Startup America Kickoff at the White House

[500,000]

Submitted on January 31, 2011 - 4:30pm

http://www.commerce.gov/blog/2011/01...ff-white-house

The Start up website.

http://www.startupamericapartnership.org/

This is a local program I signed up for the day it was announced, 1-27-2011
This idea is from the founder of Art Prize, Mi.
http://www.5x5night.com


I don't know, the idea seem to be good, helping start up, or it is a test of the American mind.

---------- Post added at 08:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:35 PM ----------


The Art Prize founder is also related to this interesting program. It is all web based technology

http://www.momentum-mi.com Is looking for amazing new technology ideas. You can get $20,000 in seed capital. Sign up now, it is free, ends in just a few hours. I just found it a few days ago. its been open for weeks to register.

---------- Post added at 09:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:40 PM ----------

See, these kind of programs is what happens when the government does not help it's citizens. One American does not have the money anymore to build, dream and tinker. Then you have all kinds of regulations from the government. oh did I say taxes too. yes, the USA is in a pile of debit.

[euphoria]

Thanks for those links, I agree with your thoughts, we need to make major changes in our government and elsewhere

[think]

Submitted on January 31, 2011 - 4:30pm

http://www.commerce.gov/blog/2011/01...ff-white-house

The Start up website.

http://www.startupamericapartnership.org/

This is a local program I singed up for the day it was announced, 1-27-2011
This idea is from the founder of Art Prize, Mi.
http://www.5x5night.com


I don't know, the idea seem to be good, helping start up, or it is a test of the American mind.

---------- Post added at 08:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:35 PM ----------


The Art Prize founder is also related to this interesting program. It is all web based technology

http://www.momentum-mi.com Is looking for amazing new technology ideas. You can get $20,000 in seed capital. Sign up now, it is free, ends in just a few hours. I just found it a few days ago. its been open for weeks to register.

---------- Post added at 09:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:40 PM ----------

See, these kind of programs is what happens when the government does not help it's citizens. One American does not have the money anymore to build, dream and tinker. Then you have all kinds of regulations from the government. oh did I say taxes too. yes, the USA is in a pile of debit.

Thank you for posting about these contests Greg. I remembered reading about them but had completely forgotten about them in amidst all that is happening in Egypt.

It looks like the White House has got some great private industry partners to work with them including IBM which "will invest $150 million in 2011 to fund programs that promote entrepreneurs and new business opportunities in the United States.":

http://www.startupamericapartnership.org/commitments

A couple other contests that are worth looking into include:

Toyota's Ideas for Good contest which will end at the end of February. It challenges contest participants to utilize Toyota's technology to make innovations for other products not related to the auto industry. Obviously this will be very advantageous for Toyota as well as it will expand their market for their inventions:

http://www.toyota.com/ideas-for-good...263_p360600163

There is also the ongoing x prize challenge that started out to create the most efficient car but looks like it is expanding to other areas:

http://www.xprize.org/


I'm looking forward to a time soon where innovative thinking and mobile internet connectivity spur some quantum leaps in social interactivity and involvement of people in their communities.

The sit at home, watch TV, and be uninvolved in your environment era is coming to a close and hopefully with a glimmer of enlightenment and entrepreneurial spirit.

The Startup America contest looks like a great addition to other contests:

“Startup America” is a national campaign to promote high-growth entrepreneurship across the country with new initiatives to help encourage private sector investment in job-creating startups and small firms, accelerate breakthrough research, and address barriers to success for entrepreneurs and small businesses. The launch follows President Obama’s State of the Union commitment to winning the future by out-innovating, out-educating, and out-building the rest of the world.

To support this effort, the Department of Commerce plans to build on the success of last year’s inaugural i6 Challenge with i6 Green, a second competition this year focused on both regional economic development and environmental sustainability. The program aims to accelerate technology-led economic development in pursuit of a vibrant, innovative clean economy. The department is also developing the Three Track program at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which would give innovators more control over application processing and support a more efficient market for innovation. ...

Complete article:
http://www.commerce.gov/blog/2011/01...ff-white-house

I like 5x5night.com's contest on the local level as well. It's a clean simple format done with nice prizes on a regular basis. Although the prizes aren't huge it gives local participants many opportunities to showcase their ideas and participate in their community in a very positive way:

ONE NIGHT
5 ideas
5 minutes each
5 slides each
5 judges
5,000 dollars

OUR CRITERIA
Any idea can be shared at 5x5. We keep it simple.
Who are you? What's your idea? How does it impact? Where can it go with a little cash?

GO TIME
5x5 is the last Tuesday of every month. Presentations start @ 5:30PM in GRAM auditorium.

TALK TIME
After presentations, drinks, socializing and announcing the night's winner @ RESERVE.

Interested?
I tend to jump in with two feet

I do research before making decisions

http://www.5x5night.com/

On a side note The 3 track system for approaching patents is an interesting planned change I was not aware of either. Apparently the plan is to expedite applications for those who are willing and can afford to pay more to be reviewed sooner.

I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand for those with time crucial and very well thought out ideas that have great potential, they can pay more and get their inventions and ideas to the market place faster. Yet it doesn't say much as to how this may affect those not paying for expedited service and that would concern me if it meant further delays for the persons who cannot afford to pay even more to get priority in getting their invention and ideas reviewed.

“We recognize that the traditional ‘one-size-fits-all’ examination timing may not work for all applicants,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO David Kappos. “By allowing applicants greater control over the timing of examination, the USPTO will be able to deploy its resources to better meet the needs of innovators. We look forward to input from the public as we shape this proposal.”

Under the proposed “Three-Track” initiative, for applications filed first in the United States, an applicant may request:

Track I: prioritized examination

Track II: traditional examination under the current procedures

Track III: for non-continuing applications first filed in the USPTO, an applicant-controlled delay for up to 30 months prior to docketing for examination.

Under Track I as proposed, applicants that request prioritized examination would be required to pay a fee set to recover the cost to the agency of maintaining the planned pendency of non-prioritized applications while expediting the examination of the prioritized application. Input from the public on the technologies where the prioritization requests are most likely will be useful in setting this fee. The goals for handling applications in this queue would be to provide a first Office action on the merits within four months and a final disposition within 12 months of prioritized status being granted...

http://www.uspto.gov/news/pr/2010/10_24.jsp

The USPTO is also opening it's first satellite office in Detroit to spur the backlog of patents. The decision to chose Detroit as the first satellite office was based both on the need for jobs in Michigan and it's large pool of inventors and inventions due in part to the remaining auto industry:

Detroit office launches Nationwide Workforce Program and is expected to create more than 100 new jobs and boost region’s innovation economy

page 1 of 2

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) David Kappos announced today plans to open the first ever USPTO satellite office in Detroit, Mich., in 2011. The new office is expected to create more than 100 new jobs in its first year and provide a boost to the region’s innovation economy.

The office will represent the first phase of the USPTO’s Nationwide Workforce Program, an effort to hire more patent examiners and seek out additional resources and technical expertise in locations across the country.

“The current backlog of patent applications delays the commercialization of American innovation and the creation of new jobs and economic growth,” Locke said. “Recruiting and retaining top patent examiners from across the country is an integral part of reducing the backlog. We’re very excited to bring the first ever satellite office of our nation’s innovation agency to one of the country’s most important innovation centers—the city of Detroit.”

The Detroit office will enable the USPTO to draw upon Michigan’s highly qualified workforce to help reduce the backlog of more than 700,000 patent applications. A year ago, the patent backlog stood at nearly 750,000 applications, but an agency push to get it below 700,000 has led to the first significant reduction in the patent backlog in a decade...

http://www.ipfrontline.com/depts/art...24704&deptid=8

I think in the long term this will be a great improvement to the patenting process and hopefully will be a strong draw for businesses to move to Detroit and rebuild a city that is need of a lot of help.

Thanks again for posting this Greg. Got me thinking again about projects and ideas in addition to domain names