On June, 19, 2018, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued utility patent number 10 million. More than just a number, Patent 10 Million embodied the rich history and enduring strength of the American intellectual property system, which dates back to the first U.S. patent, signed by President George Washington on July 31, 1790.

From the unveiling of a new patent cover design to high-profile events surrounding the signing of Patent 10 Million itself, the USPTO produced a wide-ranging, cross-media campaign of documents, exhibits, videos, events, and supporting materials to commemorate the event and promote awareness of our agency and the importance of intellectual property.

The USPTO officially unveiled the new patent cover on March 11, 2018 in a special ceremony at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas. Members of the agency's communications team planned, organized, and conducted the ceremony.

Members of the USPTO communications team, including Laura Larrimore and Alex Camarota, also designed a new, interactive website at https://10millionpatents.uspto.gov (above) that included engaging graphics, animations (like the one below), and videos, as well as ample information about our social media posts and public events.

Another key effort in the 10 Million Patents public awareness campaign was the "Walk of Progress," a series of large decals (above) conceived by Linda Hosler and designed by Jeff Isaacs and placed on the sidewalks around the USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. The thousand-foot-long exhibit remained on display throughout the summer of 2018.

As part of the public awareness campaign, Jeff Isaacs also designed an exhibit surveying designs of previous U.S. patent covers, based on what he discovered during his research while designing the new one.

Members of the USPTO communications team planned high-profile public events like a panel at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and a scavenger hunt around the museums in Alexandria, Virginia. Jeff Isaacs designed the signs and handouts (above).

Members of the communications team, including Paul Fucito and Julianne Metzger, were critical in putting together this press kit (among others included at https://10millionpatents.uspto.gov/media-kit.html). Jeff Isaacs provided the graphic design.

The President of the United States signed Patent 10 Million at a ceremony in the Oval Office (above) on June 19, 2018, with USPTO Director Andrei Iancu on the far left. Here the president holds up the new patent cover designed by Jeff Isaacs.

The USPTO communications team planned a major event for later that day at George Washington's Gristmill and Distillery at Mount Vernon in Alexandria, Virginia, attended by Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross among other important dignitaries. The choice of venue made by the USPTO communications team was doubly significant, since George Washington not only signed the first U.S. patent but also used the milling system behind the third U.S. patent to operate his distillery. Jeff Isaacs designed the signs and program for the event (above).

USPTO employee Elizabeth Chu created a social media campaign around Patent 10 Million to increase public awareness of the agency and the importance of intellectual property. The USPTO has official channels on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. The 10 Million Patents (10MP) campaign was established on each social media channel, where every post included a related hashtag like #10MillionPatents, #TheRealMcCoy, and #TenFor10M and a link to https://10millionpatents.uspto.gov/. Overall the social media campaign reached more than eight million citizens.

An archive of videos created by the USPTO communications team, including Jeff Isaacs and Jay Premack, and promoted through our social media accounts and on https://10millionpatents.uspto.gov, can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/user/USPTOvideo.