2018 National Trademark Exposition Highlights the Important Role Trademarks Play

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, in collaboration with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, will host the 2018 National Trademark Exposition. It will take place Friday, July 27, and Saturday, July 28, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the museum’s first-floor west wing. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA All-Star, New York Times best-selling author and registered-trademark owner, will give the keynote speech Friday at 12:15 p.m.

The two-day exposition is a free, family-friendly event where visitors can learn about trademarks. More than 20 exhibitors representing government entities, non-profits, small business and corporations will share valuable educational information about trademarks. Each day will include engaging seminars, children’s activities, displays of authentic and counterfeit goods, as well as numerous exhibitors featuring registered trademarks. Visitors can participate in trademark and marketing history quizzes, try hands-on activities such as seek-and-finds, play interactive games, design a new shoe logo, invent a product and test their skills with a trademark design challenge.

Speakers for the daily stage programs over the two days include business historians and trademark experts, such as Arthur Daemmrich, director of the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation; Andrei Iancu, director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; and Mary Denison, commissioner of trademarks at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The Trademark Exposition helps support the mission of the Smithsonian and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by educating the public about the history and value of trademarks and their longstanding function as part of the institutional basis for the American innovation system.

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SI-428-2018