Student inventors and entrepreneurs in the state will soon benefit from a $105,000 grant to a law clinic at West Virginia University.
The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation awarded the grant to the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Law Clinic at the WVU College of Law.
The funds will provide legal services for copyright, trademark and patent protection for work by students enrolled in higher education institutions in West Virginia.
“We will also provide general business services,” said Priya Baskaran, director of the EILC, “like helping student entrepreneurs select the correct business entity for future growth and creating contracts to ensure inventors and collaborators are protected when courting investors.”
For law students, the grant increases opportunities to work on real cases with licensed attorneys who specialize in intellectual property and business law.
Ultimately, Baskaran hopes the grant will promote economic growth in West Virginia.
“Innovation and small businesses success are the backbone of a knowledge-based economy, and that’s what’s best for the future of West Virginia,” she said.
The Benedum Foundation grant was made through the WVU Foundation in conjunction with “A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s University.” The $1 billion fundraising effort runs through December 2017.
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CONTACT: James Jolly, College of Law
304.293.7439; James.Jolly@mail.wvu.edu