USPTO and the National Inventors Hall of Fame Program

The National Inventors Hall of Fame program is a collaboration between the USPTO and the nonprofit National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) since 1973 to sponsor and encourage creativity, exploration, and invention among all people of all ages, including children, teachers, parents, and college students. The USPTO has been working with the National Innovation Fund to jointly operate the National Innovation Fund Museum at the USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, inviting outstanding inventors to join the National Innovation Fund. The Innovation Fund is divided into several programs, such as the Camp Invention Program, the Collegiate Inventors Program, and the National Inventors Hall of Fame Program.

The Camp Invention program was founded in 1990 by the USPTO in partnership with NIHF and has grown into a series of educational programs for students from kindergarten to high school. The NIHF educational program provides children with hands-on and innovative programs that not only promote creativity, entrepreneurship and creative thinking, but also serve as an educational function, introducing them to the workings of the USPTO and the value of patents, trademarks and copyrights. These courses are taught by professionally trained local certified teachers.

Collectively, these programs reach more than 250,000 children in 2,500 schools nationwide each year, and the number of teachers applying these programs in their classrooms has grown exponentially. NIHF programs are available in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. In 2022, two-thirds of students come from underserved communities and receive financial assistance to attend. The USPTO and NIHF are committed to providing equal access to STEM education, helping to reduce disparities in STEM fields, and building a more innovative future.

The Collegiate Inventors program was founded in 1990 as the Collegiate Inventors Competition (CIC), which encourages students to innovate and push boundaries. It promotes competition among universities across the country and connects the spirit of innovation with entrepreneurship, teaching students to see the value of their ideas to society, develop their inventions, patent their ideas, find investors, and contribute to the new economy.

CIC entries represent a diverse range of disciplines, including medical devices, biotechnology, nanotechnology, renewable energy, robotics, and systems engineering. Finalists will be selected through two levels of judging. In the preliminary round, entries will be judged by experts in the applicant's invention or research field. Finalists gather at the USPTO for an immersive judging and feedback experience with NIHF selectees and senior USPTO officials.

CIC is open to faculty, staff and students from more than 1,000 colleges and universities, and awards more than $100,000 in prizes to first, second and third place winners in undergraduate and graduate categories each year. Winners will also receive a USPTO patent acceleration certificate. Many CIC finalists have started their own businesses, licensed technology through university technology transfer, and continued their research as graduate students and postdoctoral students.

The National Inventors Hall of Fame program, or NIHF, honors visionaries whose inventions have changed the world. NIHF shares the fascinating stories of extraordinary inventors, the obstacles they overcame, and their relevance to the past, present, and future. NIHF builds a community of inductees to inspire the next generation of innovative thinking. NIHF inductees are integrated into all programs through program development and inspiration, curriculum, program participation, and philanthropic support.

NIHF accepts nominations of inventors from all sources. To be admitted to NIHF, a candidate must hold a U.S. patent that has substantially contributed to the national welfare or to the advancement of science or the useful arts.

The National Inventors Foundation induction ceremony is held in Washington, D.C. It recognizes and celebrates the world's foremost inventors by highlighting their outstanding contributions to society. In addition, the inductees' inventions may be exhibited at the NIHF Museum at the USPTO headquarters.