TMF Lends Helping Hand To Start Intellectual Property Program on College Campus

Warren McCarty and The McCarty Firm are proud to assist in the successful launch of the IP Initiative program, a groundbreaking effort to integrate intellectual property (IP) education into the curriculum at Illinois State University.   This three-year pilot, a collaboration between the Stephen and Sharon Hagge Innovation Institute, the George R. and Martha Means Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, and the Center for Integrated Professional Development, aims to equip students with skills in IP protection, including patents, copyrights, and trademarks, to better prepare them for careers in IP-intensive industries.

Dean Ajay Samant of the College of Business praised McCarty's involvement, saying, “I am incredibly grateful to our alum Mr. Warren McCarty, who is an internationally acclaimed authority on IP Technology Law, for his support to upskill faculty expertise in this critical area.” 

Mr. McCarty's contributions enabled five faculty members—Dr. Hulda Black, Dr. Rosie Hauck, Dr. Valerie Wright, Dr. Ishida-Lambert, and Rose Marshack—to upskill and incorporate IP lessons into diverse courses such as Creative Strategy and Design, and Business Information Systems.

Mr. McCarty reflected on the program's impact, stating, “Helping ISU students understand and appreciate the role IP plays in today’s world has been very rewarding,” and emphasized its value by noting, “I expect the program to be quite valuable for students. The majority of employment opportunities for ISU graduates comes from IP-intensive industries.”

Building on this success, the university plans to expand with a second faculty cohort in the 2025-2026 academic year, continuing to foster innovation and IP awareness across campus.