https://www.uspto.gov/blog/director/entry/ready-set-compete-how-we
Content Reproduced verbatim from the Website of the United States Patent & Trademark Office as permitted under their Terms of Use.
Blog by Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of
Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO
Director Vidal with service members, military spouses,
and veteran entrepreneurs at MacDill Air Force Base on March 29. (Photo by
Michael Cleveland/USPTO)
America’s
inventors and entrepreneurs power our nation’s economy, competitiveness, and
security. Many of
America’s outstanding innovators and leaders are veterans. The skills they
gained from their service, including teamwork, integrity and being organized,
disciplined, adaptable, and focused, prepare them well for entrepreneurship. In
fact, veterans have a proven track record of
engaging in business ownership at higher rates than their peers in the civilian
sector.
For service members preparing to
transition into the civilian world, starting a business can be a viable second
career. And for military spouses, self-employment can help provide professional
and economic stability to weather the constant change that the military
lifestyle brings. In alignment with First Lady Jill Biden and the White House’s
Joining Forces Initiative
that centers on the three core pillars of employment and entrepreneurship,
military child education, and health and well-being, we are working to
encourage and support more transitioning service
members, military family members, and
veterans to bring their innovations to life, build successful businesses, and
protect their creations with intellectual property.
Charlynda Scales has a family legacy of service & innovation.
An Air Force veteran, Scales is the founder and CEO of Mutt’s Sauce LLC®,
created by her late grandfather and fellow veteran, Charlie “Mutt” Ferrell.
Take
Charlynda Scales. A U.S. Air Force veteran and entrepreneur, she is the founder
and CEO of Mutt’s Sauce LLC®, “the sauce for every meal.” Her late
grandfather and fellow Air Force veteran Charlie “Mutt” Ferrell originally
created the specialty sauce and left her the recipe, which she then turned into
a successful business. At our Veterans
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program last year, she
spoke about how the skills she gained in the military helped her launch her
business. She offered the following advice for other veteran entrepreneurs: “When you have
served in the military and you decide you want to go into entrepreneurship, you
are strengthening the country by being a business owner. Holding on to your
core values, being a good person, and service before self – those things that
we learned in the military – that’s what sets you apart from everyone else.”
Growing up
in a career military family, my father served in the U.S. Navy as a senior
chief and I spent my childhood on military bases in the United States, Panama,
Germany, and the Azorean Islands (Portugal). I’m grateful for the opportunity to
connect with service members and their families, and share information about
the resources
we provide at the USPTO – from trainings on patent and trademark basics to free
legal services – that can help them become successful entrepreneurs. Our goal
is simple: to shine a light on what starting a business looks like, what it
requires, and who you can turn to for help on your journey.
On
November 22, 2022, Director Vidal met with service members and their families
at Fort Bragg, NC, to discuss USPTO resources that can help them start their
own businesses.
Recently, I met with military spouses and family members
at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and MacDill Air Force Base, Florida to discuss
essential skills every entrepreneur needs to know. And on June 9, we’ll be
holding an event at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. During these events, we go
over the many aspects of entrepreneurship, from honing your business plan and
protecting your brand and ideas, to market analysis and financing. Our military
outreach events also feature successful military spouses and veteran business
owners who share their personal experiences in entrepreneurship. Contact us if you’re
interested in hosting one of these workshops in the future.
In
September 2022, USPTO staff from the Rocky Mountain Regional Office
staff visited the U.S. Air Force
Academy (USAFA) in Colorado Springs, where they spoke to cadets in the SPARK
academy, learned about their mechanical engineering and aeronautics research,
and viewed their patent wall.
Our USPTO regional offices
also reach out across the country meeting innovators where they are with
resources to jumpstart their businesses. From in-person and virtual events to
networking opportunities, we are joining forces with local organizations and bringing entrepreneurship
training directly to the military community.
Dragon’s
Lair 8 competition finals at the University of South Florida on March 29 (Photo
by Michael Cleveland/USPTO)
I also had
the pleasure of serving as a judge in the latest Dragon’s Lair competition co-hosted
by the U.S. Special Operations Command and 18th Airborne Corps at the
University of South Florida’s Research and Innovation Park in Tampa, Florida. Now
in its eighth installment, service members from across the U.S. Department of
Defense (DOD) submitted their ideas for innovations to meet future challenges. The
eight finalists were selected from among 80 ideas that represented every
service within the DOD, and all ideas included developing intellectual
property. The
innovators really used their boots on the ground knowledge to see their
projects through and create concrete solutions for real problems the Army
currently faces. The winning innovation was a mold conditions
awareness tool, a 3D-printed device that uses sensors to detect temperature and
humidity levels within barracks rooms to identify early signs of mold, presented
by U.S. Army 1st Lt. Chris Aliperti and Pvt. Salem Ezz from the 3rd Infantry
Division. Congratulations to all the finalists in the competition
on their phenomenal ideas.
In October 2022, Director Vidal held a discussion with the
USPTO’s Military Association’s President Alford Kindred on work life balance at
the USPTO. (Photo by Michael Cleveland/USPTO)
We also actively recruit veterans, and they play an
integral part of our operations at the USPTO. Many veterans have chosen to
continue their invaluable service to our country by joining the USPTO, and they
contribute to our mission across our agency in the areas of science and
engineering, information technology, contracts, procurement, finance,
administration, project and program management customer support, and more. In fiscal year 2022, 11% of our
new hires were veterans. Learn more about veteran hiring at the USPTO.
Expanding our outreach to military families and veterans is more
important than ever. By highlighting opportunities and creating more connections to
resources to promote self-employment, we can help create a new era of economic
stability and professional portability for military spouses and our veterans
who have served.
If you are affiliated with the military and interested
in starting your own businesses or joining our workforce, we are eager to serve
you. To learn more, visit our new page on entrepreneurship resources for themilitary community or contact us at [email protected]. You can also connect with a regional USPTO office near you, check out our free resources for inventors and entrepreneurs,
and view our upcoming programs.
And stay tuned for our popular Veterans
Innovation and Entrepreneurship program hosted each November.