The session will provide an overview of intellectual property protection, beginning with the key areas of intellectual property law — patents, trademarks, trade secrets and copyrights — before focusing on the various types of patent protection. Topics will include:
- Statutory requirements for obtaining a patent
- University ownership of inventions
- Differences between patent applications and technical publications
- Distinctions between inventorship and authorship
- Considerations for preserving patent rights in an academic setting
- How to determine when an invention is ready for patenting.
The seminar will be led by attorney Terry Wright of Stites & Harbison PLLC in Louisville, Kentucky, and Amy Melton, director of the Marshall University Technology Transfer Office.
Wright has extensive experience advising clients ranging from small businesses to multinational corporations and regularly develops intellectual property protection plans for a variety of industries, including consumer goods, medical devices and life sciences technologies. With a background in life sciences and academic research, he also counsels companies and university technology transfer offices on patent-based intellectual property strategies.
The seminar is free and open to the public, but registration is required. To register, visit https://events.marshall.edu/event/intellectual-property-virtual-seminar. For more information, contact Melton at 304-696-4365 or email tto@marshall.edu.