Committee members opposing adoption of the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1145/H.R. 1908) (27 August 2007)
• Coalition letter to key Congressional leaders expressing concerns with certain provisions of the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (S1145/H.R. 1908). (19 June 2007)
• Letter to Rep. Joe Barton endorsing The Motor Vehicle Owners' Right to Repair Act of 2005 (S. 2048). ( 16 June 2006)
• IEEE-USA amicus brief on inducement of copyright infringement in electronic file sharing filed in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios v. Grokster (U.S. Supreme Ct.) (24 Jan. 2005)
• IEEE-USA amicus brief on reverse engineering for interoperability filed in Davidson vs. Blizzard (8th Cir. Ct. App.) (24 Jan. 2005)
• Letter to Senator Orin Hatch (R-UT) concerning voluntary infringement of copyrights (S.2560)(8 July 2004)
• Letter to U.S. Senate urging support for provisions of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Fee Modernization Act of 2003 (H.R. 1561) that would end the practice of patent fee diversion. (12 March 2004)
• IEEE-USA Amicus Brief in Baystate Technologies, Inc. vs. Bower (2 June 2003)
• Statement for the record of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property's hearing on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: Fee Schedule Adjustment and Agency Reform Proposals. (18 July 2002)
• Letter to Senators Leahy and Hatch endorsing the Patent and Trademark Office Authorization Act of 2002 (S 1754) (18 Jan. 2002)
• U.S. Supreme Court discusses IEEE-USA amicus brief during oral arguments on Festo Corporation vs. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kagushiki, Ltd. case. (8 Jan. 2002)
• Letter to Key Senate Appropriators and to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office urging restoration of PTO funding levels cut by the House of Representatives in the FY 2001 Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary Appropriations Bill (H.R. 4690). (7/14/00)
• IEEE-USA Amicus Curiae brief supporting appropriate uses of reverse engineering, submitted to the California Sixth District Court of Appeals in the case of Brunner vs. DVD Copy Control Association (No. H021153) (7/5/00)
• IEEE-USA to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws concerning the proposed Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act (UCITA). (7/20/99)
• IEEE-USA letter to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws concerning reverse engineering and the proposed Article 2B of the Uniform Commercial Code. (10/9/98)
• IEEE-USA letter to the U.S. Senate regarding pending consideration of the Collections of Information Antipiracy Act (H.R. 2281) in the Senate. (9/8/98)
• IEEE-USA Recommendations for the Collections of Information Antipiracy Act (H.R. 2652) (Download and print as Win97/Word 7 doc or PDF file)
• IEEE-USA letter to the House Commerce Committee concerning Internet Service Provider liability issues in the WIPO Treaties Implementation Act (H.R. 2281). (6/11/98)
• IEEE-USA letter to the House Commerce Committee concerning Section 3 (Copyright Protections Systems and Copyright Management Information) of the WIPO Treaties Implementation Act (H.R. 2281). (6/5/98)
• IEEE-USA letter to the House Judiciary and Science Committees on the Information Antipiracy Act of 1998 (H.R. 2652) (5/18/98)
• IEEE-USA letter to Rep. Howard Coble on Section 3 (Copyright Protections Systems and Copyright Management Information) of the WIPO Treaties Implementation Act (H.R. 2281) (4/2/98)
• IEEE-USA Letter to Rep. Howard Coble on the proposed Collections of Information Antipiracy Act (H.R. 2652) (3/16/98).
• IEEE-USA Statement to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws forwarding comments on a proposed draft uniform system for the licensing of intellectual property and computer software (Amendments to UCC Article 2B). (2/23/98)
• IEEE-USA letter to Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott urging legislative action on the the Omnibus Patent Act of 1997 (S. 507) (10/9/97)
• IPC released IEEE-USA Action Alert 97.3, which calls on members for help in promoting the American Innovator's Protection Act, draft legislation which would create a new form of intellectual property protection to address the needs of innovators and the rapidly changing markets. (8/29/97)
• IEEE-USA Statement prepared for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee concerning the Omnibus Patent Act of 1997 (S. 507) (5/7/97)
• IEEE-USA Statement prepared for the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property concerning the 21st Century Patent Improvements Act of 1997 (H.R. 400) (2/26/97)
• IEEE-USA Statement prepared for the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property concerning the Patent and Trademark Office Surcharge Extension Act of 1997 (H.R. 673) (2/26/97)

Legislative Archives

DMCA Review Materials

INDUCE Act Materials & MGM v. Grokster, Supreme Court Case No. 04-480

Festo Amicus Materials

Blizzard v. Internet Gateway, 2005 - IEEE-USA seeks to protect right to reverse engineer for interoperability in amicus brief filed in 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, click here.

WEB RESOURCES

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY POLICY COMMITTEE

The 17-member committee meets approximately four times a year in Washington, DC and Northern California.  Additionally, 45 other IEEE members serve as corresponding members of the IPC and assist with drafting position statements, amicus briefs, and all communications with policy makers.

2009 Committee Members:

Chair: Keith Grzelak - Spokane, WA

Vice-Chair: Glenn Tenney - San Mateo, CA

Staff:  Erica Wissolik - Washington, DC

**Photos from a September 2007 Capitol Hill event promoting
IEEE-USA's position on patent reform legislation in the 110th Congress**

(L. to R. ) IPC Chairman Keith Grzelak, 2008 IEEE-USA President Russ Lefevre, IEEE member and inventor Dean Kamen & 2007 IEEE-USA President John Meredith

(L. to R.) 2007 IEEE-USA President John Meredith, IEEE member and inventor Steve Perlman and 2008 IEEE-USA President Russ Lefevre