USPTO

With a little right-tighty cranking and LED wire looping, a mobile lab powered up and messages glowed. Oohs and awws from elementary school kids echoed in classrooms as they watched their invention come to life. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves and Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property Kathi Vidal toured the classrooms to watch kids use their innovative methods to solve problems during Camp Invention in Northern Virginia. Camp Invention has inspired more than 1.8 million children since its inception in 1990. The nationwide STEM summer program, supported by National Inventors Hall of Fame and the USPTO, offers students in grades K-6 hands-on invention activities. This year, camps are available at schools in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. There’s still time to join a Camp Invention this year! Register for a camp near you: https://bit.ly/3zNyC2H

We prioritize the health and wellness of our team members—and we know we can’t protect American innovation without them! At this week’s Wellness Fair, our colleagues took advantage of health screenings, educational speakers, and much more. Learn more about how we take care of our talented workforce: https://bit.ly/3yj8yXy.

Innovation in finance! We’re proud to partner with the FM QSMO to maintain our financial excellence by selecting the best valued services for our core financial system needs. Read more in the press release below:

We’re tackling patent and trademark pendency times to get you your IP rights faster. “Over the past two years, USPTO leadership has worked with our employee unions to implement immediate measures and to conduct longer-term, root-cause analyses to inform future actions to reduce pendency times without producing unintended impacts on quality or our nationwide workforce. These measures are both pro-employee and pro-stakeholder.” Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property details the comprehensive pendency reduction efforts underway at the USPTO in her latest Director’s Blog post: https://bit.ly/3S2uJxg

Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property joined Salesforce CEO Clara Shih to talk AI, intellectual property, and maintaining the U.S. leadership in global innovation: https://bit.ly/4csfpSN “To me I see AI as democratizing innovation,” said Director Vidal.“ We want people in the U.S. to embrace AI. We need to lead on innovation. We need to solve community problems. We need to solve world problems. USPTO is working to create an ecosystem around intellectual property that encourages the use of AI but ensures AI doesn’t lock up innovation.”

For 57 years, 7-Eleven has been protecting its iconic semi-frozen soft drink, the Slurpee. The drink was created in the late 1950s, when restaurateur Omar Knedlik’s soda fountain broke. He put soda in the freezer, which sparked his idea to create the frozen beverage. At first, he used an automobile air conditioner to build a simple frozen beverage machine, according to the company. In 1962, he received patent No. 3,044,878 for his “process for the preparation of a beverage” to make the semi-frozen beverage. By 1966, the machines were installed in all 7-11 stores to make different flavors of Slurpees, according to the company. But it doesn’t stop there. The Texas-based business has more than 200 registered trademarks to protect its goods and services in fuel management, nail clippers, beverages, sandwiches, charitable services and more. It registered trademarks for “Oh thank Heaven for 7-Eleven" in 1978 and “Brainfreeze” in 1993.

Whether it floats or operates without a pilot, patent applications for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle technology are divided into six subclass categories that make it easier for inventors to conduct searches and track technological development. The categories are among 200,000 subdivision classifications in the Cooperative Patent Classification system jointly maintained by the USPTO and European Patent Office. Want to learn more about UAV classification? Join our experts for an upcoming webinar on UAV classifications in the Cooperative Patent Classification system. 🗓️ July 18 🕐 1 p.m. ET 💻 Register: https://bit.ly/4cGZmQR

IP is everywhere! At Summerfest Tech 2024 in Wisconsin this past month, our Midwest Regional Outreach Office team members presented intellectual property basics to attendees from the tech and business communities, talked with potential job seekers, spoke with Experience Milwaukee radio, and toured the Milwaukee Patent and Trademark Resource Center. This PTRC has some of the oldest patent reports on record, dating back to 1847. Our colleagues also held a meet and greet with USPTO staff and alumni in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. #TeamUSPTO

 🎉 Our PTRC network is expanding! 🎉 James Madison University's Rose Library is now a designated Patent and Trademark Resource Center, joining the University Libraries at Virginia Tech. With two PTRCs in the state Virginia, more creators will have the ability to access free intellectual property resources to support them as they begin their innovation journeys. Learn how PTRCs help creators in their communities: https://bit.ly/4eid6D3

Deputy Director Derrick Brent took the words right out of our mouths. Diversity and inclusion are keys to our success. The USPTO works with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Minority Serving Institutions, organizations to incorporate IP concepts into courses, increase participation in STEM fields, and equip all innovators with the resources they need to succeed. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3xpxrG9