In her more than 25 years of providing massage therapy primarily to low-income and elderly clients, Denver resident Cynthia McLain saw a need.
Some of her patients struggled with hot and cold wraps secured with hook-and-loop fasteners, so during the course of 10 years she attempted to solve the problem by designing her own therapy devices.
But McLain hit obstacles of her own as she sought to protect the products she developed: She had neither the expertise nor the thousands of dollars required to navigate the patent-application process.
In 2012, McLain found a solution in the Pro Bono Patent Program, an initiative led by Mi Casa Resource Center and Colorado Bar Association Intellectual Property Section to pair low-income inventors with patent professionals. Since its launch, 67 inventors have begun the application process and two were able to get their ideas patented.
“This has been the best opportunity,” McLain said, “because I could never afford it.”
On Tuesday, the reach of the program grew.
Mi Casa, the Colorado Bar Association and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced the extension of the program — or ProBoPat — to the states of New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
“By providing the opportunity for under-resourced inventors to obtain patent counsel to assist in the filing and prosecution of their patent application, that is a way to promote both fairness for all and solid economic growth right here in the local community,” said Robin Evans, interim director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Denver Satellite Office, which opened in June .
With the regional expansion announced Tuesday, the ProBoPat program now is in 49 states, Evans said.
Mi Casa, which provides business development services to low-income women and minority-owned businesses, will serve as the hub for the four-state region, handling intake and application processing, Mi Casa CEO Christine Marquez-Hudson said.
Mi Casa recently appointed Jennifer Rothschild to serve as the program administrator for ProBoPat .
McLain’s is one of a dozen provisional patent applications submitted through the program since its start. There also have been four non-provisional applications. About 25 attorneys have provided more than175 hours of pro bono assistance.
WilmerHale attorney Ben Fernandez, who is helping McLain through the process, estimated that a standard mechanical patent application, including technical drawings, can cost $6,000 to $10,000 to complete.
“As you can see, we’re actually impacting the community in a very good way,” said Elena Vasconez, Mi Casa’s director of business development programs.
Source: denverpost.com
