Leadership in Pro Bono IP
October 28, 2019
- Leadership in pro bono IP
- The USPTO’s designated Patent Hub for Indiana and Kentucky
- IP clinic workshop
- Volunteers in IP
- Independent film clinical project
Leadership in pro bono IP
The IP Clinic is certified for patents and trademarks in the USPTO’s clinic certification program. Clinical Associate Prof. Norm Hedges directs the clinic, assisted by Adjunct Prof. Jessica Van Dalen (partner, Faegre Baker Daniels) (patents) and Adjunct Prof. Brad Maurer (partner, Bingham Greenebaum Doll) (trademarks, copyrights).
The Maurer School of Law is also home to the Elmore Entrepreneurship Law Clinic, directed by Clinical Prof. Mark Need.
In partnership with the USPTO, the Center operates PatentConnect, a service that matches inventors in Indiana and Kentucky in need of pro bono patent assistance with volunteering patent attorneys. The Center works actively with law firms to recruit volunteer attorneys and to help support PatentConnect administration. It also works with organizations that support entrepreneurship and economic development in Indiana and Kentucky.
IP Clinic workshop
Intellectual property clinical professors from across the country gathered in Bloomington this September for the Intellectual Property Clinic Workshop, a first of its kind, organized by Indiana Law’s IP Clinical Director, Norm Hedges. A generous contribution from Faegre Baker Daniels helped support this event.
Workshop presenters included:
- Patricia Campbell, University of Maryland
- Joanne Clifford, University of Notre Dame
- Cynthia Dahl, University of Pennsylvania
- Salvatore Gianino, Washington University in St. Louis
- Norman Hedges, Indiana University
- Ron Lazebnik, Fordham University
- Victoria Phillips, American University
- James Silbermann, U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
- Allan Sternstein, University of Arizona
Volunteers in IP
In the spring of 2019, a group of 1L students interested in IP led by Michael Glennon, '21, asked the Center to set up a program in which 1L students could log pro bono hours while gaining exposure to intellectual property matters. The result: Volunteers in Intellectual Property (VIPs). Richa Patel, '22, one of the first volunteers, noted that "With VIPs, we are able to start working in the IP realm right from the start by doing prior art searches for local inventors. VIPs gives us our first opportunity to enter the IP world as future attorneys."
Independent film clinical project
Indiana Law's Practicum, taught by Adjunct Prof. Robert Meitus (partner, Meitus Gelbert Rose), provides students with exposure to the music business through pro bono representations of recording artists, in the complex copyright and licensing matters that those individuals face.
In 2019, the Center launched a new Independent Clinical Project in Film, instructed by Adjunct Professor Matthew Dresden (partner, Harris Bricken). The project serves independent filmmakers in Indiana, assisting them in IP, contract, and other entertainment law issues.
Indiana University is renowned as a center for the arts. It is the home of one of the world’s most prestigious music schools, the Jacobs School of Music. It also is a hub for independent filmmaking, thanks to the presence of the Indiana University Media School, the newly established Bloomington Academy of Film and Theatre, and other entities.