Research
The IP access gap
Community IP exists because invention opportunity is not evenly distributed. These findings shape our nonprofit mission.
Access gap report · 2024–2025
Who gets to invent?
20%
Only 20% of inventors are people of color.
Source: USPTO / industry estimates
12.8%
Only 12.8% of inventors are women.
Source: USPTO Progress and Potential report
Lost Einsteins · Stanford Equality of Opportunity Project, 2017
“The top 5% highest-scoring low-income kids were less likely to eventually become inventors than below-average math students from affluent families.”
The study's authors call these kids Lost Einsteins — talented young people who never get the access or exposure to become inventors.
Even the best students at under-resourced schools don't have the success of mediocre students of higher income. A 2017 paper by Stanford University's Equality of Opportunity Project found that the top 5% highest-scoring low-income kids were less likely to eventually become inventors than below-average math students from affluent families. The study's authors call these kids "Lost Einsteins."
3×
more likely for white Americans to invent than Black Americans
Harvard University research cited by USPTO
10×
more likely to invent if born in the top 1% of earners vs. below-median income
USPTO / Equality of Opportunity Project
Sources
- USPTO Progress and Potential report
- Harvard University research cited by USPTO
- Stanford Equality of Opportunity Project, 2017
- USPTO National Strategy for Inclusive Innovation
About Community IP
Built by patent professionals who saw the gap
Started by patent professionals in 2024, Community IP works to democratize access to intellectual property for inventors who might otherwise be unable to afford support.
Accepted into Social Enterprise Greenhouse's 2025 Impact Accelerator. Growing partnerships with universities, incubators, and community organizations across Rhode Island and beyond.
Organization overview
- Status501(c)(3) nonprofit
- FocusIP access for underserved inventors
- ProgramsEducation · Intake · Mentoring · Funding
- AcceleratorSEG 2025 Impact Cohort