PRESS RELEASE #00-28 May 5, 2000 CONTACT: Brigid Quinn Maria V. Hernandez 703-305-8341 USPTO CO-SPONSORS WALKATHON TO BENEFIT ALIVE! CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is co-sponsoring Step ALIVE! 2000, a five-mile walk Sunday, May 7, 2000, at First Christian Church in Alexandria from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. to raise money for the ALIVE! Child Development Center (CDC) located in Alexandria, Va. The walkathon is an annual event that will celebrate its 19th anniversary and will not only raise funds for the CDC, but also awareness of one of the CDC’s unique programs that provides nationally accredited preschool education and daycare at a significantly lowered cost for Alexandria’s families in need. The program is designed to help working poor families and children considered "at-risk" with low adult-child ratios, an on-site social worker, health screenings, and a hot breakfast, lunch and snack daily. ALIVE! is a not-for-profit organization supported by the United Way and the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). "This is the USPTO's first year participating in the Step ALIVE! 2000 walkathon and the ALIVE! Child Development Center and one of several efforts that the USPTO is involved in to reach out to the city that will soon be our new home," notes Q. Todd Dickinson, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The five-mile walk will proceed down King Street through Old Town Market Square and back to First Christian Church where a barbecue will take place with other participants sponsored by the CDC. USPTO, a user fee-funded agency of the United States, within the Department of Commerce, administers laws relevant to granting patents and registering trademarks. The Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office advises the Secretary of Commerce and other Federal departments and agencies on intellectual property policy matters. Over 6 million patents have been issued since the first patent in 1790. Last year USPTO issued 161,000 patents and registered 104,000 trademarks. # # #