Photo by Godisable Jacob
As we continue to celebrate Women’s History Month, we would like to highlight the incredible achievements of women in the workplace, especially those working in intellectual property law. It can be daunting as women to break the barrier of societal norms, but over the years we have seen tremendous advancement for future generations of female attorneys!
Since 1990, we have seen the percentage of women attorneys grow from 7.6% to 36.7% in 2019 (AIPLA) and women inventors in patent law increase from less than 5% in the 1970s to 21% in 2016 (IPBytes). This number is steadily increasing each year, but there is always work to be done to ensure women have equal opportunities and representation in the field. This includes addressing barriers to entry, promoting diversity and inclusion, and ensuring equal pay and opportunities for advancement.
Now let’s turn the spotlight on some amazing women who have been trailblazers in this field! One extraordinary woman is Barbara Ringer, who served as the first female Register of Copyrights in the United States. Ringer advocated for stronger copyright laws and worked to modernize the Copyright Office during her tenure (Copyright.gov). Another notable woman in this field is Marybeth Peters, who served as the United States Copyright Office’s Register of Copyrights from 1994 until 2010. Peters was instrumental in the development of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which helped to modernize copyright law in the digital age (Copyright.gov). Thank you to these women for breaking the stigma of what used to be a male-dominated industry!
Join McBee Moore & Vanik IP, LLC in celebrating Women’s History Month!
