Don't skip the hard subjects: Intellectual property expert Hampton
Now he is one of the most respected intellectual property lawyers in the world, but he remembers how hard that subject was for him to grasp. "That's why I tell young people today, don't back off because that math or science class is hard," he quipped over lunch at Georgia Brown's. "You just have to step up your game. There is no field you can't go into if you have broad background in math and science. There are very few jobs you can have if you don't."
Hampton is a partner in the IP firm of Dickstein Shapiro and legislative chair of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, among the more prominent voices in the first rewrite of patent law in a generation -- The America Invents Act.
He joins Sharon Barner, former deputy undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property and now a partner at Foley Lardner; and Darrell Mottley, principal shareholder of Banner Witcoff and president of the D.C. Bar; in a Patent Parlor on the new law during Innovation & Equity 2012 on Jan. 15 at B. Smith Union Station. The annual symposium for the 50 Most Important African-Americans in Technology is being taped for broadcast on ReUnion: Education-Arts-Heritage instructional network. Registration is at http://www.souloftechnology.com
The field of patent law is one of those fields which Hampton is encouraging black students, particularly males, to pursue. He has taught courses at Howard University School of Law for the past three years and headed the intellectual property section of the National Bar Association.
Because Hampton had the engineering background and a law degree from the University of Chicago, he was prepared in the early 1990s when he was referred by Vernon Jordan for a job as assistant director for trademarks of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Patent lawyers and agents are critical gatekeepers for innovation, because creation of a patent is usually the first step towards building a brand or even a company. Hampton is also concerned about the next step. "I've helped folks pro bono get their patents, but then they can't raise the money to go to the next step."
One of his dreams is to encourage black athletes to contribute to a venture fund specifically geared to provide seed funding to black patent holders. With 1,000 African-Americans gaining patents each year, "there isn't a shortage of talent."
