BETHESDA, Md. –
At Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division, innovation is more than a breakthrough in the lab. It is a lineage that stretches back more than a century and continues to shape how the Navy protects and advances its intellectual capital.
The practice of safeguarding Navy innovation at Carderock traces back to Rear Adm. David W. Taylor, whose groundbreaking work in ship design and model testing earned him 13 patents from the late 1890s through the 1930s. More than a century later, that tradition of inventiveness remains central to how Carderock protects and advances Navy innovation.
Capt. Chris Matassa, Carderock’s commanding officer, highlighted how Carderock’s current inventors continue the command’s long tradition of technical innovation.
“We have a proud tradition here of inventing useful technologies and then ultimately patenting them,” Matassa said. “It's great to be able to continue the tradition that our founder started.”
Today, the patent process plays a strategic role in ensuring that Carderock’s early-stage technologies remain assets the Navy can rely on as they evolve into future systems and capabilities. It also supports Naval Sea Systems Command’s (NAVSEA) broader mission priorities by reinforcing Carderock’s technical authority and preserving access to high-value technologies as they mature.
Patents as strategic leverage
As the Navy's primary center for ship and ship system innovation, Carderock delivers world-class, cost-effective, and groundbreaking technical solutions for advanced ships and systems to strengthen the U.S. maritime industrial base and ensure long-term maritime superiority. These inventions often become the building blocks of future Navy systems, platforms, and processes.
From the Office of Counsel’s perspective, patents create essential leverage long before a technology reaches a program of record.
“Building a robust patent portfolio allows Carderock, and the broader U.S. Navy, to have negotiating latitude in the formulation of major Navy programs,” said Jesus Hernandez, Carderock’s associate counsel for intellectual property. “Patents are strategic tools that protect investment, expand options, and help sustain a culture of innovation.”
That leverage can influence competition, timelines, contracting terms, long-term sustainment considerations and pricing, said Hernandez, giving the Navy a stronger negotiating position when technologies are ready to develop at scale.
Patents as enablers of technology transition
Patents are also a critical enabler for technology transition. Carderock’s Technology Transfer Office manages the process that allows innovations to move beyond the laboratory and into the hands of companies, partners, and eventually, the fleet.
Intellectual property (IP) is the broad category of legal protections applied to intangible creations such as inventions, secrets, commercial symbols, and artistic works. Different types of IP correspond to different kinds of assets: inventions are protected through patents; confidential know-how through trade secrets; product names and symbols through trademarks; and creative works through copyrights. Patents are one of the most important forms of IP for Carderock because they safeguard the technologies our researchers develop and allow those technologies to be responsibly advanced, shared, or commercialized. The process ensures that Carderock research is protected and positioned to create real-world impact.
However, even with strong IP protection, moving an invention beyond the patent stage remains one of the hardest parts of the innovation lifecycle.
In a 2018 NAVSEA article about Carderock’s partnership with the FedTech program, Joseph Teter, director of technology transfer, explained the challenge: “The benefit for Carderock is that we’re exposing our scientists and engineers to a new way of thinking about how they interact with companies and get their technology to the point where it’s usable by the Navy. It’s great to come up with a new idea and then patent that idea. But then you have to take that idea and see if you can get it to the fleet. That’s difficult.”
Teter’s perspective highlights an important point that’s still relevant years later: securing a patent is only the first step. This is where Carderock’s patent portfolio becomes more than an archive of ideas – it becomes a platform for partnership.
“A patent portfolio allows the Navy to support startups, spin-offs, small businesses, and even large businesses interested in developing defense technologies,” Hernandez said. “Our patents can be licensed or paired with collaborative technology transfer arrangements that leverage the amazing facilities here at Carderock.”
In cases where Navy-owned technologies are licensed, any revenue that is generated may support both the inventor and the command. Inventors may receive financial awards, and remaining funds can be reinvested into Navy research and technology transfer activities to help sustain future innovation.
Recognizing the workforce behind the innovation
While patents serve many strategic functions, they also reflect something more personal: the creativity, discipline, and perseverance of Carderock’s workforce.
Although the rights to each invention belong to the U.S. government, every patent issued at Carderock bears the inventor’s name, recognizing the individual expertise behind the work. Patentees are honored not only through financial awards but also at the command’s annual Patent Awards Ceremony, reinforcing a culture where innovation is both encouraged and celebrated.
Hernandez explained that securing a patent is a rigorous process and a meaningful milestone. Within the scientific and engineering community, patents represent technical excellence and serve as an informal marker of an individual’s innovative capacity.
“The research and innovation that's involved in these patents reinforces Carderock’s core values of integrity, innovation and excellence,” Matassa said. “I commend our inventors for their curiosity, their technical skill, and their perseverance. Their work directly supports our mission and strengthens the capabilities our warfighters depend on.”
A tradition that will continue to shape the Navy
From Rear Adm. Taylor’s propeller designs more than a century ago, to today’s advanced materials, hydrodynamic tools, and manufacturing technologies, Carderock’s commitment to invention has remained constant. As the Navy continues to advance its capabilities, the practice of protecting those innovations, and the people who create them, remains essential to sustaining maritime dominance.