July 13, 2005
#05-32

Press Release, 05-32

USPTO Museum Opens at New Headquarters

PRESS RELEASE

Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Jon Dudas was joined today by Alexandria Mayor William D. Euille, U.S. Representatives Jim Moran and Frank Wolf, and David Fink, President and CEO of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, in a ribbon-cutting ceremony opening the agency’s new museum.

“The Patent and Trademark Office Museum is our opportunity to showcase innovation and the men and women whose creativity have helped foster a strong and prosperous America,” noted Under Secretary Dudas.

The National Inventors Hall of Fame and the exhibit design company Chermayeff & Geismar designed an exciting space in a modern aesthetic style using a rich palette of exhibit techniques—such as videos, interactives, artifacts and touch-screen technology—to feature patents, trademarks, inventors and inventions.

“The National Inventors Hall of Fame is pleased to bring the story of the USPTO to life,” said David Fink. “Through the state-of-the-art displays we’ve designed, we hope that visitors to the museum will take away an understanding of the USPTO’s rich history as well as its exciting future.”

Since the beginning of time, people have been developing better ways to do things, and for over 200 years the American patent and trademark systems have been there to protect and encourage innovation. Everyone benefits, and that story is told well in the opening exhibit, The Invention Machine: A Day in My Life .

The museum’s visitors will realize, as they view the exhibit, that they take advantage of inventions and rely on trademarks every day of their lives without ever stopping to think of their origins. Visitors will see how intellectual property is found in the routines they follow at the beginning of the day, in methods they use for travel, in medical innovations they rely upon for good health, and in the different ways they relax and play.

The museum and gift shop will open to the public on Thursday, July 14, 2005. It is located in the atrium of the Madison Building, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA, and easily accessible from the King Street and Eisenhower Avenue Metro stations. The hours will be 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Tuesday through Friday and noon to 5:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; closed on Mondays and federal holidays.

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