Business Law and Trademark Clinic helps launch alumnus’s non-profit

While serving as a medic in the military, Daniel Martinez became passionate about saving others and that passion stayed with him when he was discharged from the military and came to UT Law.

“In the military, I recognized that we had to triage efficiently to provide the people we were trying to save the best chance of living,” Martinez says. “Yet, I never ceased wanting to save everyone…If there was a chance, I wanted to help.”

Martinez had an idea for a non-profit foundation that would promote the education, awareness, and support of temperature management in patients suffering from injuries to the heart, brain, and nervous system. Armed with his passion and his idea, Martinez reached out to the college’s Business Law and Trademark Clinic in an effort to trademark the logo and name “Just Cool Me” for his non-profit organization.

UT is a participant in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Law School Clinic Certification Program, which allows students to practice trademark matters under the guidance of their law school clinic supervisor. In the spring, students Michael Ransom and Lea Whitson worked initially with Martinez to submit his trademark for approval. Martinez’s case was transferred for the fall semester to students Devin Scruggs and Erica Marino, who followed up with the USPTO and in August received approval from the USPTO.

“Obtaining a trademark is an integral ingredient in establishing recognition of the business as a source of quality,” says professor and clinic director Brian Krumm. “The four students who worked on this matter are commended for submitting a trademark registration that was prepared with such thoroughness and accuracy that the USPTO approved it in less than six months.”