Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Highland Heights PTRC customer activity and outreach remained steady with 85 one-on-one virtual customer meetings, and multiple presentations for groups thanks to Zoom. Onsite PTRC rep John Schlipp supports intellectual property awareness for our Northern Kentucky University (NKU) campus customers, as well as the regional community including nearby Cincinnati, Ohio and the entire Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Campus and community constituents this year included patent and trademark clients referred to us from NKU’s Institute for Health Innovation; NKU’s Collaborative for Economic Engagement; NKU’s Small Business Development Center; the Cincinnati Innovation District and its partnership with the University of Cincinnati; and even a unique regional Bourbon Trail history project for NKU’s Public History and Informatics programs (in partnership with additional community affiliations).
John Schlipp offered Zoom patent and trademark presentations to the Inventor’s Network KY (Lexington, KY), Logan County Public Library (near Nashville, TN), Kenton County Public Library (Covington, KY), University of Kentucky Libraries (Lexington, KY), and multiple student audiences for our NKU campus.
The Intellectual Property Awareness Center (IPAC) has been rechristened at NKU, with our PTRC role now included under the library department umbrella of Digital Scholarship and Communications (DSC).
John’s recently published book Intellectual Property & Information Rights for Librarians (2019, ABC Clio—Libraries Unlimited) is utilized as the primary resource for the LIN405 Intellectual Property & Information Rights course that is part of our University’s Library Informatics bachelor’s degree program. LIN405 explores intellectual property rights for information-based careers. Patents, trademarks, and copyrights are covered in relation to intellectual property creators and consumers. Although focused primarily through the lens of libraries, museums, and archives, the LIN405 course includes intellectual property related exercises and readings for students of entrepreneurship, electronic media & broadcasting, and fashion & sports business.