To kick off the day, WVU Evansdale Libraries and the LaunchLab Network hosted a panel
discussion on Business Formation and Trademark Registration. Free of charge and
open to the public, panelists tailored the discussion to students, entrepreneurs
and small business owners who wanted to better understand the path to commercial
success, with a focus on entity formation and trademark registration. Panelists
included: Craig Morris, Managing Attorney for the Trademark Educational Outreach
for the United States Patent and Trademark Office presenting: “Trademarks: The
Keys to Commercialization”; Marian Armour-Gemmen, WVU Patent and Trademark Librarian
presenting: “Searching for Trademarks within the USPTO”; and Nancy Trudel, Attorney
at Law; Trudel Law, PLLC presenting “15 Steps to Establishing a Successful Company”.
The second panel focused on How to Fund a Startup, honing in the discussion on best
practices for business entrepreneurs and innovators to talk to investors and launch
a startup. Panelists also introduced creative methods on how to fund new innovations
and businesses. Panelists included: Richard Giersch, Director of Health Sciences
Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Commercialization for WVU; Michael Green, Chairman
of the West Virginia Growth Investment Fund and Managing Director of Mountain State
Capital; Guy Peduto, Director of INNOVA Commercialization group at WV High Tech
Foundation; and Timothy James, Loan Officer at First Microloan of West Virginia.
“The WVU IDEA Hub is a collaboration of Innovation initiatives across the campus.
The partnership between the WVU Libraries with their "Business Formation and Trademark
Registration" panel and the LaunchLab "How to Fund a Startup" panel are an excellent
example of the expertise that is provided to our students. This is invaluable information
for anyone with questions about the process for owning their innovation and moving
successfully forward,” said Assistant Vice President of Entrepreneurship and Innovation,
Carrie White.
Operating since 2014, West Virginia University’s LaunchLab Network serves as a comprehensive,
one-stop shop to help students develop and commercialize their ideas, innovations,
inventions or business models. In a motivating and supportive environment, the
LaunchLab Network is an applied innovation center offers hands-on idea development
support, education, mentorship, prototyping facilities, resources and connections
to empower entrepreneurs across West Virginia. The LaunchLab Network is a part
of the IDEA Hub ecosystem.
The WVU Evansdale Library is the only Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC)
in the state of West Virginia. On December 2, 1991, Evansdale Library was designated
a U.S. Patent and Trademark Depository Library. As a PTRC, the library receives
current copies of U.S. Plant Patents, provides access to USPTO patent and trademark
databases including the specialized PubWEST and PubEAST databases. All the tools
necessary to perform a preliminary patent or trademark search are available in
the library. The patent and trademark librarian, Marian Armour-Gemmen, provides
reference assistance throughout the state and teaches users how to search patent
and trademark databases.