Shadow Day at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

In Washington, DC, ChIPs partnered with USPTO and DC Public Schools to introduce 30 high school-aged girls to careers in law and technology.  The program started with an invention challenge, where teams of students designed an improvement to an existing patent, created a trademark and business plan, and pitched their ideas to the audience.  A teen inventor and entrepreneur with her own patent, a patent examiner, trademark examiner, in-house counsel, assistant solicitor, and law firm counsel then talked about their career paths, followed by lunch where attorneys and judges from PTAB, USPTO, local firms and businesses, and Chief Judge Prost talked one-on-one with the girls.  The day concluded with mock arguments before PTAB judges about the patentability of the Uncrustable peanut butter and jelly sandwich followed by closing remarks and encouragement from Chief Judge Prost.   This event was made possible by the generous support of USPTO, WISE, and the PTAB Women’s Bar Association, with a special shout out to Lore Unt of the Solicitor’s Office and Megan Raymond of the PTAB Women’s Bar Association.