Washington, DC
April 14, 2008
i-©®eaTM inspires creativity and
teaches students about patents, trademarks, copyrights
The Commerce Department's
United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) today announced the launch of a
new, dynamic curriculum that inspires students to be creative
and teaches them about the value of patents, trademarks, and
copyrights, as well as the importance of respecting other’s
intellectual property. The i-©®eaTM curriculum, developed by the
USPTO in collaboration with i-SAFE—a leader in Internet safety
education—is an interactive and age appropriate unit of
instruction designed for upper-elementary, middle, and high
school students.
“If you own something that is valuable, you want to protect it.
Since U.S. intellectual property today is worth more than $5
trillion, it is important that future inventors understand the
process of protecting intellectual property, and that we instill
an innovative spirit among students to keep the flow of
innovation alive,” said Jon Dudas, Under Secretary of Commerce
for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO.
The i-©®ea TM curriculum is a valuable resource for teachers to
introduce students to the inventive process through
cross-curricular activities, inspirational stories of young
inventors, and practical hands-on patent and trademark searching
on the Internet. Students apply their knowledge and skills to
real life experiences and view themselves as creative
individuals. In turn, young people, their parents, and their
teachers gain an appreciation of the contributions inventors and
artists make to our way of life.
i-SAFE trains and certifies educators to teach the i-©®eaTM
curriculum through the i-LEARN Online video training modules
(http://ilearn.isafe.org). The i-©®ea TM curriculum is the
latest addition to the growing i-SAFE library of more than175
standards-based lesson plans offered at no charge and taught in
classrooms in all 50 states. For more details on the i-©®eaTM
curriculum, see: www.isafe.org/icreatm.
The i-©®ea TM curriculum is among USPTO’s ongoing educational
efforts to reach out to the next generation of innovators. For
example, the USPTO has teamed with the Ad Council for a
three-year PSA campaign designed to inspire young people,
specifically the “tweens” ages 8-11, to be creative and invent.
In addition to television, radio and outdoor ads, the campaign
includes a Web site, www.inventnow.org, where kids can engage in
games and activities and use their creativity, as well as learn
about the process of protecting their intellectual property. The
radio and TV commercials are now playing throughout the country
with the message, “Anything’s possible. Keep thinking.”
USPTO also supports:
- the National Inventors
Hall of Fame’s educational programs for youth (grades
one-six) including Camp Invention and Club Invention;
- FIRST (For Inspiration and
Recognition of Science and Technology), founded by inventor
Dean Kamen to inspire an appreciation of science and
technology in young people; and
- the Sally Ride
TOYchallenge, a national toy design competition for 5th –
8th graders designed to introduce girls and boys to
engineering.
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