July 14, 2006
#06-45

Press Release, 06-45

USPTO and National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation Honor Student Winners of ©®EAT Contest

Students Demonstrate Their Understanding of Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights

Washington, D.C. — The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation (NIHFF) honored the student winners of the first ©®EAT contest on Thursday, July 13. The contest, in its pilot year, is a national competition designed to encourage interest and understanding of intellectual property and its protection through patents, trademarks, and copyrights. The contest recognized nine winning entries, three each from the high school, middle school, and elementary school levels.

"We congratulate all of the students who submitted ideas for the contest," said Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, Jon Dudas. "Today's students benefit from an initiative like ©®EAT which allows them to explore, discover, create and learn about the importance of patents, trademarks, and copyrights to our future."

The theme for this year's contest was finding ways to use alternative energy in transportation. Students then demonstrated how intellectual property could be used to bring their ideas to reality. The winners of the contest and their projects are:

Elementary School
First Second Third	Donghyun Kim (St. Paul, MN), age 8, for the Earth Car Ashley Mueller (Brandon, MS), age 10, for the Aquatic vehicle Addison Rose (St. Paris, OH), age 7, for the Sail Car
Middle School
First Second Third	Alexis Mikrut (Chicago, IL), Mary Rose Muscarello and Maria Helmold (Lemont, IL), age 14, for the MasirX Car Lydia Whitten and Maria Civantos (Woodbridge, IL), age 15, for the Frazier trademark Gisella Kakoti (Spring Hill, TN), age 13, for the Solar Transit System
High School
First Second Third	Hardeep Singh (Waterbury, CT), age 18, for the Fuel Cell Car Kenneth Moak (Urbana, OH), age 17, for the four-wheeled Moakocycle Joseph Hurst (Harvey, IL), age 16, for So'Lar ESP Automobile

Each winner received an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. and a U.S. Savings Bond. Following a VIP tour of Washington landmarks and the USPTO's Alexandria, Va. headquarters, the students received their awards at a ceremony presided over by Under Secretary Dudas.

The ©®EAT contest is an extension of the ©®EAT Intellectual Property Resource Guide developed for teachers and other educators. It was developed by the USPTO and the NIHFF. The symbols in the contest name represent its emphasis on patents, copyrights and trademarks. For more information on the winners and their inventions visit www.invent.org.

###