IP Champion

Recognizing extraordinary leadership in advocating for the value of
intellectual property to stimulate the progress of innovation.

2022 IP Champion
Dr. Gary Michelson, Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property 

IPO Education Foundation is pleased to present the 2022 IP Champion award to Dr. Gary Michelson. Dr. Gary K. Michelson, M.D. is a board certified orthopedic spinal surgeon, inventor, and founder of a network of foundations. A holder of more than 950 patents, Dr. Michelson has long championed a strong patent system and the value of IP protections. In 2016, he established the Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property (Michelson IP) at his education nonprofit the Michelson 20MM Foundation, providing free intellectual property educational resources for inventors and entrepreneurs, with a strong focus on underrepresented communities. He continues to promote the value of IP to stimulate the progress of innovation by offering free curriculum to universities, as well as through programs like the HBCU IP Futures Collaborative, bringing IP curricula, resources, and grants to participating institutions.

Dr. Michelson was honored during the Awards Celebration December 7 in Washington, DC.

2021

Lisa Cook, Michigan State University

2019

Andrei Iancu, Director USPTO

2018

Joe Kiani Founder, Chairman, & CEO Masimo