Summer 2021
The business of intellectual property education and research continues here at the Center for IP Research. I’m pleased to present this report on our recent activities and accomplishments.
Mark D. Janis
Robert A. Lucas Chair of Law
Director, Center for Intellectual Property Research
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Law + Tech Program
The Law School is poised to launch a major new initiative that draws on the school’s world-class expertise on the intersection of law and technology. The Law and Technology Program is a collaboration among faculty involved in the Center for IP Research, Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research, Center for Law, Society, & Culture, and others. It will serve as a forum for interdisciplinary research and teaching in the numerous and diverse areas of law affected by technological change.
Law faculty affiliated with the Program include Ashley Ahlbrand, Fred Cate, Yvonne Cripps, Susan DeMaine, Jessica Eaglin, Norm Hedges, Bill Henderson, Mark Janis, Asaf Lubin, Jody Madeira, João Marinotti, Mike Mattioli, and Joe Tomain.
Law faculty have already planned a number of law and technology events for the fall. Jessica Eaglin will lead a race, law, and technology workshop in September, Jody Madeira will host a set of law and technology speakers as part of the Center for Law, Society & Culture speakers series, and Marshall Leaffer will present the Intellectual Property Colloquium (featuring international IP experts), among others. Stay up to date on all event offerings by visiting the Law School's events calendar.
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A robust IP student community
Despite the challenges of the past school year, our IP student groups, IP Association and ChIPs Maurer, kept up their longstanding tradition as the foundation of the Law School’s IP professional community. The IP Association adapted its peer mentorship program to a virtual setting, allowing students to connect with one another despite restrictions on in-person activities. The organization’s regular offerings of career panels also shifted to a virtual platform. This year IP Association’s Executive Board organized virtual panel discussions, including Beyond the USPTO: Practicing IP in the Federal Government, an IP Alumni Panel, and Intellectual Property Transactions: Practicing at the Intersection of IP and Commercial Law. In the spring, they organized 1L Connect, recurring informal conversations for students.
In lieu of some of our traditional social events, the IP Association also hosted virtual trivia nights in collaboration with the Cybersecurity & Privacy Law Association, a Halloween Zoom costume and cocktail hour, and online euchre tournaments. All these events occurred thanks to the good work of Center Administrative Director Casey Nemecek, who has now become an expert in running virtual events. Outside of the Law School, IP Association’s Executive Board coordinated a canned food drive for the Monroe County Community Kitchen, raising over $500 to purchase items on the organization’s wish list.
The student chapter of ChIPs, a global networking organization dedicated to supporting women in the fields of technology, law, and policy, focused their monthly meetings on wellness and community. Topics included managing stress, study strategies, and virtual networking and interviewing tips. In February, student leader Allison Strong organized a workshop about the intersection of the feminist movement and race to discuss how members can help female attorneys of color thrive in the workplace, especially in the IP space.
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IP Theory
IP Theory had another successful year, under the leadership of Editor-in-Chief Catherine Morgan, and editorial board members Payton Hoff DuBose, Ziyu Ma, Matthew Ritter, Emma Ng, Rita Xia, Audrey Knutson, Sarah Kelly, and Garrett Derian-Toth. Taking advantage of the sudden prevalence of videoconferencing, IP Theory produced a new journal video series. The first episode features Dr. Antara Dutta of Amazon and a discussion about the intersection of intellectual property, antitrust, and economics.
IP Theory leadership also decided to regularly publish student notes and established a new notes editor position on its board. Volume 10 features student notes from Payton Hoff DuBose (“The Future of Female Inventors in the United States: A Comparative Analysis to the Republic of Korea”) and Audrey Knutson (“Saving Face; The Unconstitutional Use of Facial Recognition on Undocumented Immigrants and Solutions in IP”).
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Student achievements
Our students continue their excellent track record of strong performances at IP moot court competitions across the country. This year, Liam Williams won honors as the Chicago region’s top oralist at the International Trademark Association (INTA) Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition. Both of our National Patent Drafting Competition teams (Richa Patel, Matthew Spegele, and Allison Strong and Zoe Bae, Nick Ciulla, and John Grasty) took second place in their respective regional competitions as well. Payton Hoff, Ziyu Ma, Emma Ng, Parker Zimmerman, and alternate Gyuwhan Nam represented the Law School well at this year’s AIPLA Moot Court regional competition.
The IP Moot Court program once again benefited from the generous support of our IP faculty and volunteers who serve as coaches and judges throughout the moot court season. Many thanks to Coaches Josh Larsen, Leah Seigel, Ryan McDonnell, Mark Janis, Norm Hedges, Alyssa Eckerley, and Evan Glass. Thank you as well to guest oral argument Judges Greg Castanias, Don Knebel, Lane McFadden, Mike Mattioli, Brad Maurer, Keltie Haley, Brett Bostrom, and Jonathan Yates.
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Leadership in patent pro bono
The Center continues to be one of the nation’s leading providers of pro bono IP services. The Intellectual Property Legal Clinic, led by Director Norm Hedges (assisted by Jana McGee) maintained an exceptionally busy case docket again this year, assisting new and existing clients on patent and trademark prosecution and litigation matters.
The Center also continues to run the PatentConnect patent hub. Established in 2015, PatentConnect receives approximately 100 applications from Indiana and Kentucky inventors annually. The Center reviews all applications before matching each qualified inventor to one of the program’s volunteer lawyers. PatentConnect is one of several regional patent hubs coordinated by the USPTO. To learn more, visit the program's website.
The innovative Volunteers in IP (VIPs) program remains an important contributor to the Center’s pro bono mission. Three years ago, in response to requests from IP students, the Center and the IP Association established VIPs to give volunteers (especially 1L students) an opportunity to engage in supervised pro bono IP practice. VIP students assist the Center for IP Research in conducting prior-art searches on disclosures received through PatentConnect. This year, VIPs (led by 1Ls Philip Ouweleen and Luke Steffe) conducted several prior art searches, helping streamline the work of PatentConnect.
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Selected research highlights
Marshall Leaffer is at work on a major new book on international intellectual property law.
Mike Mattioli has book chapters and law review articles forthcoming on legal aspects of the use of mental health chatbots, the issue of AI bias, and other areas in which law and technological innovation intersect.
Mark Janis continues his work on design patent law, participating in virtual conferences at Berkeley and John Marshall (Chicago) this spring. His recent publications include the Research Handbook on Trademark Law Reform (Edward Elgar 2021) (an edited volume of original scholarship from leading trademark law scholars, co-edited with Graeme Dinwoodie) and Patent Law: An Open Source Casebook (released spring 2021) (with Ted Sichelman). The latter is a modifiable casebook that incorporates contributions from several noted patent law professors. Professor Janis also has several book projects under contract, including books on trademark law and trade dress and design law.
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Upcoming events
Whether in-person, virtual, or a little of each, news about all our upcoming events can be found on our website, ip.indiana.edu. This fall Professor Marshall Leaffer will host the IP Colloquium, with guest scholars regularly appearing on Thursday afternoons. The Center for IP Research will also host a conference on copyright law, honoring the academic legacy of Professor Leaffer. Stay tuned for more information.
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