Jane Collen
Lives in: Briarcliff
Works in: Ossining
Children: Four
Accolade of interest: Collen was president of Price Watch Corp., a small, local retail chain.
Running a retail store catapulted Jane Collen”™s career in trademark litigation.
Unlikely as it seems, “I saw products competing for shelf-space and I had to be a jack of all trades ”“ customer relations, buying, advertising and finances” as president of Price Watch Corp. post-college in 1979.
Now serving as counsel to Ossining-based intellectual property law firm Collen I.P., which she cofounded with husband Jess Collen in 1996, she also serves as chairwoman of the corporate and commercial law section of the Westchester County Bar Association and chairwoman of numerous committees of the International Trademark Association.
“It has been so exciting being in the business at the forefront protecting intellectual property before people even knew what intellectual property was,” she said. “The vehicles of commerce have changed. You went from brick and mortar to the immediacy of the Web.”
Though the opportunities have grown in her field of law, Collen said so come the challenges and “inadvertent traps that can complicate people”™s businesses that they aren”™t even aware of.”
Education has been a major focus of her business; Collen I.P. puts on seminars for chambers of commerce “where we talk about the potential positives and pitfalls of going on the Web.”
About three years ago, a casual observation between Collen and one of her paralegals turned into a winning business brainstorm.
Clients ranged from the small business owner to the multimillion-dollar corporation and the relevant guidance needed from Collen I.P. ranged accordingly.
“From a working point of view, it was great helping people out who were just starting out because they really needed our expertise,” she said. “We started a wine and cheese networking event at our office and we wanted to see where it took us.”
Women”™s business-networking group Business Pink was born ”“ a name that stemmed from Collen”™s love of memorable trademarks and the shade itself.
“What we wanted to do was set up an organization where there was no entry fee and no barrier to join, where entrepreneurial women can join with other women,” she said. “What women really needed was the equivalent of the old boys”™ network. I feel we wanted to be out there networking with heart, sharing business expertise and raising money for educating girls in Tanzania.”
Collen and husband Jess work profusely through shared passion nonprofit organization Life Project for Africa to educate and assist women who are forced to marry young and who incur a subservient role in society.
“We expanded it to Washington, D.C. and tried to start an internship program for female victims of the illegal traffic trade (through Business Pink),” she said. “We want to take entrepreneurial women (who can) help provide skills and take them under their wing.”
The website is lifeprojectafrica.org.
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