116 STAT. 3286 PROCLAMATION 7582-AUG. 14, 2002 fice has grown to become a modern institution of ideas and innovations. For 200 years, millions of inventors have sought to protect their inventions through the American patent system. These patented inventions include Thomas Edison's electric lamp, Alexander Graham Bell's telegraphy, Orville and Wilbur Wright's flying machine, John Deere's steel plow, George Washington Carver's use of legume oils to produce cosmetics and paint, and Edwin Land's Polaroid camera. In 1881, the functions of the Patent Office grew to also include the registration of trademarks. Today, the United States Patent and Trademark Office annually receives more than 326,000 patent applications and 232,000 trademark applications. Since the signing of the first Patent Act over two centuries ago, more than 6.3 million United States patents have been issued. The United States Patent and Trademark Office represents one of the largest repositories of scientific and technical knowledge in the world, and much of this information is available on the Internet. Similarly, 2 million current trademark registrations are also available online. As the Patent Office enters its third century, we commend the important work of the United States Patent and Trademark Office that supports scientific, technological, and intellectual property developments; promotes growth in our economy; and encourages increased prosperity for our Nation. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim the Bicentennial of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. I call upon all Americans to recognize this anniversary with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities, thereby honoring the Office's many scientific, economic, and cultural contributions to our Nation and the world. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty- ninth day of July, in the year of our Lord two thousand two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-seventh. GEORGE W. BUSH Proclamation 7582 of August 14, 2002 National Airborne Day, 2002 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation The history of Airborne forces began after World War I, when Brigadier General William Mitchell first conceived the idea of parachuting troops into combat. Eventually, under the leadership of Major William Lee at Fort Benning, Georgia, members of the Parachute Test Platoon pioneered methods of combat jumping in 1940. In November 1942, members of the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, conducted America's first combat jump, leaping from a C-47 aircraft be-
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