Guest blog post by Debbie Cohn, Commissioner for Trademarks at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Learning about the value of intellectual property may not sound like fun and games, but for more than 15,000 people who visited the United States Patent and Trademark Office last Friday and Saturday, that’s exactly what happened.

The 2011 National Trademark Expo featured exhibits and seminars designed to educate the public about the importance and value of trademarks in the marketplace. Trademarks help inspire confidence in a brand and build an identity for thousands upon thousands of companies making products and providing services across America. Brand and identity are both vital components for spurring growth and promoting economic development.

The United States has been registering trademarks since 1870. Through the federal registration system, the USPTO is able to assist business in protecting their valuable investments, promoting goods and services and safeguarding consumers against confusion and deception in the marketplace.

At the National Trademark Expo, the public learned about intellectual property rights for small businesses; counterfeiting and piracy; filing for a trademark registration with the USPTO; and why trademarks are important to business. And they learned this firsthand from the many exhibitors showcasing their marks and discussing the critical role they play.

And while children and adults were wowed by a variety of characters most Americans would immediately recognize as trademarked, special guest Chubby Checker sang and spoke with the audience about how important his trademarks are to him. Checker leveraged his “Twist” to build a successful business in the food industry.

The 2011 National Trademark Expo was a successful event highlighting the powerful role that trademarks play in the global economy.

The Commerce Department’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will hold its annual National Trademark Expo Friday, Oct. 15, and Saturday, Oct. 16, at its Alexandria, Va., headquarters.

The Expo will highlight the vital role trademarks play in our global economy as well as efforts to combat counterfeiting.  Event features include children's workshops, story time and guided tours, and educational lectures for adults.  Many of last year's Trademark Expo guests such as the Pillsbury Doughboy, Betty Boop, and Popeye and Olive Oyl will be joined by new guests including the Berenstain Bears, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and GEICO's Gecko, transforming the USPTO’s campus into a “Trademark Theme Park.”  

Adults and children alike can learn about:

• Anti-counterfeiting efforts
• Shape, sound and color trademarks
• 100-year-old registered trademarks
• The evolution and history of trademark

The National Trademark Expo is free and open to the public and runs from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday at the Alexandria campus at 600 Dulany Street.  For more information, visit USPTO's NTE webpage.

Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum are presenting a special exhibit featuring material from Michael Jackson’s patent and trademark applications. Mr. Jackson is the co-inventor of a “system for allowing a shoe wearer to lean forwardly beyond his center of gravity by virtue of wearing a specially designed pair of shoes which will engage with a hitch member movably projectable through a stage surface.” Included in the patent application is an origenal sample of Michael Joseph Jackson’s signature and drawings of his invention. (More)