[Working Towards] Inclusive IP with Molly Kocialski

The philosophy that Molly Kocialiski lives by is one based on continuous learning. She is also a firm believer in the concept of “you get what you give,” and the power of saying yes whenever possible. She has had a fascinating personal and professional journey as a result! 

After working as an IP litigator and an in-house patent attorney, Molly is now the Regional Director of the Rocky Mountain USPTO. Her job (which she absolutely loves) is to make sure that examiners and judges have a great place to work, and to support the agency’s IP related educational and outreach initiatives. 

IP intensive industries account for 41% of domestic economic activity and 62.5 million US jobs. In today’s episode, Molly provides details about the various programs that her office is involved with that are aiming to enhance diversity, equity and inclusion in the IP space!

In This Episode:

[00:50] Introducing today’s guest, Regional Director of the Rocky Mountain USPTO, Molly Kocialski. 

[02:12] An overview of Molly’s personal and career background.  

[03:58] The philosophies that Molly lives by. 

[05:28] Volunteer work that Molly has done, and how she became involved with the USPTO.

[07:37] Growth that Molly’s office has experienced since 2014.

[08:50] What Molly loves about the Rocky Mountain region, and what her role as Regional Director entails.

[11:13] Educational and outreach initiatives that Molly’s office is involved with. 

[12:44] A statistic which highlights the value of IP intensive industries to the US economy.

[14:44] The mission of the Council of Inclusive Innovation.

[18:54] Research that Molly conducted relating to how corporations can increase diversity at the invention harvesting stage. 

[21:30] The main goals of the new Joint Project Agreement that the USPTO is a part of.

[24:49] Work being done by the USPTO’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. 

[28:51] How the USPTO is planning to implement Action 5 of the Department of Congress’ Equity Action Plan. 

[33:28] The importance of having role models who look like you, and how Molly is working towards enhancing the number of women doing patent work. 

[43:56] Why Molly wishes more states would act like Wyoming! 

Find Molly:

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LinkedIn