Three upcoming events for inventors and entrepreneurs you won’t want to miss

Throughout the year, we help Americans just like you pursue their dreams. We hold free events that inspire and encourage innovators from backgrounds like yours to develop their ideas and seek intellectual property protection (such as patents, trademarks and copyrights) for their inventions. We will equip you with the knowledge you'll need along your innovation journey. And we'll show you how you can work with us to get that patent or registered trademark and how to get a copyright.

At our events, you'll often hear from others such as the Small Business Administration, Copyright Office, Minority Business Development Agency, and International Trade Administration. We want to be your “one stop shop” as you pursue your dream of innovation and business success.

Here are a few upcoming programs you won't want to miss:

AANHPI Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program

This week, we will hold a two-part celebration of the remarkable work of Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) innovators. Join us for part one on May 17 and part two on May 18. This year, you will hear from inventors and entrepreneurs who are doing pioneering research, solving bio-medical problems, creating companies, and giving back to the community.

Part one:

• Dr. Ritu Raman, d'Arbeloff Assistant Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
• Dr. Gurtej Sandhu, Senior Fellow and Vice President at Micron Technology and prolific inventor named on more than 1,300 U.S. patents
• Jun Ye, Ph.D., Professor Adjoint at the University of Colorado Department of Physics, JILA Fellow, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Fellow, and National Academy of Sciences member

Part two:

• Dilip Goswami, Founder and CEO, Molekule
• Rakesh Srivastava, President and CEO, Innovative Prosthetics and Orthotics
• Dr. Hyunwoo Yuk, Co-Founder and CTO, SanaHeal
• Olin Kealoha Lagon, Founder and CTO, Shifted Energy 
• Hoala Greevy, Founder, Paubox
• Mylen Yamamoto Tansingco, Founder and Creator, Cropsticks®

Proud Innovation – Learn from LGBTQ+ innovators

On June 15 and 22, we will hold a two-part series on the remarkable work of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) innovators, entrepreneurs, and small business owners. The Proud Innovation series provides an inspiring and useful insight of the innovation process, from ideation to commercialization, with a focus on creating change, building legacies, securing funding, and networking. Part one will focus on how to turn an idea into an innovation, and part two will focus on commercializing your innovation. The program will feature a number of notable speakers from across industries with many helpful tips you'll want to know along your innovation journey.

Part one:

• David Taubenheim, Senior Data Scientist, NVIDIA  
• Suma Reddy, Co-founder and CEO, Future Acres 
• Arianna T. Morales, Ph.D., Staff Research Scientist, General Motors R&D Center
• Theodore ‘TJ' Ronningen, Ph.D., Chair, Out to Innovate; Research Scientist, Ohio State University

Part two:

• Ana Maria Hernandez Marti, Founder and CEO, Equal Love
• Jake Kenyon, Owner/Lead Dyer, Kenyarn, LLC   
• Robin Williams, Owner, Bowtie Behavior  
• Phillip Bailey, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce

Invention-Con

Invention-Con is our most highly attended public event for inventors, entrepreneurs, and small business owners. First launched in 1996 as the Independent Inventors Conference, it is returning for its 26th consecutive year from August 10-12, once again as an online learning opportunity.  Invention-Con provides independent inventors, entrepreneurs, and small business owners with resources to protect the various forms of IP which might be present in their businesses through patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. You will hear from business and government experts about turning your ideas into innovations, protecting your creative works, and accessing valuable resources to help you succeed in the marketplace. 

Other events

We also host an annual Women's Entrepreneurship Symposium and events highlighting Hispanic innovation and entrepreneurship, Black innovation and entrepreneurship, and veterans innovation and entrepreneurship. To hear about future events and other resources, follow us on social media, subscribe to our emails and visit our Office of Innovation Outreach. You can also view recordings of past sessions and events on the USPTO's YouTube page.

Looking for something you don't see? Email us at InnovationOutreach@uspto.gov.

See you soon!