Brooks Pierce partner Darrell A. Fruth has joined Duke University School of Law’s Start-Up Ventures Clinic as a senior lecturing fellow and supervising attorney. Fruth will oversee law students as they advise early-stage companies on a variety of intellectual property issues. The clinic will provide these pro bono services out of offices at the Law School and the Bullpen, Duke’s new hub of entrepreneurial activity in downtown Durham.
Fruth will continue to focus his legal practice at Brooks Pierce on assisting clients of all sizes to navigate issues with law and technology. Registered to practice before the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), Fruth helps protect, license, assert and defend rights in intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. He received engineering degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California at Berkeley before graduating from Yale Law School.
“Darrell allows us not only to offer the Start-Up Ventures Clinic to more students, but his deep experience with intellectual property also allows us to broaden the scope of our services to meet the needs of our clients,” said Clinic Director Jeff Ward. “If you know Darrell, you know that he is always serving the local community, and now our students at Duke Law get to learn from his example.”
Fruth frequently writes and speaks on issues related to intellectual property. He recently published an article in the National Law Journal on developments in patent law and has made presentations with lawyers from leading software companies on responding to patent trolls. He serves as vice chair of the intellectual property section of the N.C. Bar Association and is a trustee for Bull City Forward, a nonprofit that fosters social entrepreneurship.
The Clinic will provide limited scope pro bono advice during office hours at the Bullpen. Interested entrepreneurs should consult Duke I&E’s website for more information