N.C. A&T to Launch Intellectual Property Clinic on Oct. 18

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Oct. 2, 2021) – The Intellectual Property (IP) Clinic at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University will host its official launch Monday, Oct. 18, at noon.

The IP Clinic – a free, virtual event that is open to the public – is a collaborative effort between the university’s Center of Excellence in Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEE&I), Center of Excellence in Cybersecurity Research, Education and Outreach (CREO), Center of Excellence in Product Design and Advanced Manufacturing (CEPDAM), and the office of IP Development and Commercialization.

Tomeka Oubichon of the Eastern Regional Outreach Office, Office of the Under Secretary and Director, United States Patent and Trademark Office, will be the keynote speaker.

North Carolina A&T visiting scholar Sandra K. Johnson, Ph.D., will lead the clinic and present it along with Laura Collins, Ph.D., the university’s director of IP Development and Commercialization.

The IP Clinic has scheduled presentations by invited inventors, entrepreneurs and IP attorneys. It also will host office hours to enable students to schedule meetings with IP attorneys and subject matter experts, each of whom can advise innovators on patentability and best practices for aligning patent protection with business development. In addition, it will provide training on IP protection to students who want to be peer advisors.

Those who engage with the IP Clinic can expect to learn about what patents are all about and how to transform their ideas into a patent application, said Johnson, who has 37 patents to her name.

“The IP Clinic is designed to foster a collaborative environment of innovation, entrepreneurship, invention, and creativity throughout campus and will be the go-to resource for any IP questions in the student community,” said Johnson.

The IP Clinic is working with the university alumni network to establish an N.C. A&T Patent Fund, which will provide support for select students submitting a provisional patent application to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.

“The IP Clinic will help students and employees transform their own personal innovations into IP assets that can benefit their entrepreneurial path and will help establish N.C. A&T as a leader for IP asset creation for campus innovators,” said Collins.

Details, including the Oct. 18 event schedule and speakers, can be found at https://www.ncat.edu/provost/academic-affairs/ceei/index.php.

To register, go to https://ncat.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAtceygpjIqEtShfax8qtIOql8MCmnhAXzW.

For more information, call Johnson at 984-377-2292 or Collins at 336-285-3188, or email ceei@ncat.edu.