‘What Would You Fight For?’ features client of IP & Entrepreneurship Clinic

The Intellectual Property & Entrepreneurship Clinic was the focus of a “What Would You Fight For?” ad that debuted during the Notre Dame-Virginia game.

“Fighting to Help Others Walk Again” focused on Enlighten Mobility is a startup created by Marissa Koscielski ’17, ’18 M.S. The company has a deeply personal beginning, starting when she suffered an injury during gymnastics. Koscielski was paralyzed on her left side from a mass that doctors removed during her high school years. After the surgery, she was told she would likely not walk again, but she persisted through the pain and intensive physical therapy and ultimately learned to walk again, thanks in part to some equipment that she had to create herself.

She created Enlighten Mobility through the Notre Dame ESTEEM Program, housed at the IDEA Center, and now designs technology and equipment to be used in the rehabilitation market, helping others regain mobility after injury or illness.

“A significant amount of Enlighten Mobility's strategic advantage in the rehabilitation space can be attributed to the IP Clinic’s contribution to securing intellectual property,” Koscielski said. “In addition to understanding the landscape and executing protection, the IP Clinic has guided and educated the entire Enlighten Mobility team through patent law.”

Professor Jodi Clifford, director of the IP Clinic, said multiple students have worked on Koscielski’s case so far, and they will continue to assist Enlighten Mobility with IP issues.

“The IP Clinic is proud to have been of assistance to Marissa and Enlighten Mobility, and we are very grateful for the opportunity to contribute to such an excellent cause and company,” Clifford said. “It is fantastically rewarding for the law student interns to work with real-world entrepreneurs like Marissa, assisting them with complex intellectual property rights.”

Koscielski credited the Law School for helping tackle the legal issues that come with starting a business.

“We are honored to be a part of the IP Clinic, a team that constantly strives to impact the world for good,” Koscielski said. “We would like to thank the patent team for guiding the charge to bring our technologies from bench to business.”

Read more about the Notre Dame Clinical Law Center at law.nd.edu/clinics.