HBCU IP Futures Collaborative
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About The Program
Intellectual property is fundamental to today’s economy, where an organization’s most valuable assets include patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. Yet multiple studies, including research from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), document overwhelming, systemic barriers facing underrepresented inventors.Â
Despite a rise in intellectual property developed by HBCUs since 2010, they have yet to fully harness their IP-generating potential. This is consistent with persistent opportunity gaps in the arena of innovation and invention as a whole, and has been reflected in the small percentage of patents issued to women and people of color.
According to the Innovation Alliance, people of color and low-income individuals apply for and hold far fewer patents than white males, which is contributing to an imbalance in entrepreneurial and startup success rates.
Launched in 2021, the HBCU IP Futures Collaborative supports the awareness, understanding, and development of IP by seeding education hubs across Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The initiative establishes an annual community of practice cohort to support educators so they are equipped to share the importance of IP rights and strategy across disciplines including business, entrepreneurship, STEM, and creative fields.
The goals of The HBCU IP Futures Collaborative are to:
Offer robust IP content
Offer robust educational content focused on intellectual property (IP) rights and grow the adoption and integration of Michelson IP’s digital resources across curricula and programming at participating institutions.
Create an educational community
Create a community of practice with participating faculty members to share best practices and insights for IP subject matter instruction across disciplines.
Share the importance of IP protection
Promote and share the importance of IP protection and awareness among the business, entrepreneurship, STEM, engineering, maker, and creative communities of participating HBCU institutions.
PARTICIPATING COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES
The Challenge and Opportunity
HBCU IP Futures also aims to uplift contributions from emerging Black researchers, entrepreneurs, and creators. HBCUs have long been hubs of innovation across diverse fields, from medical research, to agriculture, to the arts. They have been particularly successful in graduating students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields;
< 1%
of U.S.-born inventors are African American
50%
of all African American engineers are HBCU graduates
1 in 4
African American graduates with STEM degrees come from HBCUs
The impact and strength of this ecosystem is the reason we have partnered with educators at these institutions to create the HBCU IP Futures Collaborative. If you’re interested in participating in the next cohort of the HBCU IP Futures Collaborative, we welcome you to fill out our interest form.
Access Our Impact Report
Learn more about how Michelson IP has partnered with HBCUs to empower the evolving IP ecosystems at their institutions. Download the Report.
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