Rebecca Himan:
Good morning, everyone.
My name is Rebecca Himan,
and I'm a senior at TJ.
First of all, I'm proud that
the President chose TJ as the
location for the signing
of the America Invents Act.
He could've signed
it anywhere; instead,
the arguably most powerful
person in the world chose to
visit our high school.
This is a super exciting and
interesting time for all of us,
especially since many of
us have, or will have,
connections to the United States
Patent and Trademark Office.
As a patent holder
myself, I find this bill
extremely important.
(laughter)
(applause)
I will now share with you all a
bit about my invention and how I
came up with it.
One night, when I was about
14, I was brushing my teeth or
something and stared
down at the floor.
I was tired, so my
mind started wandering.
And then I was like, hey, the
floor tiles could be the lids of
containers and I could have
extra storage space in here.
I further developed the idea and
filed for a patent in January
of 2008.
I heard back from the U.S.
PTO in the fall of 2009.
My application was
initially rejected,
so I went to visit the
examiner to argue my case.
(laughter)
(applause)
When I entered the building,
security didn't know what to do
with me because I was too young
to have a government I.D.
(laughter)
In the end, I was able to
convince the examiner and was
awarded my first
patent on June 1, 2010.
(applause)
I am currently further
developing this invention in the
prototyping tech lab so that it
can be commercialized and save
space in apartments
and homes other --
and other buildings
as well in the future.
While I am proud of
my accomplishment,
my passion for innovation is
not unique at Thomas Jefferson.
Everyone here is full of ideas
and has the capability to move
those ideas out of their heads
and into the real world.
I'm excited that we'll be
able to take advantage of the
important changes being made
to modernize the patent law.
Please join me now in welcoming
the President of the United
States, Barack Obama.
(applause)
The President:
Thank you.
Thank you so much, everybody.
Please, please have a seat.
I am thrilled to be here at
Thomas Jefferson High School for
Science and Technology.
And thank you so much for
the wonderful welcome.
I want to thank Rebecca for
the unbelievable introduction.
Give Rebecca a big hand.
(applause)
In addition to Rebecca, on
stage we've got some very
important people.
First of all, before we do, I
want to thank your wonderful
principal, Dr. Evan
Glazer, who's right here.
(applause)
Stand up, Evan.
Yay!
(applause)
The people who are responsible
for making some great progress
on reforming our patent
laws here today --
Senator Patrick
Leahy of Vermont --
(applause)
-- and Lamar Smith,
Republican from Texas.
(applause)
And in addition, we've got
Representative Bob Goodlatte,
Representative Jim Moran,
Representative Melvin Watt
are all here.
(applause)
Becky Blank, who's our Acting
Secretary of Commerce.
(applause)
David Kappos, who's the
Director of U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office.
(applause)
And we've got some extraordinary
business leaders here --
Louis Foreman, CEO of Eventys.
(applause)
Jessica Matthews, CEO
of Uncharted Play.
(applause)
Ellen Kullman, CEO of Dupont.
(applause)
John Lechleiter,
CEO of Eli Lilly.
(applause)
And we've got another
outstanding student --
Karishma Popli
-- your classmate.
(applause)
This is one of the best high
schools in the country.
(applause)
And as you can see, it's
filled with some pretty
impressive students.
I have to say, when I was
a freshman in high school,
none of my work
was patent-worthy.
(laughter)
I was -- we had an exhibit of
some of the projects that you
guys are doing, and the first
high school student satellite,
a wheel-chair controlled
by brain waves, robots.
There's one thing -- I
don't know exactly how to
describe it --
(laughter)
-- but it's measuring
toxicity in the oceans.
It's unbelievable stuff.
So, to the students here, I
could not be more impressed by
what you guys are doing.
I'm hoping that I will learn
something just by being
close to you --
(laughter)
-- that through osmosis --
(laughter and applause)
-- I will soak in
some knowledge.
I already feel smarter
just standing here.
(laughter)
One President who would have
loved this school is the person
that it's named after
-- Thomas Jefferson.
He was a pretty good
inventor himself,
and he also happened to be the
first American to oversee our
country's patent process.
And that's why we're here today.
When Thomas Edison filed his
patent for the phonograph,
his application was approved
in just seven weeks.
And these days, that
process is taking an average
of three years.
Over the last decade,
patent applications have
nearly tripled.
And because the Patent Office
doesn't have the resources to
deal with all of them, right
now there are about 700,000
applications that haven't
even been opened yet.
These are jobs and businesses
of the future just waiting to
be created.
The CEOs who are
represented here today,
all of them are running
companies that were based on
creativity and invention and
the ability to commercialize
good ideas.
And somewhere in that stack of
applications could be the next
technological breakthrough,
the next miracle drug,
the next idea that will launch
the next Fortune 500 company.
And somewhere in this country
-- maybe in this room --
is the next Thomas
Edison or Steve Jobs,
just waiting for a chance to
turn their idea into a new,
thriving business.
So we can't afford to drag
our feet any longer --
not at a time when we should
be doing everything we can to
create good, middle-class jobs
that put Americans back to work.
And we have always succeeded
because we have been the most
dynamic, innovative
economy in the world.
That has to be encouraged.
That has to be continued.
We have to do everything we can
to encourage the entrepreneurial
spirit, wherever we find it.
We should be helping American
companies compete and sell their
products all over the world.
We should be making it easier
and faster to turn new ideas
into new jobs and
new businesses.
And we should knock down any
barriers that stand in the way.
Because if we're going to create
jobs now and in the future,
we're going to have to out-build
and out-educate and out-innovate
every other country on Earth.
We've got a lot of
competition out there.
And if we make it too hard
for people with good ideas to
attract investment and
get them to market,
then countries like China are
going to beat us at it and beat
us to it.
So that's why I asked Congress
to send me a bill that reforms
the outdated patent process; a
bill that cuts away the red tape
that slows down our
inventors and entrepreneurs.
And today, I'm happy to have
the opportunity to finally
sign that bill.
It's a bill that will put a dent
in the huge stack of patent
applications waiting for review.
It will help startups and small
business owners turn their ideas
into products three times
faster than they can today.
And it will improve patent
quality and help give
entrepreneurs the protection
and the confidence they need to
attract investment, to
grow their businesses,
and to hire more workers.
So I want to thank all the
members of Congress for helping
to get this done.
I especially want to thank
Patrick Leahy and Lamar Smith,
who led the process in a
bipartisan way in the House and
in the Senate.
I have to take this opportunity
while I've got some members of
Congress here to say I've
got another bill that --
(laughter)
-- I want them to get passed
to help the economy right away.
It's called the
American Jobs Act.
(applause)
And these things are connected.
This change in our patent laws
is part of our agenda for making
us competitive
over the long term.
But we've also got a
short-term economic crisis,
a set of challenges that we
have to deal with right now.
And what the American Jobs Act
does is it puts more people back
to work and it puts more
money into the pockets of
working Americans.
And everything in the proposal,
everything in the American Jobs
Act, is the kind of proposal
that's been supported by
Democrats and
Republicans in the past.
Everything in it
will be paid for.
And you can read the plan for
yourselves during all the free
time that you guys have
here at Thomas Jefferson --
(laughter)
-- on WhiteHouse.gov.
I want Congress to pass
this jobs bill right away.
Let me give you an example
of why this is relevant.
We're surrounded today by
outstanding teachers --
men and women who prepare our
young people to compete in a
global economy.
If Congress passes
this jobs bill,
then we can get thousands of
teachers all across the country
who've been laid off because of
difficulties at the state and
local level with
their budgets --
we can get them back to
work, back in the classroom.
This jobs bill will put
unemployed construction workers
back to work rebuilding our
schools and our roads and
our bridges.
And it will give tax credits
to companies that hire our
veterans, because if
you serve our country,
you shouldn't have to worry
about finding a job when
you get home.
It connects the long-term
unemployed to temporary work to
keep their skills sharp while
they're looking for a job,
and it gives thousands of
young people the hope of a job
next summer.
And it will cut taxes for every
middle-class family and small
business owner in America.
And if you're a small business
owner that hires more workers
and raises salaries, you
get an extra tax cut.
It won't add to the deficit.
And we'll pay for it by
following the same rules that
every family follows: Spend
money on things you need,
cut back on things you don't.
And we'll make sure that
everybody pays their fair share,
including those of us who've
been incredibly fortunate and
blessed in this country.
So, this bill answers the urgent
need to create jobs right away.
But, as I said, we
can't stop there.
We have to look further down the
road and build an economy that
lasts into the future -- and
that's going to depend on the
talents of young people like you
-- an economy that creates good,
middle-class jobs that pay
well and offer families a sense
of security.
We live in a world that
is changing so rapidly,
companies like the ones
represented here today,
they can set up shop
anywhere where there's an
Internet connection.
And if we want startups here and
if we want established companies
like a Dupont or a Eli Lilly to
continue to make products here
and hire here, then we're going
to have to be able to compete
with any other country
around the world.
So this patent bill will
encourage that innovation.
But there are other
steps that we can take.
Today, for example, my
administration is announcing a
new center that will help
companies reduce the time and
cost of developing
lifesaving drugs.
When scientists and researchers
at the National Institutes of
Health discover a new
cure or breakthrough,
we're going to make it easier
for startup companies to sell
those products to the
people who need them.
We got more than 100
universities and companies to
agree that they'll work together
to bring more inventions to
market as fast as possible.
And we're also developing a
strategy to create jobs in
biotechnology, which has
tremendous promise for health,
clean energy and
the environment.
Now, to help this country
compete for new jobs and
businesses, we also need to
invest in basic research and
technology, so the great ideas
of the future will be born in
our labs and in
classrooms like these.
You guys have such an
unbelievable head start already,
but as you go to MIT
and Cal Tech and UVA,
and wherever else you
guys are going to go,
what you're going to find is, is
that the further you get along
in your pursuits the more
you're going to be relying on
research grants.
And government are -- always
play a critical role in
financing the basic research
that then leads to all sorts
of inventions.
So we're going to have to make
sure that we're continuing to
invest in basic research so you
can do the work that you're
capable of -- and still pay
the rent, which is important,
you will find out.
(laughter)
We need to continue to provide
incentives and support to make
sure that the next generation of
manufacturing takes root not in
China or in Europe, but right
here in the United States --
because it's not enough
to invent things here;
our workers should also be
building the products that are
stamped with three proud
words: Made in America.
(applause)
And if we want companies
to hire our workers,
we need to make sure we give
every American the skills and
education that they
need to compete.
We've got to have more schools
like Thomas Jefferson.
And it's got to start even
before kindergarten and
preschool, and
before high school.
The reason that you guys are
doing so well is you had a
foundation very early on in math
and science and language arts
that allowed you to succeed
even at a very young age.
We've got to make sure that
opportunity is available
for all kids.
All kids.
(applause)
Including this little
guy right here.
(laughter)
With the hair.
(applause)
That's why we're boosting
science and technology and
engineering and math education
all across the country.
And that's why we're also
working with businesses to train
more engineers, and revitalize
our community colleges so they
can provide our workers with
new skills and training.
And, finally, that's why we're
making sure that all of our
children can afford to fulfill
their dream of a college
education -- that they can
afford to go to school and that
Pell grants and student loan
programs ensure that they don't
come out of college
with mountains of debt.
(applause)
So, this is the economy
we need to build --
one where innovation
is encouraged,
education is a national mission,
and new jobs and businesses take
root right here in America.
So that's the long-term project.
We still have a
short-term agenda,
and that is putting
people to work right now.
We've got to do everything we
can to get this economy growing
faster in the short term.
That's why I'm asking members
of Congress to meet their
responsibilities -- send me the
American Jobs Act right away.
There are folks in Washington
who may be fine waiting until
the next election to settle our
differences and move forward.
But the next election
is 14 months away.
The American people
can't wait that long.
There are a lot of people
out there who are living
paycheck-to-paycheck,
even day-to-day.
They're working hard; they're
making tough choices;
they're meeting their
responsibilities.
But they need us to do the same.
So I need everybody
who's listening,
here and across the
country, tell Congress,
pass the American Jobs Act.
We came together to
pass patent reform.
We should be able to come
together to also put people
back to work.
And to all the students
at Thomas Jefferson,
I could not be prouder of you.
I expect that among you
are going to be incredible
scientists and engineers
and business leaders.
You guys are going to
transform the world.
And I'm just looking forward
to taking advantage of the
incredible science and
technology that you develop in
the years to come.
You guys are our future.
And whenever I see what young
people like you are doing,
I know that America's future
is going to be bright.
Thank you so much, everybody.
(applause)
God bless you.
God bless the United
States of America.
(applause)
(cross-talk)
(camera shutters clicking)
The President:
You never know (inaudible) not
always distributed properly.
All right guys, congratulations.
(applause)
♪♪(music playing)♪♪
