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The Mission:
In order to significantly increase the number of under represented
minorities working as intellectual property law lawyers in both private and corporate
practice, the AIPLEF established the Sidney B. Williams, Jr. Scholarship Program.
These scholarships have been named in honor of Sidney B. Williams, Jr., a corporate and
law firm intellectual property attorney for over 30 years. As an undergraduate, he was
the first African-American to be a quarterback for a Big Ten School, while getting a
degree in Chemical Engineering. He briefly played in the NFL for the New York Giants
and in the Canadian Football League before going to law school and becoming a patent
attorney. Mr. Williams was the first African American attorney to: (1) chair a
committee of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), (2) become a
member of the AIPLA Board of Directors, (3) become Secretary of the AIPLA, (4) chair of
the National Council of Intellectual Property Law Associations, (5) serve as a Council
member and financial officer of the American Bar Association – Section of Intellectual
Property Law. Mr. Williams also served as the first President of the National Inventors
Hall of Fame. While on the AIPLA Board, Mr. Williams involved the AIPLA in various
programs at historically black colleges and universities in an effort to encourage
minority science and engineering students, as well as minority law students, to seek
careers in intellectual property law.
The Program:
The scholarship program includes a scholarship fund intended to
assist under represented minority students who intend to enter the intellectual property
law field to attend law school.
The scholarship awards are given for at least one academic year and are renewable.
Money provided by these scholarships assists students in covering costs associated
with normal tuition, usual fees, and all necessary books and supplies.
In addition to financial aid, the Foundation intends to provide Minority Scholars with
mentoring programs to provide assistance during the academic year, summer
employment directly related to the practice of intellectual property law in either
corporate or private law departments, and help in finding employment after graduation.
The Administration:
The Thurgood Marshall College Fund is assisting the AIPLEF by administering the application and selection process. The reduced cost
associated with TMCF’s efficient, time-tested infrastructure will facilitate the greatest
percentage of the Foundation’s resources funding IP law students' legal education.
What's Needed From You:
The Foundation’s goal is to continue to fund this Scholarship
Program over the years, including the creation of an endowment fund, enabling AIPLEF
to increase the number of available scholarships to the greatest level possible.
You can participate in this important effort individually, as a law firm or as a corporation
by making a tax deductible contribution to support the Scholarship Program. But that is not
enough to meet the goal of a diversified work place. We also need your help to
provide paid internships at your firm or company and to act as a mentor to a Sidney B.
Williams, Jr. Minority Scholar. We need the active participation of every corporation,
law firm and intellectual property attorney who believes in our goal to make the
Scholarship Program meaningful and successful.
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