Black Lives Matter
Alt Legal Team | June 19, 2020
At Alt Legal, we believe fully and unequivocally that Black lives matter. We have watched with admiration as businesses we’ve worked with have found ways to protect protestors, support Black businesses, and call for change.
And we have spent hours brainstorming what we, an emerging company offering IP management software, can do to support the cause we believe in so deeply. As a company, we have no direct contact with law enforcement or link to legislators who could institute policies to address racism (systemic or otherwise), and while our software is wonderful for IP professionals, it doesn’t directly support protestors. But we know there is a way for even the unlikeliest businesses to voice solidarity with this cause, and we can’t stay silent.
Our company was founded by two first-generation immigrants—both people of color—and so from day one, diversity has been central to who we are as a company. We know first hand the struggles people of color face in founding, funding, and running a small business. Moreover, many of our customers and others we’d love to welcome into the Alt Legal family are also small business owners and people of color, and many are active in helping advise Black-owned businesses in their communities.
We have compiled a list of resources for starting, funding, and running an IP practice. The resource page also includes resources specifically for minority-owned businesses and lists some organizations that assist people of color and promote equality. Beyond just compiling a list of resources, however, we’re also pledging money and actively working to support this cause.
If you are a member of or work primarily to serve the Black community and you need trademark docketing and 2(d) watch services, we’re here to help.
Our Financial Commitment
Alt Legal is committing $10,000 to help attorneys who are transforming their communities and showing that Black lives matter there and everywhere. As part of this, we are offering trademark docketing and 2(d) watch services to organizations that stand against violence, racism, and excessive punishment. Additionally, we are working with our customers to offer Black- or minority-owned businesses free or reduced-cost trademark docketing. Whether you’re an existing Alt Legal customer or have yet to automate your trademark docketing, if you need a leg up while you support your community, apply for an Alt Legal Docketing Grant here. If you’re interested in contributing so that we can expand this program, please contact us at community@altlegal.com.
Additionally, if you purchase an Alt Legal Connect ticket between now and July 31st, we’ll donate $50 to one of the organizations below. To participate, choose an organization from the list below, go here to purchase your conference ticket, and input the code for your organization as a promo code on the checkout page.
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Black Girls CODE: Black Girls CODE is devoted to showing the world that Black girls can code, and do so much more. By reaching out to the community through workshops and after school programs, Black Girls CODE introduces computer coding lessons to young girls from underrepresented communities in programming languages such as Scratch or Ruby on Rails. Black Girls CODE has set out to prove to the world that girls of every color have the skills to become the programmers of tomorrow. To choose this organization, use the promo code: bgcode
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BESLA Scholarship Program: For over 30 years, the Black Entertainment and Sports Law Association has supported law students through mentoring, volunteer, and internship opportunities. For more than 20 years, BESLA has awarded financial scholarships to deserving law students that are seeking careers in the entertainment and sports industries. The program awards scholarships to students enrolled at HBCUs. BESLA also sponsors an annual essay competition open to all law school students. To choose this organization, use the promo code: besla
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The Innocence Project: The Innocence Project, founded in 1992 by Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck at Cardozo School of Law, exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. The Innocence Project’s mission is to free the staggering number of innocent people who remain incarcerated, and to bring reform to the system responsible for their unjust imprisonment. To choose this organization, use the promo code: innocence