USPS is unsure how to tackle its intellectual property problem.

Report: U.S. Postal Service is not fully protecting its intellectual assets

January 17, 2014 4:06 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

The U.S. Postal Service is one of the oldest agencies in America, and we neglect to take into account how it has transformed a multitude of everyday processes. Without zip codes established by the USPS, how else could we can pinpoint the location of buildings? Or manage inventory without the bar codes created by USPS inventors.

This may come as a surprise, but it's true. In fact, if zip codes were a patented product, instead of being listed as a trademarked product, USPS could make about $10 billion per year from licensing fees. Research from the OIG found that because USPS lacks an intellectual property department that focuses on safeguarding its intellectual property, it is missing out on opportunities to increase revenue.

"[USPS] could use certain tactics including obtaining patents, open source development, or defensive publishing to preserve the rights of mailers and others in this ecosystem to use technologies such as bar codes," the report reads. "This would help to maintain the value of the mail and preserve the Postal Service core mail business."

Currently, USPS' intellectual assets department consists of one full-time patent attorney and administrative employees. In order for the agency to keep up with copyright infringers, it will need a larger staff. The problem with this is that USPS is unsure how to determine exactly what constitutes trademark or copyright infringement, when many of their assets were not appropriately filed.

To put it in perspective, private mailers have filed many more applications for patents. Pitney Bowes expanded its patent portfolio by 646 technologies or ideas between 1998-2013 — USPS only has 209.

Similarly, business owners are responsible protecting their own intellectual property. Neglecting to do so can place companies at a huge disadvantage. Instead of staying behind, stay in line with the market by partnering with a Phoenix business attorney. 

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  3. Report: Intellectual property contributes over $1 trillion to U.S. economy
  4. USPS allegedly violated copyright law

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