2020 Newsletter: October-December

December 31, 2020

New Strategic Initiative to Prioritize Innovation and Creation By, Within, and For Underrepresented Communities

IPO Education Foundation has adopted a new strategic mission that prioritizes IP education in underrepresented communities. The strategic framework linked here provides information about IPO Education Foundation’s new goals. In order to be successful and accomplish the mission, the Foundation is seeking strategic partners. If you or your company is interested in collaborating with the Foundation on its new strategic focus or can recommend strategic partners, please contact Program Manager, Kristen Lurye, klurye@ipo.org or 202-507-4502. We are looking forward to sharing progress on this new initiative in the coming months.

20th Anniversary and Awards Celebration

The 20th Anniversary and Awards Celebration was held December 8-10 to recognize outstanding achievements in the fields of innovation, creativity, and IP rights. The event began with a keynote address by Executive of the Year, Ken Frazier (Merck & Co. Inc). Mr. Frazier’s remarks were consistent with IPOEF’s new strategic initiative. He addressed the importance of diversity in innovation and improving our quality of life. Sessions that followed featured Inventor of the Year, Pat Brown (Impossible Foods), who spoke about why he started Impossible Foods and how he hopes to positively impact the environment and Distinguished IP Professional, Honorable Kathleen O’Malley (Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit) who spoke about her time on the bench and her perspective on the IP system. Board members Dave Kappos (Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP) and Robert DeBerardine (Johnson & Johnson) led panel discussions about the importance of intellectual property protection to accelerate innovation as well as to respond quickly in a crisis.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To highlight the Foundation’s new strategic initiative and to close out the three-day Celebration, IPOEF board member Phyllis Turner-Brim (HP Inc.) led a fireside chat with Dr. Lisa Cook (Michigan State University). Dr. Cook shared how she decided to enter the field of economics and what it was like presenting her research back when the topic of diversity was less appreciated. Ms. Turner-Brim and Dr. Cook spoke about the barriers that people of color and women face and what the innovation and practitioner community would really look like by removing these barriers. A networking workshop led by IPO’s Diversity & Inclusion and Women in IP Committees followed, where attendees met in small groups to discuss Dr. Cook’s research and talk through the questions:
  • What root causes do you believe are present today that prevent people of color from inventing and why?
  • What types of programs and/or policies can help address the identified root causes?
  • Name one action step you can take to help address the issue of patent racism.
If you were unable to attend the 20th Anniversary Celebration, recordings of the sessions can be found at IPOEF.org.
Sponsor Spotlight
Learn about IPO Education Foundation Platinum Donor
At Finnegan, we believe that a successful Diversity, Equity & Inclusion program must encompass recruitment, training, and mentoring/sponsorship programs. One of the ways we are measuring success across these efforts includes hands-on opportunities to interact directly with clients and opportunities to influence decision-making within the firm.
Approximately 40% of our associate pipeline is Diverse (including: women, LGBTQ+, and attorneys of color), and we continue working diligently to enhance the diversity of our future associate classes. For instance, in summer 2020 approximately 70% of our summer class was Diverse.
We are committed to hiring a Diverse pipeline of associates with partnerships at historically Diverse engineering and science undergraduate and graduate programs educating Diverse students on careers in intellectual property law. We also cast a wide net in our search for identifying and hiring qualified Diverse law students. While we are pleased with our hiring successes, we understand that the “proof is in the pudding” when it comes to retaining and promoting Diverse talent. Finnegan has a number of initiatives designed to effectuate these goals…
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Board Members Promote the Importance of IP
In collaboration with IPOEF partner, The Michelson Foundation for Intellectual Property, Dave Kappos (Cravath, Swaine, & Moore LLP) presented at the National Association for Community College Entrepreneruship (NACCE) annual conference in November. Mr. Kappos spoke about the importance of teaching students about intellectual property with dynamic case studies in order to engage students in real life examples and connect through familiar scenarios. The top takeaways from the presentation can be found on NACCE.com.
Louis Foreman (Enventys) volunteered as a speaker for a virtual “Ask Me Anything” session on intellectual property hosted by The Michelson Foundation for Intellectual Property and the Lemelson-MIT Program. Mr. Foreman spoke alongside Nicole Morris, Director of TI:GER Program and Professor in Practice, Emory University School of Law. Together they advised students and innovators about the invention process and common questions about how to protect their intellectual property including:
1. What are the most significant challenges to obtaining a patent?
2. How can you avoid infringement pitfalls?
3. What is the difference between a trademark and a design patent?
IP Patch Update
Since launching the IP Patch program in 2012, IPO Education Foundation has helped thousands of students grades 2-10 learn about intellectual property and careers in STEM. IPOEF offers the free curriculum to educators and groups as well as a toolkit explaining how to host your own event in your community or within your organization. This year, IPO Education Foundation distributed over 3,500 patches to students who completed the program! To host your own IP Patch event at home virtually, at a school, or within your organization access the toolkit at IPOEF.org and contact foundation@ipo.org with any questions.
Support IPO Education Foundation 
You can support the Foundation’s important initiative by becoming a partner or donating to support programming.
If your organization has a diversity and inclusion committee or an affiliated diversity-based group, please consider sharing that information with us by emailing foundation@ipo.org. Partnerships and donations are necessary to implement the vision and continue to develop high quality, effective programming. IPO Education Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit and is funded entirely by contributions. You can donate on IPOEF.org or by mailing a check to IPO Education Foundation, 1501 M St NW Ste 1150, Washington, DC 20005.