SSTI Digest

The process of registering trademarks in multiple countries became simpler on Nov. 2 when an international treaty administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) entered into force in the U.S. Under the treaty, American trademark owners who have an underlying registration or pending application at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) may file an international application that designates one or more of the 60 countries that are members of the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks. Trademark owners in other member countries also will be able to file, directly with those national offices, international applications that include a designation of the U.S. Previously, American applicants had to file separately in each of the national or regional offices of the member countries and intergovernmental organizations where they sought to protect their trademarks, and Madrid Protocol applicants had to file separately with the USPTO. The Madrid Protocol will now allow consolidation of many of those national…

Young, single, college-educated people are moving to large metropolitan areas, often to central cities — a trend that defies the general population’s outward migration from the same areas, according to a report based on Census 2000 data released by the U.S. Census Bureau today. The New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington-Baltimore metro areas remained popular magnets for young singles who had graduated from college, despite these areas’ overall net out-migration rates. Of the 20 largest metropolitan areas, San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose had the highest net migration gain of nearly 50,000 single college graduates in the 25- to 39-year-old range. Many favored other metropolitan destinations, including Las Vegas, Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C. Migration of the Young, Single and College Educated: 1995 to 2000 states that three-fourths of these people changed residence during that period. Of those who lived in central cities in 2000, a ratio of 8-in-10 said they moved during the previous five years. Some states, such as California and Illinois, saw net out-migration of the general…

Based on the Census report and accompanying data, SSTI has prepared two summary tables presenting net migration figures for the 1995-2000 for each state and for the 276 Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the U.S. For each table, the jurisdictions are ranked by numerical gain or loss in migration. The state table is available at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/110703t2.htm The table of MSAs can be found at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/110703t3.htm The complete MSA data set can be obtained at no charge from the U.S. Census Bureau.

With a $310 million commitment passed by the state legislature and as much as $200 million in additional support from the county government, the California-based Scripps Research Institute has agreed to locate its first branch or satellite office in northwest Palm Beach County, Fla. In return for the financial support, Scripps is to work toward employing as many as 545 workers on the site by 2011. At $935,780 per job – if the 545 target is met over the eight-year period – the project could be the most expensive tech-based economic development risk yet undertaken by the public sector. The state and county government will be providing Scripps the land, the infrastructure, the building, equipment and other physical assets for a state-of-the-art research laboratory and administrative complex. Scripps will supply the intellectual capital, potentially the human capital, and the prestige. Up to $155 million of the state's contributions may be repaid by Scripps over 20 years through royalties on technology developed at the new lab. Florida, of course, is assuming that the new Scripps lab is only the first and most…

In 2010, the end of Gov. Mike Round's second term – should South Dakota voters choose to grant him one – residents of the state will have several precise ways to measure whether or not he delivered on his economic development goals. Gov. Round's 2010 Initiative, released Oct. 15 at Mount Rushmore, is built on a few, very specific and quantifiable goals in tourism revenues, entrepreneurship, and R&D. They include: Improving the state's ranking to at least 30th nationally for funding from the National Science Foundation (in FY 2000, the state ranked 48th); Doubling visitor spending from $600 million to $1.2 billion; Promoting the creation and development of new businesses that will contribute $6 billion to the Gross State Product (for comparison, South Dakota's total GSP grew by $6 billion for the seven-year "boom" period of 1995-2001); and, Assisting in the growth and expansion of existing South Dakota businesses to add an additional $4 billion to GSP. Each goal is accompanied by several specific action items for the newly formed Department of Tourism and State…

America has fallen alarmingly behind other industrialized countries in access to and participation in college, which encompasses most education and training beyond high school, according to a study recently released by the Education Commission of the States (ECS). Closing the College Participation Gap offers a portrait of who is participating in postsecondary education and who is likely to be most at risk for losing access to such education. Accompanying state and U.S. profiles document the extent of postsecondary participation in each of the 50 states and the nation as a whole. They also examine the conditions likely to influence access and participation, calling attention to issues that must be addressed if the nation is to compete successfully in the global marketplace. “According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) most recent figures, the United States has fallen from 1st to 13th among developed nations in college participation leading to a bachelor’s degree in the last decade,” said Sandra Ruppert, ECS program director. The study’s…

Does it matter whether a start-up takes money from a large venture firm or a small venture firm? According to the just-released VentureOne Deal Terms Report, the answer is a resounding yes. Using responses from executives at 269 companies that raised venture capital in 2002 and the first four months of 2003 paired with research from VentureOne, the report found that big venture firms – those with assets under management of $1 billion or more – take larger stakes in early rounds. In fact, investors in rounds led by large firms were likely to end up with 40 percent to 60 percent of a company more than half the time. In comparison, investors in deals led by small firms attained that kind of stake only 34 percent of the time. Large investors also were more likely to enforce so-called "pay-to-play" provisions — clauses that force existing venture investors to return in later financings or risk losing their stake in a company. However, the report suggests that while small firms may take smaller stakes and be less demanding of fellow investors, they are far more aggressive in getting…

Arkansas Tech Council in Formative Stages The nucleus of a new regional technology council is taking structure in Central Arkansas. The Arkansas Capital Corp. has launched Techpreneur, a new forum for the area's biotech and information technology entrepreneurs to be modeled after Washington, D.C.-based Netpreneur. The fledgling group initially will allow people to share ideas and network, but additional activities such as mentoring and educational services may be added in the future. Colorado Biotech Groups Merge The boards of the Colorado Biotechnology Association and the Colorado Medical Device Association have unanimously voted to merge into a single stronger entity to be known as the Colorado BioScience Association. Combined, the two groups have more than 200 business members employing 17,000 people in the state. The new group will be based in the Colorado Bioscience Park Aurora and will be led by Denise Brown, former executive director of the Colorado Biotechnology Association. Indiana Launches $72M Biotech Fund of Funds Upgrading its…

Editor's Note: Because there are so many great conferences of potential interest to the technology-based economic development community, SSTI typically limits announcements to the calendar page on our website. The timely nature of two upcoming events leads us to a rare break with our editorial policy. ASME Congress Presents Forum for Addressing Manufacturing Crisis With much of the nation reeling from the structural upheaval of the U.S. manufacturing base, the world's largest gathering of engineers, industry leaders and policy makers could not come at a better time. The 2003 Congress and Research, Development and Design Expo will be held Nov. 15-21 at the Marriott Wardman Park and the Omni Shoreham Park in Washington, D.C. In addition to hundreds of committee meetings, the 2003 technical program offers eight industry tracks including Homeland Security, more than 550 reports, and the latest information on trends and advances in the mechanical engineering arena. One conference program that may be of particular interest to Digest readers is a session looking at ways to avoid the…

Eight of the nation's leading scientists and engineers were named on Oct. 22 recipients of the 2002 National Medal of Science — the nation's highest honor for researchers who make major impacts in fields of science and engineering. Administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the White House, the medal recognizes career-long, ground-breaking achievements and contributions to innovation, industry or education. James Darnell of Rockefeller University and Evelyn Witkin of Rutgers University were among those who received the medal for their advances in scientific theory and developments. Darnell discovered RNA processing, while Witkin confirmed the notion of DNA repair. Leo Beranek of Cambridge, Mass., a retired leader in acoustical science for the military and the arts, received the medal for engineering. James Glimm of Stony Brook University was honored for his work in shock wave theory and other cross-disciplinary fields in mathematical physics. John Brauman of Stanford University received the award for chemistry. Three other honorees in the physical…

Looking to launch a biotech initiative? Getting into commercializing university research? Are tight budgets leading to more rigorous program evaluation? Even if you are simply wanting to help your community understand the importance of technology, any of these efforts should get easier with the 12 new titles added to Resources for Building Tech-based Economies, SSTI's publications catalog. A three-page supplement of the new titles is now available on the SSTI website and, combined with the full catalog, more than 125 great resources can help make your programs more effective and your job more rewarding. As always, SSTI sponsors and affiliates receive a 10 percent discount on all purchases. Both the new titles supplement and complete catalog are available online as PDF documents at: http://www.ssti.org/Publications/publications.htm

Bruce Mehlman, assistant secretary of commerce for technology policy in the Department of Commerce, will become the new executive director of the Computer Systems Policy Project on Dec. 1. Mehlman has run the Technology Administration's Office of Technology Policy since 2001. The Association of University Research Parks has recognized Sandia National Laboratories for the 2003 Excellence in Technology Transfer Award. Over the past five years, Sandia has participated in 183 new cooperative research and development agreements with industry partners to jointly develop technology that is incorporated into commercial products. In addition, Sandia has had 1,472 technical advance disclosures, 639 new non-federal entity agreements to assist partners in addressing specific technical challenges, and 415 commercial licenses that have transferred technologies developed at Sandia to the private sector. Congratulations to Del Schuh and his staff at the Indiana Business Modernization and Technology Corp. (BMT), honored as the Project of the Year in the Economic Development category from the…