As a summer associate working in patent litigation, I kept seeing the same judge’s name in the same district court. At first, I had no idea why this was the case. However, I’ve since learned how important venue is in patent litigation.
Selecting the right venue is crucial in patent litigation cases, because where a case is filed can impact its likelihood of success. So, what exactly is venue? And why is it so important to patent litigation? Allow me explain.
I have loved my experience taking IP classes at Loyola. My first post actually discussed how my interest in IP grew. My second post was about fun facts related to IP. My third post discussed patented pet products. I have been able to focus on everything that I love: from IP to pet-related products! Continue reading
“You’ll never know until you try” is one of my favorite quotes. My interests in college spanned multiple subjects, including Economics, English, and Political Science. I worked in business development and sales prior to beginning my legal career at Loyola this past fall. Although I am still exploring, IP is high on my list of legal practice areas because it connects to my prior experience working with startups. Here’s how I got involved:
I was excited to take the Intellectual Property Survey course at Loyola with Professor Ho in the fall of 2021. However, when the class got to the topic of copyright, I struggled with two topics in that area, one of which was “improper appropriation.” This dealt with a part of the copyright infringement test that determined whether there was substantial similarity between the two works at issue based only on their protectable expression as I discussed in “Righting about Copyright, Part 1.”
“They have law for patents?” I asked my friend. He was telling me about his new job as a legal assistant in a patent law firm. Little did I know, patent law would play a significant role in the start of my legal career.
How did that happen, despite knowing nothing about patents? Let me explain. Continue reading
When you think about networking, what comes to mind? Are you dripping in sweat and filled with dread? Or are you reciting every line from your resumé and searching for every possible question to ask?
Coming into law school at Loyola, I was really interested in learning about intellectual property (IP) law and possibly even making a career out of it. During my fall 2L semester, I had the chance to take my first IP course: the Intellectual Property Survey course. I was so excited to finally be able to study IP, and was eagerly anticipating the class.
Before taking an intellectual property (IP) course this past fall, I assumed trademarks only applied to brand slogans. I did not realize that trademarks could apply to physical products, too.
Now that I have taken various IP courses and participated in the IP Moot Court team, I see trademark protection everywhere. This made me wonder: can a commonplace item, like an applicator for a tampon, receive trade dress protection?
Before jumping into that answer, let’s first explain what a trade dress is.
What does intellectual property (“IP”) have to do with government accountability? As I learned a couple weeks ago, quite a bit. But, let’s start with basic secrecy before we get into trade secrets.
Continue readingAs a first-year law student, you learn almost immediately that your grades are extremely important. A strong GPA is undeniably one of the main criteria employers will use to distinguish job applicants. However, I learned this year that it’s also very important to begin building your professional network and making connections in the legal world as early as you can. I had the opportunity to attend several networking events this year, where I met practicing attorneys with a lot of valuable insight to share. Each time I left feeling glad I decided to attend, even if it meant I had to stay up a little later to finish my Torts reading.