UMaine Law to nix patent help program

The University of Maine School of Law will this year end its program that provides entrepreneurs with legal advice for navigating the U.S. patent system.

The Portland Press Herald reported that law school officials announced this week they would end the Maine Patent Program, which was created by the Legislature in 1999 and has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs secure and protect patents central to their inventions and businesses. The program has helped an estimated 100 inventors annually with new or existing patents, which a Brookings Institution report last year identified as a major driver of long-term economic growth.

Peter Pitegoff, dean of the law school, told the newspaper the cuts are part of $36 million in budget cuts needed throughout the University of Maine System in the next budget year.

Don Gooding, executive director of the Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development, and Maine Technology Institute President Bob Martin told the newspaper that ending the patent program is a loss for entrepreneurs in the state, but it was an expected move following attrition of the program’s staff and resources in recent years. Martin and Gooding said their organizations are discussing ways they might be able to fill a similar need, providing free patent advice to Maine-based companies and inventors.