Article One Partners, With Support From USPTO, Offers New Opportunities to Veterans

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Apr 9, 2013) -  All veterans, especially those returning from recent combat, need support. One important means of support is through the private sector. In general, the latest jobs report shows slight improvement in unemployment, but unemployment remains high for US veterans. Nearly one out of every ten veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan struggles to find work, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Article One Partners (AOP), the world's largest patent research community, with the support of the USPTO, is working to provide new opportunities for veterans. The precise training and deep analytical skills that veterans acquire in the military make them ideal candidates for patent research.

"AOP is devoted to supporting our veterans and is honored to launch a program that gives something back to these heroes," said Cheryl Milone, CEO and founder of AOP. "At AOP, we want to build on success. We already have several veterans who have been successful on our platform. Now, we want to expand this success into a formal program."

The AOP Veterans Program is a unique web-based career learning opportunity within the intellectual property (IP) industry. It aims to give veterans hands-on experience and education in the IP field. The program makes veterans aware of the skills and training required to compete for IP-related jobs and exposes them to career opportunities.

"I am excited to compete to win the $5,000 reward from AOP," said Judy Leonard, a U.S. Air Force veteran who signed up for the program. She added, "More than anything, I look forward to learning about new opportunities for me and my fellow veterans."

The AOP Veterans Program will engage veterans in a series of competitive research projects focused on pending patent applications to provide participants with functional training and education. As they learn about patents and patent research, veterans will also be helping to improve patent quality. AOP will submit art discovered by participating veterans to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) under the new rules enabled by the America Invents Act (AIA).

"Our agency applauds such efforts," said USPTO Chief Administrative Officer Frederick W. Steckler, a U.S. Navy veteran. "This is the kind of innovative private sector initiative that the America Invents Act was meant to enable. Having veterans and other third parties contribute prior art to the patent examination process can help strengthen patent quality. It is a win-win for everyone involved."

To increase career awareness, the program will also include interactive career learning sessions from IP executives. These sessions will discuss career opportunities for veterans and the skills necessary to succeed in the intellectual property industry.

"I am honored to be part of the AOP Veterans Program to provide veterans much needed support as they transition to civilian life. Through the career learning session, I hope to provide participating veterans with some insights about careers in the IP industry," said Tony Baca, IP Litigation Manager at Hewlett-Packard.

"One of the most pressing issues in my district is jobs," said Jackie Speier, U.S. Representative for California's 14th congressional district. "This program gives veterans a chance to learn about the IP industry while they also expand skills in research."

The AOP Veterans Program will launch on April 8, 2013 and will run for six weeks. At the end of the program, AOP will award $5,000 to the most successful veteran.

The AOP Veterans Program is for veterans who have an interest in research, science, technology and intellectual property. To register, visit the Article One Partners Veterans Program Registration. 

About Article One Partners
Article One Partners (AOP) has revolutionized the transparency of patent data. Today, AOP is the world's largest patent research community. The company has distributed requests for prior art research to more than one million scientists and technologists using a global online human search engine. AOP is active in 170 countries and is exceptionally successful in identifying non-textual and non-patent literature. The company is a partner to 16 Fortune 100 companies, 51 Forbes Global 2000 and 7 of the top 10 US patent filers. AOP's client satisfaction rate exceeds 90%.

AOP has a distinguished Board, led by Marshall Phelps, the former head of patents and licensing at IBM and Microsoft. Founded in 2008 by patent community leader, inventor and entrepreneur, CEO Cheryl Milone, the company's product offerings have been called "revolutionary" and "game changing" by leading authorities. In short, many consider AOP to be the new industry standard.