Frederick Douglass Library chosen as a patent and trademark center for entrepreneurs

UMES becomes fifth HBCU to receive U.S. Patent Office designation

Aspiring entrepreneurs at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore – and in the local community – now have a place to help them create their next big idea.

In July, UMES became the fifth HBCU designated as a Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC) by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) – and the only one of its kind on the entire Eastern Shore.

Adding the PTRC was a natural progression for UMES’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI).

“In the past, we’ve hosted trademark boot camps for entrepreneurs where they can come in with an idea and by the end of the day, be ready to file their trademark application,” said Dr. Pamela Allison, endowed chair of the CEI. “As we were preparing for a patent boot camp, we were approached with the idea about being a PTRC, and it went from there.”

PTRCs are part of the U.S. Patent Office’s mission “to locally support intellectual property needs of the public by providing a human touch,” according to its website.

UMES joins three other HBCUs – Southern University and A&M College, Prairie View A&M, and South Carolina State University – that received the recognition in the past year. Howard University, which earned the first HBCU designation, has participated in the program since 1986.

UMES’s PTRC will operate out of the Frederick Douglass Library, where library staff will help patrons utilize the resource center to research their proposed patents.

Sharon Brooks, acting director of library services at UMES, said she recognized bringing the PTRC idea to the library was a natural extension of the staff’s roles.

“We knew it would be a plus because of the opportunities offered to the UMES students, faculty, staff, and the community,” Brooks said. “There’s a network of resources that patrons can utilize to research their ideas.”

Allison added that having the PTRC on campus increases the opportunity to “set entrepreneurs up for success” in what can be a challenging process.

“The patent and trademark process can be very expensive and you don’t want to make a mistake where you find someone out there has something similar to your idea,” she said. “We want to be a resource center that can help alleviate those concerns of making an expensive mistake.”

The PTRC will officially open Oct. 2 in the Frederick Douglass Library.