WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Monday, December 10, 2012, Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation will honor 39th Annual National Inventor of the Year Alex Kipman, 2012 Distinguished IP Professional Judge James Holderman, and the six winners of the Second Annual IP Video Contest, in a ceremony at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery. Members of the media can RSVP to attend by contacting Colleen Wellington-Caban at 202/507-4502 or cwellington-caban@ipo.org.

The National Inventor of the Year Award fosters the spirit of American innovation. This year the Foundation will present its award to Alex Kipman from Microsoft for his role on the team that invented Kinect, the motion sensing input device developed for the Xbox 360 video game system and Windows PCs. According to an article in New York Times Magazine on May 31, 2012, Kinect set "a Guinness World Record for the fastest-selling consumer device ever," selling 8 million units in the first 60 days after its release. Kinect revolutionized personal entertainment with its ability to fully recognize and adapt a human's form and gestures into video game and other entertainment experiences. Among other honors, Kipman was named one of TIME Magazine's 2011 100 People of the Year.

The Distinguished IP Professional award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership in the intellectual property community and a lifetime commitment to invention and innovation. This year the Foundation recognizes the Honorable James F. Holderman, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois. During his more than twenty-five years on the bench, Chief Judge Holderman has presided over numerous cases in all areas of federal jurisdiction. Currently the Northern District of Illinois is one of fourteen United States district courts participating in a ten-year program designed to evaluate the adjudication of patent cases. Chief Judge Holderman teaches IP courses at John Marshall Law School and at the University of Illinois College of Law. He has been honored numerous times for his contributions to the intellectual property community.

The Foundation created its IP Video Contest in 2011 to educate teens and the public about the importance of the patent system. Young adults in three age categories are asked to illustrate in an original video why they think the patent system is important. Winners receive scholarships and cash prizes. The 2012 winners are Alexis Salcedo of Bethesda, MD and Sam Marlott of Elmhurst, IL in the 13-15 category, Lewie Kloster of Minneapolis, MN and Jason Girouard of Brimfield, MA in the 16-18 category, and Reggie Schickel of Urbana, IL and Matthew Kim of Temecula, CA in the 19 and over category. Their outstanding videos are posted on the contest website at www.ipvideocontest.com.

SOURCE Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation