In 2020, the USPTO collaborated with the HTLI to propose a study designed to increase diversity in the patenting process, specifically targeted to in-house legal / IP department and their practices. The goal of the study was simple - harvesting the collective knowledge of nationwide IP professionals and producing an “insanely practical” guide to expand inventorship to a more diverse inventor population. By “diverse” we mean underrepresented or historically marginalized groups in the United States patent system. The term diversity can be interpreted differently in different countries. The HTLI research team collected this extensive list of over 90 best practice suggestions through 6 roundtable sessions held in cooperation with the USPTO, followed by a survey designed to collect information similar to what was discussed in the roundtables. It consolidates the collective wisdom of 73 Intellectual Property professionals and attorneys from the United States’ leading companies at the time of first publication of this manual
