Press Releases > Commerce Under Secretary Jon Dudas To Address Independent Inventors In New Hampshire

PRESS RELEASE Contact: Ruth Nyblod 703-305-8341 or ruth.nyblod@uspto.gov August 19, 2004 #04-16

Commerce Under Secretary Jon Dudas To Address Independent Inventors In New Hampshire Inventors of the "Segway" and high-resolution radar and sonar also will speak at 9th Annual Independent Inventors Conference August 20-21, 2004 Franklin Pierce Law Center 2 White Street, Concord, NH Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Jon Dudas will be one of the featured speakers at the 9th Annual Independent Inventors Conference August 20 and 21, 2004, at the Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, NH. Dudas also will make a special presentation to recognize two attorneys from the New Hampshire intellectual property law firm of Maine & Asmus who recently found 14 original 18th and 19th century patents that will be added to USPTO’s public database of nearly 7 million patents. Fire destroyed the Patent Office in 1836, and records of 10,000 patents, including the 14 found at the Dartmouth College Library by the New Hampshire attorneys, were lost. To date, only about 2,800 of the lost patent records have been recovered. The two-day conference, cosponsored by the Department of Commerce’s U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the National Inventors Hall of Fame, will offer practical advice and information on intellectual property protection and marketing for both novice and seasoned inventors. Two nationally recognized inventors also will be featured: Dean Kamen, inventor of the “Segway” human transporter, and Robert H. Rines, inventor of high-resolution radar and sonar. August 20 at 10:00 a.m.: Dean Kamen, inventor of the “Segway” human transporter and founder of DEKA Research & Development Corp. will discuss successful inventing. Kamen holds more than 200 U.S. and foreign patents, many of them for innovative medical devices. He has received numerous awards, including the National Medal of Technology. August 20 at 12:45 p.m.: Under Secretary Dudas will discuss current USPTO programs and resources that benefit independent inventors and entrepreneurs, including the agency’s 21st Century Strategic Plan. America's independent inventors comprise about 18% of USPTO’s patent filers. Mr. Dudas also will recognize the two attorneys who recently found 18th and 19th century patents to be added to the USPTO database. August 21 at 9:00 a.m.: Robert H. Rines, inventor of high-resolution radar and sonar and inductee in the National Inventors Hall of Fame will discuss successful inventing. Rines’ holds more than 60 patents. His sonar inventions were used in locating the Titanic and the Bismarck. They also are used in medical noninvasive ultrasound imaging of internal organs. Rines also founded the Academy of Applied Science and the Franklin Pierce Law Center. Senior USPTO officials and experts in the fields of intellectual property and marketing also will make presentations. The conference agenda is available at http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/iip/iiconf/agenda.html. # # #