This is a full-year remote clinic offered for 10 credits (5 credits/semester). Students will receive separate letter grades at the end of the year for the seminar and the casework. The clinic is open to day and evening students in their last two years of law school and Accelerated JD students in their last year.
IPEC provides students the opportunity to counsel clients on an extensive range of intellectual property issues, including trademark, copyright, and trade secret law. Students also counsel entrepreneurs and start-up companies on business law matters such as incorporation, contract law, and IP strategy. Clinic students take primary responsibility for all client matters, under the close supervision of experienced practitioners. Students can expect to gain hands-on experience in conducting interviews, performing legal research, drafting transactional documents, and interacting with the United States Copyright Office, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”), and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Specific tasks may include counseling clients on strategies for identifying and safeguarding protectable information, drafting and filing applications for copyright and trademark registrations, representing clients in trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings, drafting and advising on contracts, and drafting paperwork for the formation of business entities.
Typical Clients include artists, authors, designers, filmmakers, and musicians who want to protect their creative efforts; entrepreneurs and small businesses seeking to build and protect their brands; entrepreneurs, established corporations, and nonprofit organizations with trademark, copyright, trade secret, incorporation, contracting, and licensing needs; and individuals and businesses hoping to acquire or assign intellectual property rights.
All IPEC students are required to attend a two-hour online seminar each week. This seminar focuses on substantive intellectual property law topics, as well as lawyering skills such as interviewing, counseling, legal writing and communication skills. Students are also required to meet weekly with the clinic director. Each student will also submit reflection papers over the course of the year to help facilitate student learning.
Students accepted into IPEC must attend the clinic-wide, one-day Orientation in August. During the academic year, students will be responsible for accommodating USPTO and TTAB due dates and deadlines, as well as the needs of their clients. Therefore, students may have to work their cases during the exam period and/or during school vacations.
Preference will be given to students that have completed Evidence and USPTO Trademark Practice class or one of four (4) courses: IP Survey, Trademark Law, and/or Copyright Law. Concurrent enrollment may be considered for Accelerated JD students.
If you have any questions, please contact Professor Rachael Dickson (she/her/hers).
Note: In this clinic students will earn 10 credits of remote coursework. Please note that JD students NOT enrolled in the Hybrid JD program are limited to 28 credits of remote coursework during their program of study. Moreover, some jurisdictions (like New York) limit the number of remote credits bar applicants may have earned while in law school. Please take this into account when electing to apply to this clinic.