November 2025

From the Director

It has been a full and exciting semester at the Center. I am delighted to share our Fall/Winter 2025 newsletter, which reflects a season marked by exceptional programming, student engagement and accomplishments, as well as rich scholarly activity. Our Maurer IP community remains as dynamic as ever, and I’m grateful for the alumni and partners who help us sustain these opportunities for our students.

Mark D. Janis
Robert A. Lucas Chair of Law
Director, Center for Intellectual Property Research

P.S. I hope that you'll attend our third annual Maurer Virtual IP Networking Mixer on Tuesday, January 20th, 2026 at 6pm Eastern, by Zoom.  Registration Link

Fall 2025 Updates

Fall Semester Events

International IP Seminar Colloquium Series

  • Peter Yu (Texas A&M University School of Law) “Twists and Turns in the TRIPS Journey”
  • Justin Hughes (Loyola Marymount University School of Law) “The sport and pastime of negotiating IP in multilateral and plurilateral environments”
  • Sarah Fackrell (Chicago-Kent College of Law) “Defendant Pinching & Pressing”
  • Saurabh Vishnubhakat (Cardozo Law) “Constitutional Structure in the Patent Office”
  • Tim Holbrook (University of Denver Sturm College of Law) “IP Extraterritoriality After Abitron”
Yu, Leaffer, Janis
  • Mary La France (William S. Boyd School of Law UNLV) EU–U.S. Divergence in Performance Rights: Legal Standards and the Tensions They Create
  • Susan Scafidi (Fashion Law Institute at Fordham Law School) IP Protection in Fashion: Lululemon’s Litigation Strategies Against Infringement

Fall 2025 IP Practitioners in Residence

As part of our IP professional development programming primarily in support of our first-year Maurer IP students, we presented the following series of speakers, highlighting the breadth of opportunities across the intellectual property landscape.

Path to Careers in IP Panel

  • Brad Maurer ’99, Partner, Dentons
  • Lindsey Rothrock, Partner, Taft
  • Taylor Lavender ’22, Associate, Barnes & Thornburg
  • Matthew Spegele ’22, Sr. Patent Counsel, Proctor & Gamble

 

Practitioner in Residence Talks

Chris Reed, Executive Vice President of Legal Affairs at Fox Television Stations

Adrienne Dellinger, IP Litigation Associate with Caldwell Cassady & Curry PC

David Joyal, Vice President of Legal, Global Supply & Patents at Coty, Inc.

 

Fall 2025 NIL Lecture Series

This fall, Maurer and the Center offered two timely conversations exploring the fast-changing landscape of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) and the right of publicity.

‘What’s In a Name’ Is No Longer the Entire Question: The Rapid Evolution of NIL and the Right of Publicity

Panelists:

Jacklyn Flint (Riley Bennett Egloff LLP)

Jonathan Faber (Luminary Group)

Moderator: Robert Meitus (Meitus-Strohm and IU Maurer School of Law)

Hosted in partnership with: Indiana State Bar Association

 

How has the Law Evolved in the NIL Era of College Athletics

Stephen Harper '11, Deputy Director of Athletics Indiana University

Hosted and organized by: Maurer Labor and Employment Law Association

 

2025 Indianapolis IP Firm Visit

Fourteen of our first-year Maurer IP students made the trip from Bloomington to downtown Indianapolis in late November for our third-annual Indianapolis IP Firm Visit. For many of them, it was their very first time stepping inside a law firm.

Special thanks to the attorneys who took the time to meet with our students and share firsthand thoughts on life in practice. Opportunities like this make all the difference for career exploration, and we’re proud to support and facilitate experiences like this for our students as they take these first steps into the legal profession.

Thank you to Indianapolis locations of Barnes & Thornburg LLP and Faegre Baker Daniels for their time and participation!

 

CIPR at Purdue

Purdue’s First Year Engineering Industry Night

Maurer IP and Purdue Engineering alum Jessica Van Dalen '10 joined CIPR Associate Director Melissa Berry to meet countless first-year engineering students at Purdue’s Office of Professional Practice’s First-Year Engineering Industry Night event on October 15th.  The Purdue students  were eager to hear from Ms. Van Dalen about her path from Purdue engineering to intellectual property law.

Thanks to Jenny Strickland from the Office of Professional Practice for hosting such an engaging event connecting future innovators with professionals, like Jess, who might one day help to protect their ideas!

Purdue ME Sophomore Seminar Class

During the weeks of Oct. 27 and Nov. 3, Professors Hedges and Janis guest lectured to nearly 1,000 sophomore engineering students in eight class sections of Mechanical Engineering’s ME 290 (Sophomore Seminar) class on both the West Lafayette and Indianapolis campuses.

Their lecture explored the intersection of engineering and law, with a focus on the implications of AI for intellectual property law. Special thanks to Purdue Professor Beth Hess extending this opportunity and her continued partnership!

 

IP Theory Highlights

Publications

  • Volume 14 Issue 2
    • Interview Transcript: Bill Patry on Music, AI, and Copyright featuring Jackson Wahlbom and Ben Gillard 
  • Volume 15 Issue 1
    • "The Interaction Between Privacy Laws and Restrictive Licensing Agreements in Cross-Border Satellite Imagery" by Ida Samardar
    • "The Mathematics of Regulatory Fragmentation: Understanding the Multiplicative Costs of State-Level Platform Requirements" by Amanda Reid 

Fire of Genius Podcasts

  • Season 7:
    • Volume 14, Episode 11: From Briefs to Bytes: Chad Main’s Journey into Legal Tech
    • Volume 14, Episode 12: Intersection of IP and Health Law
    • Volume 14, Episode 13: Patents and Regulatory Exclusivity
    • Volume 14, Episode 14: AlgoRhythms Symposium Recap: Copyrightability and Infringement of AI-Generated Music
    • Volume 14, Episode 15: AlgoRhythms Symposium Recap: Bill Patry and the AI Music Business
  • Season 8:
    • Volume 15, Episode 1: The Kids Aren’t Alright: COPPA in Online Gaming
    • Volume 15, Episode 2: An Interview with Chris Reed: EVP and General Counsel of Fox TV
    • Volume 15, Episode 3: To Sample or Not to Sample?
    • Volume 15, Episode 4: Mark My [Offensive] Words
    • Volume 15, Episode 5: Optis Takes a Bite out of Apple
    • Volume 15, Episode 6: An Interview with David Joyal (forthcoming)
  •  

IP Pro Bono Program Highlights

IP Law Clinic

It was also a busy and exciting semester in the Intellectual Property Law Clinic!

  • Eight students were enrolled in the class this semester 
  • Nine trademark applications were filed, including one for a motorcycle club and another for a game
  • Three patent applications were filed, including one for a therapeutic game accessory for elderly patients

Great work by this group of students!

Patent Connect Program

PatentConnect's Volunteers in Intellectual Property (VIP) Program was included in Maurer's Access to Justice programming this fall allowing information about this pro bono opportunity to be shared with a wider audience of students.  

The VIP Callout that followed and mandatory training session, were both well attended by students who found the opportunity of interest. 

  • 18 students completed the mandatory training
  • 11 prior art searches have been completed during the Fall 2025 semester with oversight by Professor Norm Hedges
  • 1L students Alyssa Green and Mackenzie Misterka have been hired as PatentConnect Research Assistants
  • Devika Maradapu will graduate at the end of the Fall semester. She has been a PatentConnect Research Assistant for the last two years. We would like to thank her for her dedicated service to the program!

Student News

Intellectual Property Association

We are excited to announce our Intellectual Property Association Executive Board Members:

  • President: Reece Fleck
  • Vice President: Melita Somavarapu
  • Treasurer: Adam Carrithers
  • Secretary: Skye Aitken
  • Alumni Liaisons: Carson Arnold & Tammy Shu
  • 1L Reps: Jackson Fair, Kathleen McCoy, Mackenzie Misterka, & Chase Young

This year's IPA has a headcount of more than 50 members!  

The Intellectual Property Association hosted the following events this semester:

  • Your IP Toolkit: IP Tips with Mentors - Mentor/Mentee meet & greet and summer job discussion
  • Passing the Patent Bar: Student panel with those who have studied for or passed the exam
  • Co-Hosted Practitioner in Residence Series with CIPR, filing Speaker Spotlight videos for social media.
  • IPA Game Night at Nick's and IPAs with IPA.

Follow Maurer’s IP Association's activities on Instagram @ipamaurer

 

ChIPs at Maurer

The Maurer Chapter of Chiefs in Intellectual Property (ChIPs) was officially recognized as a student organization this Fall.  After several years of activity here at Maurer, the group is excited about this formal recognition!  

ChIPs hosted four events this semester:

  • Networking Etiquette with ChIPs – Tips and how-to’s on networking with Kate Caldwell and ChIPs Indy members.
  • Yoga with ChIPs – Hosted event with Student Recreational Sports Center instructor in partnership with Student Services during Wellness Week.
  • Pottery with ChIPs – Also hosted during Maurer Wellness Week, students met at local Pottery House studio to paint pottery and enjoy wine and snacks!
  • Undergrad Women in Law Networking Event – Partnered with Women in Law, Women’s Law Caucus, If/When/How to host an event with 40+ participants to discuss entering law school experience.

Follow Maurer’s ChIPs chapter's activities on Instagram at @chipsmaurer

 

Study Abroad Updates

Several of our IP students have benefited from recent study abroad opportunities over the Summer 2025 and Fall 2025. Enjoy some updates and photos from their travels.

Carson Arnold ’27 – Siena Program (Maurer with Tulane University), Siena, Italy – Carson participated in this program that instructs students on international law, antiquities and cultural property topics and law. In addition to its classroom studies taught by well-renowned professionals, the program also includes visits to sites in Florence, Chianti, San Gimignano, and other Italian sites to learn more about local history and to directly witness the impacts of the antiquities trade. What a fantastic opportunity!

Alex Carr ’27 – Budapest Hungary at OPL Gunnercooke – Alex gained hands-on experience with EU trademark law, including work on denial appeals and invalidation requests as well as a variety of other legal topics. The highlight of his experience was meeting and collaborating with people from around the world. 

Adam Carrithers ’27 – Hanoi, Vietnam – Tilleke and Gibbins – Adam worked in patents while in Vietnam and made the most of his time in Asia—competing in a pickleball tournament with colleagues, sampling local delicacies, and even keeping a full travel blog throughout his stay.

Connor Hay ’27 – Bangkok, Thailand at Tilleke and Gibbins – Connor spent the summer working with trademark law and some patent work.  He enjoyed sampling the various fruits in Thailand and the Buddhist Wats.

3L students Jaide Cummings and Zohra Saeedi spent their Fall 2025 semester abroad studying intellectual property Law at Trinity College Dublin.  We look forward to hearing details of their experiences when they return for the spring semester! 

 

Student Presentations
(not pictured, Josh Everetts)

Three of our Maurer IP students were invited to present at the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum Midwest Intellectual Property Summit on November 7 in Indianapolis:

  • Allison Koontz — Token Trials: NFTs and Trademarks in Yuga Labs, Inc. v. Ripps
  • Kaitlyn Ross — Recent Developments in AI Training
  • Josh Everetts — Recent Developments in Using Applicant Admitted Prior Art

Congratulations to Josh, Allison, and Kaitlyn for representing Maurer with such professionalism.

 

Alumni Highlights

Jeff Greenbaum '25

Jeffrey Greenbaum published his paper “When Should Training an AI Model Prevail Against Copyright Infringement?” in Volume 77, Number 4 of the Oklahoma Law Review

 

 

Faculty Highlights

Yvonne Butler

Publication:

Butler, Yvette, Chibundo Egwuatu, Matthew Canham & Ben D. Sawyer, Sex Worker Human Digital Twins and Intellectual Property: On Collaborative Futures for Sex Thinkers, Technologists, and Lawyers, 0 Porn Studies (August 23, 2024)

 

Suneal Bedi

Publication:

Suneal Bedi & William Marra, Litigation Finance in the Market Square, Southern California Law Review (forthcoming 2025). 

Suneal Bedi & Todd Haugh, Re-theorizing Corporate Compliance, UC Davis Law Review (forthcoming 2026). 

Suneal Bedi & Samir Parikh, Mass Tort Trusts and the Faustian Bargain, Cornell Law Review (forthcoming 2026).

 

 

   
Greg Castanias

Presentation:

Greg Castanias, Science, Facts, Truth, and the Trial Lawyer (keynote speech at the Am. Coll. of Trial Laws. Indiana Fellows Dinner, Oct. 3, 2025)

 

 

 

Mark D. Janis

Publications:

The Debate over Second Tier Patent Protection in the U.S. (with Contreras) (Cambridge Univ. Press 2025) (book chapter in Contreras, ed., Sub-Patent Innovation Rights: Utility Models, Petty Patents and Innovation Patents Around the World)

Design Patent Law’s Three Little Words, 100 Ind.L.J. 1831 (2025)

Design Patent Infringement as Unfair Competition, 66 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 1155 (2025), reprinted in 57 Intellectual Property Review --- (forthcoming 2025-26)

Presentations:

Commenter, Patent Scholars Roundtable, Stanford Law School (Jan. 2025)

Organizer, Trademark Scholars Roundtable, Univ. of Minnesota Law School (Apr. 2025)

Commenter, Rocky Mountain IP Scholars Conference, Univ. of Colorado Law School (Oct. 2025)

 

Marshall Leaffer

Publication:

Marshall Leaffer, Mary La France & Marketa Trimble, Understanding International Intellectual Property (Carolina Academic Press forthcoming 2026)

 

 

Michael Mattioli

Publication:

The Environmental Knowledge Commons: Cases and Lessons for Knowledge Sharing (Scott J. Shackelford, Jessica Steinberg, Anjanette Raymond & Michael Mattioli eds., Cambridge Univ. Press 2026).

 

Robert Meitus

Brief Amicus Curiae, Vetter v. Resnik (5th Cir.) (with Megan Wheeler ’23) (submitted on behalf of

Music Artists Coalition, Black Music Action Coalition, Artists Rights Alliance, Songwriters of North America, and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA))

 

Jennifer D. Oliva

Publications:

Regulating Healthcare Coverage Algorithms, 100 Ind. L.J. 1861 (2025)

Decriminalizing Cannabis, 134 Yale L.J. F. 942 (2025)

Foreword to the Indiana Law Journal Symposium: Law and Technology at the Crossroads: A Centennial Summit, 100 Ind. L.J. 1325 (2025) (with Mark D. Janis & Alivia D. Benedict)

Scientific Evidence (6th ed. 2025 Cum. Supp.) (with Paul C. Giannelli et al.)

Imagine the Possibilities Pain Coalition and Opioid Marketing to Veterans: Lessons for Military and Veterans Healthcare, 13 Healthcare 434 (2025) (with Christopher K. Haddock et al.)

How Artificial Intelligence Controls Your Health Insurance Coverage, The Conversation (June 20, 2025) 

Everything Old is New Again, Harvard Inquest (May 6, 2025) 

Presentations:

AI in Health Insurance Coverage Decisions & Disputes, invited panelist, University of Minnesota Consortium on Law and Values, December 10, 2025 (virtual)

Reimagining Law and Policy Affecting Individuals with Substance Use Disorders Post-Final Rule, selected panelist, 2025 ASBH Annual Conference, Portland, OR, October 24, 2025

Regulating Healthcare Coverage Algorithms, invited presenter, New York City Bar Association Presidential Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technologies Subcommittee on Artificial Intelligence in Health Care, New York City Bar Association, New York, NY, October 16, 2025

Wellness and Other Legal Shortcomings/Disconnects, conference co-organizer and panel moderator, Wellness Law Symposium, UMKC Law School, Kansas City, MO, October 3, 2025 

Wellness Influencer Scienceploitation: An American Medicine Show Revival, conference co-organizer and paper presenter, Wellness Law Symposium, UMKC Law School, Kansas City, MO, October 3, 2025

Invited Paper Commentator, Health Law Scholars Workshop, St. Louis University School of Law, St. Louis, MO, September 18-20, 2025

Episode 181: AI and Health Equity, invited guest speaker, American Constitution Society Broken Law Podcast, August 29, 2025 (virtual)

 

Chung-Lun Shen

CIPR Affiliated Faculty and Associate Dean and Distinguished Professor, College of Law, National Chenchi University (Taiwan)

Publication:

Chung-Lun Shen, Sony v. Iwncomm: The First Chinese FRAND Injunction in the Wake of China’s Go-It-Alone Standardization Policy, in FRAND and Standards-Essential Patents (Jorge L. Contreras ed., Edward Elgar Cases in Context) (forthcoming 2026)

Presentation:

Chung-Lun Shen, Refining the Regime of the Liability for Patent Infringement to Adapt AI’s Substantial Attribution: in terms of the Proposal as Nominal Assumption of AI ‘s Liability, the 43rd ATRIP Congress, Copenhagen University, Denmark, June 24, 2025.