2021 Newsletter: July-September

September 30, 2021

Join IPO Education Foundation for the Annual Fundraising Event December 7-9
IPO Education Foundation will host its annual Awards Celebration and fundraising event December 7-9. The Awards Celebration will take place virtually and will include an education track for IP professionals and one for students. The program is designed to address the challenges unique to underserved and diverse communities. The student track features content created for Foundation partners, which include STEM students and professionals from diverse communities. The IP professional track features content for IPO members and other IP professionals. To learn more about the virtual event and how you can attend, please visit IPOEF.org/awards-celebration. For questions about sponsor opportunities contact Fundraising and Program Manager, Kristen Lurye, klurye@ipo.org or 202-507-4502.
Ten Concrete Ways IP Firms Can Support Diversity
From Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner, P.A.
Certainly, there are no easy answers for how to increase diversity in the intellectual property field. No one firm has this challenging issue completely solved. Yet as we’ve pursued this goal, ten approaches have become apparent that can help to increase diversity in IP, one relationship and one step at a time.
1. Mentorship and sponsorship
2. Continuing education
3. Supporting diverse vendors
4. Asking for honest feedback
5. Helping tell people earlier in their studies and careers about IP
6. Making IP education interesting and accessible
7. Preserving autonomy
8. Creating flexibility
9. Joint programs hosted by companies and law firms
10. Working together
Click Here to Read the Full Article >>
Behind the IDEA Webinar Series
Throughout the year, the Foundation has partnered with the IPO Resource Groups and other strategic partners to create free webinars for high school and college students to highlight innovation by, within, and for underrepresented communities. The Foundation believes that by collaborating with partners to develop educational programs about IP for underserved communities that it will encourage innovation in these communities. In August, the Foundation hosted a copyright webinar sponsored by Corning. Amy Lang (Corning Inc.) and Jaylen Johnson (Office of Public Information and Education at the United States Copyright Office) discussed the basics of copyright including real world examples such as why Taylor Swift was re-recording her music and how copyright frequently comes into play on social media. Ms. Johnson also showed the audience how to register copyrighted works on the US Copyright website.
Don’t miss upcoming webinars celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and Native American innovation sponsored by IBM. The Hispanic Heritage Month webinar titled “Identity and Impact” will be held on October 5 from 5-6pm ET featuring STEM professionals Victor Garcia (nVidia), Augusto Vega (IBM Corp.), and Natalia Russi-Vigoya (IBM Corp.) who will share how their Hispanic heritage has influenced their careers.
On November 9, the Foundation will host a webinar in celebration of Native American innovation. Gary Burnette (Kendryl) will lead a discussion with Native American innovators Tara Astigarraga (IBM Corp.) and Andrea Delgado-Olson (AISES) about the importance of promoting careers in STEM and innovation to the Native American community. Ms. Astigarraga was featured in the season finale of the Stroke of Genius® podcast where she spoke about the challenges around AI and how inventors are looking to solve the problems of the future.
Behind the IDEA webinars are created for high school and college students but are free for anyone who would like to attend! Register online at IPOEF.org/behindtheidea and share within your organizations. If you missed any of the past webinars, they can be found on IPOEF.org or on the Foundation Youtube page.
Innovation and IP Event with North Carolina A&T
IPOEF is partnering with North Carolina A&T to host a three-part virtual, interactive event on October 12 for undergraduate and post doctorate students from underrepresented communities to introduce them to careers in STEM and innovation. Foundation Board Member Mercedes Meyer, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, will kick off the event with a presentation about how to change your mindset from researcher to inventor, followed by a panel moderated by board member Richard Watkins (Medtronic) featuring speakers from IBM, Interdigital, Micron, and University of Pennsylvania. Students will then be divided into small break out groups to meet with speakers and ask questions. If you have connections to universities or associations that would be interested in attending, please contact Kristen Lurye, klurye@ipo.org.
New Partnership to Reach Underrepresented Communities
The Foundation is participating in a mentor program hosted by IEEE and Cricket Media called “TryEngineering Together” to engage with students from underrepresented communities. The goal of the program is to expose students to STEM topics to get them excited about pursuing STEM careers. The Foundation and the 25 volunteers are working with a 5-6 grade classroom at a Title 1, low-income school in Bass Harbor, Maine. Mentors will review topics such as wind energy, invention, and how to make the world better for animals. If you’re interested in getting involved with Foundation programs like this one, please contact Program Manager Kristen Lurye, klurye@ipo.org.
Hot Topics in IP: What is Freedom to Operate
In a partnership between IPO Education Foundation and the Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property, a new issue of Hot Topics in IP titled “What is Freedom to Operate” is now available. Edited by Foundation Board Member Jon Wood (Harding University), the article reviews common questions about the FTO, examples of FTO in action, and tips on how to conduct searches and mitigate risks. The goal of the Hot Topics in IP articles is to make IP fundamentals and key IP issues easily accessible and understandable to the public. The full article can be found on MichelsonIP.com
Corning Hosted IP Patch Events in Their Community
IPO Board Member company Corning Incorporated hosted several IP Patch events this summer using free curriculum from IPO Education Foundation. Corning employees Amy Lang and Anjanette Lecher reached out to local Girl Scouts troops including those from the Haliwa-Saponi and Coharie tribes and hosted events to teach students about the fundamentals of intellectual property and innovation. “We had so much fun and took full advantage of the IP Patch pamphlets that IPOEF offers. The kids loved the event and asked a lot of questions about IP and innovation. They also had some great inventions of their own. Several wanted to invent robots to clean their rooms and make their beds.” To learn more about the IP Patch curriculum and how you can host your own IP Patch event in your community, please visit IPOEF.org/ip-patch or contact Program Manager, Kristen Lurye, klurye@ipo.org or 202-507-4502.
Thank you to the Foundation Silver Donors!
For the full list of donors or to make a contribution please visit IPOEF.org.