Press Release #99-16 June 23, 1999 COMMISSIONER OF PATENTS TO VISIT WALNUT CREEK CAMP INVENTION Todd Dickinson, acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce and acting Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, will pay a visit to Camp Invention at Walnut Heights Elementary School on Friday, June 25, 1999 between 10:00 and 10:45 a.m. Walnut Heights Elementary School is located at 4046 Walnut Boulevard in Walnut Creek, CA. Camp Invention, funded in part by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), is a nationwide educational outreach program designed to give children entering grades 2 through 6 an alternative to traditional classroom experiences. Camp Invention, a one-week day camp, builds on a child's innate curiosity and intuition about the way things work. Emphasis is placed on the creative process that leads to problem solving, discovery, and invention. Camp Invention's purpose is to stimulate the imaginations of America's next generation of inventors. The program is the premier educational outreach program of Inventure Place, the National Inventor's Hall of Fame. The PTO is the Commerce Department’s user fee-funded bureau that administers laws relevant to granting patents and registering trademarks; advises the Secretary of Commerce, the President of the United States, and the Administration on patent, trademark and copyright protection; and advises the Secretary of Commerce, the President of the United States, and the Administration on the trade-related aspects of intellectual property. Nearly 6 million patents for inventions have been issued since the first patent in 1790. Last year PTO issued 155,000 patents and registered 106,279 trademarks. CONTACT: Brigid Quinn Maria Victoria Hernandez 703/305-8341 - 30 -