When Ian McClure moved back to Kentucky in 2016 to become the director of University of Kentucky's Office of Technology Commercialization, he quickly realized the state was lacking an intellectual property focus.
Having spent much of his career in technology hubs like Chicago, San Fransisco and Tokyo, McClure saw just how important intellectual property (IP) is to an innovation economy. He even helped establish a master's degree IP management program at the Chicago-Kent College of Law about a decade ago, the first of its kind to be focused on IP's impact beyond law.
At UK, where patent law was only taught every four semesters, McClure began teaching a course every other semester called the law and business of IP management with the intention of building awareness beyond Kentucky's law students.
"Intellectual property is such an impactful and interrelated part to business, law, engineering, research and development — it's just an integral piece that often gets forgotten about," he said.
Did you know? Intellectual property is an umbrella term for intangible assets, such as ideas and innovations, owned and legally protected by a company, according to Investopedia. It can consist of many types of assets, including trademarks, patents, trade secrets and copyrights.
So when McClure's friend Scott Frank, president and CEO of AT&T Intellectual Property LLC, launched the United States Intellectual Property Alliance (USIPA) in January, he knew he had to get Kentucky involved. McClure said he wanted the Bluegrass State to be among those leading the charge in establishing a collaborative IP ecosystem between universities, law firms and other key stakeholders.
"Big picture: We're at an inflection point in Kentucky right now, we are literally being forced to change around how we think about the future of our economy," he said. "The states all around us — Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio — have all taken big leaps. Their cities like Nashville are going gangbusters; Cincinnati has been doing a lot of really neat things around innovation hubs; and Indianapolis has a $250 million venture fund they've started with their state.
"We're just getting going, but we're at an inflection point where momentum is high and we have a lot of increased capacity around innovation, research development and entrepreneurship. This is our opportunity to make big steps."
McClure took the vision for developing the Kentucky Intellectual Property Alliance (KYIPA) to Kentucky Commercialization Ventures (KCV) and the Kentucky Science & Technology Corp. (KSTC). Monique Quarterman, executive director of KCV, said her organization acts as a super-connector between several stakeholders in innovation across the state, and the launch of the new alliance will be an extension of those collaborative efforts.
"At KCV, we perceive the value of innovation being ideas, and we truly believe that Kentucky's ideas will change and improve lives," she said. "Protecting those ideas is an important first step in really reaching the full potential of an innovation. The IP Alliance is really bringing together those stakeholders, corporations law firms, higher education centers, really anyone who has an interest in making the best of Kentucky's ideas."
Kentucky is among the first states to launch an IP alliance, with several others following suit later this year. Other states with established IP alliances include Georgia, Illinois, New York, North Carolina and Oregon, according to USIPA's website.
Matt Wingate, executive advisor of the Office of Legal Services at the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, said the administration has felt strongly about creating an ecosystem and multidisciplinary network of the parties involved in ideation and every stage of the commercialization process. In the past, there's been a disconnect, he continued.
"It's really exciting because we're among a handful of states that have really championed this cause," Winngate said. "We have brought [KYIPA] to fruition to signal to innovators and people that are doing really inspiring things that our state is also encouraging that growth, whether it be organically or through talent attraction. We're just really trying to signal that Kentucky's looking forward."
KY Innovation Executive Director Anthony Ellis believes the formation of KYIPA will assist in creating an easy path forward for entrepreneurs and that its coordinated resources will be an incredible asset in developing the state's innovation ecosystem.
"One ranking that's sort of universally recognized as just a marker of health on an entrepreneurial ecosystem is number of patents," he said. "If you're not filing patents, you're not inventing. And if you're not inventing, then you're not growing your ecosystem.
"We think this is going to be a big push towards inventing and helping people get comfortable with understanding that they are in fact inventors who have patentable processes, technologies and innovations."
KYIPA's virtual kick-off event will be held Oct. 1, with McClure moderating a panel discussion between Quarterman, Frank, Judge Paul Michel, retired Chief Justice United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and David Kappos, former director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. You can register for the event here.
