The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will kick off its annual Independent Inventors Conference tomorrow at its headquarters in Alexandria, Va.  Co-sponsored by the USPTO and the National Inventors Hall of Fame®, the conference is one of many outreach programs offered by the USPTO to assist independent inventors. Art Fry, co-inventor of Post-It® Notes and a 2010 National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductee, and USPTO Director David Kappos will be keynote speakers.

The conference will feature numerous experts and employees from the USPTO who will discuss topics such as the fundamentals of searching and filing trademark applications and the interplay between patents, trademarks and copyrights. Conference attendees will receive practical tips along with information on marketing and licensing, patent application preparation, patent and trademark searching, local resources, and lessons learned from successes and failures. Attendees will also have the opportunity to network one-on-one with experts and provide feedback on how the USPTO can better serve them.

Thousands of independent inventors and small businesses do critical research and development every day and produce innovative goods and services that benefit the public. These innovations continue to play a central role in the future of the American economy and job creation. 

The conference will run from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday with a pre-conference workshop for beginning inventors today. Learn more about the Annual Independent Inventors Conference on the PTO website, including how to register.