(Applause) >> SUSAN FRUCHTER: Good afternoon and welcome to the
National Trademark Exposition.
I am Sue Fruchter and I have the privilege to serve as interim
director of your National Museum of American History.
The most visited history museum in the world.
We're honored to welcome so many distinguished guests
including the Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual
Property and Director of the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office Andrei Iancu.
(Applause) >> SUE FRUCHTER: Commissioner for Trademarks,
Mary Denison.
(Applause) >> SUE FRUCHTER: And renowned advocate and lover of
history, author, commentator and basketball legend
Kareem Abdul‑Jabbar.(Applause)
>> SUE FRUCHTER: We thank the entire team from the trademark
office and our Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation lead by
Arthur Daemmrich for this exciting program.
We're appreciative to the American Intellectual Property
Law Association and
the International Trademark Association for their
generous support.
We are thrilled to host this two‑day program in collaboration with the
U.S Patent and Trademark Office including over 20 displays for
dynamic and innovative companies and government agencies.
In addition to enjoying the panel discussions, please walk around and
see the displays, invent new products and design and find out how
to strengthen your own trademark in the activity zone.
This trademark exposition celebrates a foundational American pillar that
flows through our history protecting innovation and stimulating new
consumer products and services.
Our founders understood the value of protecting innovation and
encouraging new ideas.
While trademarks came under formal protection in the late 19th century,
our collection of 18th century Paul Revere silverware is a
wonderful demonstration of how Americans
have used marking from our earliest days
distinguish the quality of their products from their competitors.
And today, as many of you are working to develop our own personal
brand and new inventions, there's much to learn from this program and
from our exhibitions.
Here at the national museum we share and preserve a collection of
national treasures on behalf of the American people and indeed the world
to help us make sense of the present and most importantly shape a more
humane future.
History matters because it helps us understand where we have come from
and opens opportunities for discussing and taking action
for the future.
So we are working to bring the nation together around fundamental
American ideals and ideas like democracy, opportunity, and freedom.
And of course invention and innovation,
which join us as a people.
To realize this ambitious vision we are in the midst of a 20‑year $600
million complete reinvention of every facet of this museum.
Our invention and innovation wing which surrounds us today was
renovated and reopened in 2015.
It showcases stories about diverse inventors,
broadens definitions of who inventors are and demonstrates
that innovation is a process built around testing,
tweaking and bringing new products and services to the public.
Innovation and business are infused into every component of this floor
from igniting young minds in spark lab over to your left where school
aged children become inventors by fusing science and engineering with
history, art, and creativity to show casing the importance of American
inventors in American enterprise, the Smithsonian's
first exhibition on the history of American business, which
emphasizes the connections among inventors, entrepreneurs and
consumers that fostered growth over the past 200 years.
Over the next ten years as we work to transform the museum, we will be
opening new exhibitions on science, medicine, entertainment, culture,
and so many other fundamental American themes.
We are weaving the American spirit of innovation into all of these
projects of vital importance to an ever evolving nation
facing change among the horizon.
It's my pleasure to introduce a dear friend of the
National Museum of American History,
Mary Denison, the Commissioner of Tradmearks for
the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Mary leads all aspects of the trademark organization.
She is known for her outreach to the trademark legal community, small
businesses, and for making the trademark process more accessible to
start‑ups and innovators.
She has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the
International Trademark Association and
holds degrees from Duke University
and University of North Carolina school of law.
Mary, welcome, and thank you again for your
friendship and collaboration. (Applause)
>> MARY BONEY DENISON: Thank you so much, Sue, for that
kind introduction.
And afternoon everyone, including those watching remotely.
Welcome.
We are so excited that the national trademark exhibition is being held
here at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History
for the first time.
A big thank you to the Smithsonian for collaborating with us on this
important event.
I saw a recent article that the average consumer is exposed to up to
10,000 brand messages every day.
10,000.
Amazing.
How many brands are you wearing right now?
I have on at least five.
You probably do too.
Most people are not even aware of the multitude of advertisements they
see or hear all the time and the trademarks behind them.
And studies have shown that kids as young as two can recognize most of
the popular brand logos such as the McDonald's golden arches or the
logos for Pepsi or Starbucks or Target.
Take a look at this video.
>> Looks like there's a doughnut.
Doughnuts.
>> Take a guess what do you think a company like that would make?
>> Bow ties.
>> It's coffee.
>> My dad gets coffee there a lot.
>> Mets.
>> That says I love New York.
Where do you live?
>> At my house.
>> On the mother's and farther's laptop.
>> Yankees.
>> That's the type of brand my dad smokes, a cigarette brand.
>> This is for French fries.
>> Isn't that fabulous?
I still remember taking my daughter to an antique show when she was
about 18 months old and she saw the Visa logo and she said Visa.
I almost fell on the floor.
I shouldn't be surprised because my Visa card does get a lot of work.
An important part of the mission of the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office is education and outreach.
This venue, being a place of fun learning right on the national mall
certainly aligns with those goals.
Today is a fun day for you and your kids to brand a sneaker, to
participate in a scavenger hunt for trademarks or learn what a trademark
grave yard is.
In addition, after you learn about trademarks, we suggest you head over
and check out the museum's exhibits particularly the draper spark lab
where visitors can become inventors.
We hope each of you will learn more about the importance of trademarks
to the economy as well as your own personal lives.
In addition to being vital to the economy, trademarks are everywhere
and they are fun.
This year we're welcoming 20 exhibiters to teach you about their
brands and the importance of trademarks.
We have 1,000 Crain's LLC,
American Intellectual Property Law Association
DC Roller Girls,
Edible IP LLC, DBA Edible Arrangements,
Girl Scouts Nations Capitol
Global Brand Council U.S. Chamber of Commerce,
International Trademark Association, Lucia's Labs,
LLC, Microsoft, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, National Park Service
and National Park Foundation, Numbers Alive, Politics and Pros,
Safeway, Segue, Inc., Tenneco Automotive, the National Institute
on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, Under Armour, Inc.,
Velcro Companies and YMCA.
Many of these exhibiters have brands that you probably recognize.
But there are also some newer fun brands for you to get to know.
You'll see the importance of trademarks in every line of work.
We also hope that you'll check out our USPTO booth which has
information on the important role that trademarks play for businesses
plus materials to help you to learn more about the trademark
registration process. In closing I want to thank
Shana Webster Trotman and Chrisie Brightmire King who
led the 2018 National Trademark Exposition for our agency
together with Arthur Daemmrich for the Smithsonian.
They have worked so hard to make this fantastic event happen.
Let's give them a big round of applause.
(Applause) >> MARY BONEY DENISON: Now I have the honor of introducing
USPTO Director Andrei Iancu.
Andrei Iancu is the Undersecretary of Commerce for
Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office.
In this role he provides leadership and oversight to one of the largest
intellectual property offices in the world with over 13,000 employees and
an annual budget of over $3 billion.
He also serves as the principal advisor to the Secretary of Commerce
on domestic and international intellectual property matters.
Before joining the USPTO, Mr. Iancu was the managing partner
at Irell & Manella LLP where his
practice focused on intellectual property litigation.
He holds a juris doctorate from the UCLA school of law.
Mr. Iancu holds a Juris Doctor from the UCLA School of Law.
He also has a Master of Science in mechanical engineering and
a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering also from UCLA.
He's a huge fan of Kareem.
He even has a bobble head on his desk.
So please join me in welcoming USPTO director Andrei Iancu. (Applause)
>> ANDREI IANCU: Thank you, Mary, and so good to see all of you here.
Intellectual property really is exciting.
I can tell from all of you being here that that is the case.
The fact is that intellectual property is our future.
As I often say through the doors of the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office walks our future.
And how true that is.
It is especially wonderful to be here with all of you, and I'd like
to thank the entire staff at the Smithsonian's National Museum of
American History for hosting us during this two‑day festival.
We are so pleased to collaborate with the Smithsonian on shining a
spotlight on the importance of trademarks in the
global marketplace.
I also want to thank the more than 12,000 employees of the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office for everything they do on a daily basis
to advance intellectual property and the effort they have put together
for this event.
I often consider the most valuable asset of a company.
Trademarks prevent confusion in the marketplace by helping consumers
identify their trusted or preferred brands thereby engendering good will
and customer loyalty.
Some of the world's most famous brands are valued at hundreds of
millions of dollars and sometimes more.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
creates and maintains the federal register
of trademarks that provides notice of 2.3 million marks in use today.
Needles to say and as Mary just mentioned in her remarks, trademarks
play a significant role in the United States economy.
The primary function of the trademarks division at the USPTO is
to examine and register trademarks, service marks, certification marks,
and collective membership marks that meet the requirements of the
Trademark Act.
Critical to that mission is educating the public about the
importance and value of trademarks.
And we work hard every day to do this.
Some of the ways we educate the general public and business owners
about trademarks is through the creation of educational materials as
well as videos posted on the Internet as well as on our website.
We also participate in community events throughout the country and
provide training and instruction on trademark law.
And of course, events like this one are a big part of that effort
because we can introduce thousands of people like those of you here
today on the importance of trademarks and how to learn more
about them today we're launching another public education initiative.
This time on the subject of counterfeit goods.
Counterfeits are goods that appear to be safe and legitimate but
unlawfully copy familiar brand names and are sold illegally.
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,
trade in counterfeit goods has increased more than 80%
in the last five years, increasing to $250 billion annually in 2008 to
more than $461 billion in 2013.
Additionally, the report determined that counterfeit products now
represent more than 2.5% of all world trade.
And while some people believe that counterfeiting is a, quote,
victimless crime, it is important to note that every day consumers are
exposed to ineffective and sometimes life‑threatening
counterfeit products.
Recognizing how vitally important it is to educate the public about the
harms of counterfeit goods, the USPTO is today launching a video
contest to collect 30 to 60 second videos about counterfeits.
The video contest is entitled consumers combat counterfeits.
The winning videos will appear on the USPTO website and be considered
for use as public service announcements.
In each of your tote bags you will find the flier with additional
information, and you can learn more at www.USPTO.gov/tmvideocontest,
one word.
So thank you all again for being here.
I encourage you to stay and enjoy the other activities and
presentations throughout the day.
And with that, let me turn it over to our Commissioner of Trademarks,
Mary Denison who will introduce our key note speaker.
Thank you.
(Applause) >> MARY BONEY DENISON: Thank you.
Let me take a moment to correct an error.
I forgot to credit the owner of the copyrighted video we used
Daniel T Allan from Sovev Media thank you very much.
Now it is my honor to introduce Kareem Abdul‑Jabbar, the greatest
basketball player in history.
We are so honored to have him here today.
He retired from the NBA after playing a record 20 seasons as well
as setting records for points scored, games played, minutes
played, blocked shots and defensive rebounds.
He was also a record six time NBA MVP and 19 time NBA all star, a 15
time all-NBA selection and an 11 time all defensive team member.
Since retiring from the NBA he has been active as an education advocate,
writer of social commentary, novels, history books.
He's written 15 books including his most recent New York Times best
sellers Coach Wooden and Me, our 50‑year Friendship On and Off the Court
and Becoming Kareem, Growing Up On and Off the Court.
Mr. Abdul‑Jabbar also produced a documentary adaptation of
On the Shoulders of Giants
which won a NAACP image award.
Of particular interest on this day ‑‑ excuse me ‑‑ championing
intellectual property rights, it's important to note that he's written
a book called What Color is My World?
The Lost History of African American inventors.
In October he'll have another novel coming out.
In 2016 President Obama awarded him The Presidential Medal of Freedom,
the highest honor for civilians.
He's here to talk about the importance and fun of trademarks
and intellectual property. Without further ado,
please join me in welcoming the legendary Kareem Abdul‑Jabbar.
(Applause)
>> KAREEM ABDUL‑JABBAR: Thank you, Commissioner Denison and
good afternoon, everyone. It's really great to be back
here at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History
to talk about the importance of intellectual property
and trademarks in particular.
I was really pleased to be asked to participate in a National Trademark
Exposition so I could talk to you about why trademarks matter.
Let's start at the beginning.
Trademarks are product names or names of services.
Look around you.
We have a bunch of exhibiters here today who all own
trademark registrations.
I even own a trademark registration for my name.
I'll talk more about that in a minute.
I'd like to take a moment to give you a few reasons why you should
take ‑‑ why you should pay attention to the issue of trademarks.
First, trademarks are a form of consumer protection.
Trademarks let customers know the source of products and
the services in the marketplace.
Potential customers want to know that the T‑shirt or computer
software that they are considering buying is the specific product that
they want.
Customers want to know the product they seek is real and the quality
that they have come to associate with that trademark, not a knockoff
from someone else.
So one critical thing that a trademark offers is
consumer protection.
Second, trademarks enable you to build a brand for your product,
especially today via social media.
And trademarks add value.
In some cases your trademark might be just ‑‑ might just be the most
valuable piece of property that you own.
The most valuable trademark in the world is Apple trademark which was
valued in the 2017 Interbrand survey at over $180 billion.
I know that my trademark is not worth that much.
(Laughter) >> KAREEM ABDUL‑JABBAR: But it's still very valuable and can
keep consumers buying my product.
Trademarks can add a lot of value to your business.
Third, trademarks can be recognized around the globe and therefore they
transcend language, culture, and borders.
Whenever I travel overseas, I'm always interested in seeing what
American brands I can spot even when I can't read the language.
I can always spot McDonald's golden arches or the Starbucks mermaid.
Finally I know firsthand the importance and value of a trademark.
As I mentioned a moment ago I have a registration for my name,
Kareem Abdul‑Jabbar.
I use it to sell T‑shirts, jerseys, socks, shoes, et cetera.
More importantly I use my brand to promote good works.
One of my favorite causes is my nonprofit The Skyhook Foundation.
When many of you hear the term skyhook associated with my name,
you likely think of the basketball shot I became
known for perfecting when I played in the NBA.
The shot that couldn't be blocked.
It's how have some come to describe it.
From that shot my foundation's mission was created to give kids a
shot that could not be blocked.
I try to do this by bringing educational opportunities to
underserved communities.
One of the ways we accomplish this is through Camp Skyhook where we
bring 4th and 5th graders to a camp in the
Angeles National Forest for five days during the school week and
let them learn about nature and give them hands-on experience
with science, technology, engineering, and math, known as
STEM.
The STEM field contributes so much to the world and those who work in
these areas should be revered as heroes in our society.
As we all know, there can only be a few superstars in sports or
entertainment.
But the opportunities for those in STEM fields is truly limitless.
To generate interest, excitement, and enthusiasm among our kids for
science, technology, engineering, and math, we have to enable them to
see themselves in a STEM role.
We try to encourage them and provide opportunities to learn more.
We need our kids to have role models other than rap stars, reality stars
or basketball stars.
I've never considered myself ‑‑ I've never considered my basketball
skills to be my greatest asset.
I've always considered my greatest asset to be my mind.
We need to get kids thinking that way.
It is great for kids to have athletic aspirations but not at the
expense of their education.
Too often in our culture we treat entertainers, musicians and athletes
as heroes and forget to highlight the real heroes our countries
inventors and innovators who make a difference in the
world today and in the future through their curiosity,
resourcefulness, perseverance and innovation.
Although innovation affects every aspect of our daily lives, we never
seem to stop and appreciate the contributions of our nation's inventors
we also don't take time to highlight the diversity of inventors.
Children need to see that people who look like them have been able to
achieve success by celebrating the contributions of inventors we help
children see the value in invention and hopefully aspire to become
inventors themselves.
I consider it my responsibility to use my trademark, Kareem
Abdul‑Jabbar, to make this world a better place.
But it is the responsibility of all of us to inspire future generations
to pursue careers in STEM and to find ways to give them access to
information and opportunities to experiences in that ‑‑ to experience
jobs in that field.
By encouraging interests in STEM careers we improve the future and we
give our children an opportunity at changing the world by giving them a
shot that can't be blocked.
Thank you so much and now, let's cut that ribbon.
(Applause)