By Ariyana Griffin
AFRO Staff Writer
agriffin@afro.com
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) is now officially the fifth Historically Black College or University (HBCU) to have its campus designated as a Patent and Trademark Resource Center by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The university joins Howard University, Southern University and A&M College, Prairie View A&M and South Carolina State University in becoming a hub for entrepreneurship and innovation.
The Patent and Trademark Resource Center is conveniently located in the Frederick Douglass Library. It is open and ready to serve as a valuable resource for the community as well as the student body.
“We are the only patent and trademark resource center on the entire Delmarva Peninsula,” said Dr. Pamela Allison, the endowed chair of entrepreneurship and innovation. “Prior to us opening, you would have to go across The Chesapeake Bay Bridge- about a two-hour drive from here- to another patent and trademark center.”
UMES has offered various trademark and patent boot camps through its Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The sessions cover various topics, from the basics of trademark and patents to practical advice on navigating the application process. The sessions provide students and community members with a comprehensive understanding of entrepreneurship and business maintenance.
The bootcamps are hosted by the United States Patent and Trademark Organization’s experts and feature application reviewers who can let people know what makes a successful application and what doesn’t.
“The patent and trademark resource center will help them to search to see if there are other products out there already like theirs to save them some time and a lot of money – it is expensive to pursue a patent or a trademark,” said Dr. Allison, “If you have a great idea, you need to protect that intellectual property.”
Frederick Douglass Library librarians have been trained to assist in utilizing the center as a research resource. They can guide people through checking if an idea has already been trademarked and patented, making the center accessible to all.
Sharon Brooks, the acting director of library services at UMES, shared that the center is essential because it can “take away some of the hesitations and fear from people who would want to become an entrepreneur.”
“As long as they know that someone is here to help them, I think they would make more progress rather than just thinking, ‘I can’t do this, where do I go?’” said Brooks. “Being here at the university I think would give people more confidence because they know they have a place to go.”
Brooks shared that she is excited to collaborate with the community and students to help develop more programming and help bring some of their ideas to fruition.
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