In my sophomore year of college, my friend and I discussed a business idea that eventually led me to pursue a law degree. The idea was an online marketplace where students could request help completing college-specific tasks. Other students could then fulfill these requests to make money. The tasks mostly consisted of apartment cleaning, textbook resales, and tutoring. Flash forward to today, I now spend most of my time reading old Supreme Court decisions and writing legal briefs. You may be wondering how these two pursuits could possibly be related, and the answer is intellectual property (IP) law.

First encounters with IP

When my business partner and I decided to create our online marketplace, we faced many hurdles. First, neither of us had a STEM or coding background. Second, we were two 19-year-olds with no experience running a business. Through a combination of luck, hard work, and persistence, our idea became a reality. Our team grew quickly, and we eventually had a full group working together to bring the idea to life. While operating the company, I heard terms such as “copyright,” “trademark,” “provisional patents,” and “trademark infringement.” This was the first time I had ever heard these words, and they made me very curious. Why couldn’t we put the University of Michigan “block M” on the website? Why should we file a trademark on our logo? Can we get a patent to protect our counter-offer feature? Are we going to be sued? Should we sue someone else? This was my first brush with IP law, and I found it very interesting.

Changing directions

In the spring of 2020, COVID made sure there were no students on college campuses. No students on campuses meant our company had little to offer. Fortunately, we found someone interested in buying and taking over the company. While launching our business was a great experience, the sale was a clean break point. Because of my experiences working on the startup, I knew I wanted to go to law school. I had seen and learned about the many ways that attorneys assist businesses and knew that I wanted to do that too.

After speaking with an IP attorney about their job, I learned just how broad the field was. The attorney told me about how they help businesses create and secure their brands, negotiate licensing agreements, stop others from stealing or misusing their work, protect confidential trade secrets, and much more. Suddenly, IP was everywhere I looked. Almost every bag of chips, chair, sports team, tv show, pillow, and car have trademarks, copyrights, and/or patents protecting their IP. While I still knew very little about the industry, I was fascinated with how influential and important IP protections are.

Why Loyola?

I knew IP law was an area I wanted to study and explore. I assumed that all IP attorneys had to pass the patent barand that I wouldn’t be able to learn more about IP until my second or third year of law school. When I learned more about the IP opportunities available at Loyola, I was surprised at just how wrong my assumptions had been. This made my decision to attend very easy.  

While some law schools may have an IP organization and a handful of courses available to second- and third-year students, Loyola has a robust IP program designed to include anyone interested in learning more about the field. In addition to frequent events hosted by the IP Law Society (IPLS), there is also a unique IP-focused legal writing sectionfor first-year students (1Ls), a spring semester elective on patents and global access to medicine, and the IP Bytes student blog. All of these opportunities are available to 1Ls, and no STEM background is required to participate.

Making the right decision 

In my first semester at Loyola, I was a part of the IP Legal Writing section taught by Professor Holler. This was a great opportunity to learn more about IP law while also developing my legal writing skills. Our final assignment in the fall semester was to write a memo about the experimental use defense to patent infringement. This task was similar to work that practicing attorneys do frequently, and it involved analyzing how courts have interpreted a legal doctrine in different scenarios. This spring, we have assignments covering nominative fair use of trademarks and fair use of copyrights. The IP Legal Writing program has taught me a lot about the IP field and the unique form of legal writing, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested.

Additionally, my civil procedure course this fall was taught by Professor Ho, the director of Loyola’s IP Program. Professor Ho shared announcements about IP events in Chicago that we could attend, answered questions about employment opportunities during her office hours, and even gave lectures to our Legal Writing class about trademarks and patents. As a member of IPLAC, Professor Ho has shared events with us such as the recent IP Speed Mentoring & Networking Reception hosted at Loyola. Professor Ho is always happy to answer any questions about IP law and is an incredible person to learn from. Through these opportunities I learned something important. IP law is incredibly broad. It intersects with every industry. Best of all, no STEM degree is needed to succeed. I am excited to stay involved in the IP program at Loyola and continue to learn. 

Although I couldn’t have foreseen it from my college days, I am sure that I have ended up in the right place. I am confident that my prior business experiences have given me the determination and persistence necessary to succeed in law school at Loyola. To anyone reading this, I urge you to ask questions, pursue your interests, and let your curiosity guide you to places you wouldn’t expect. In my case, I discovered the world of IP and business law, followed it to Loyola, and am extremely grateful for the decisions that led me here.

I would highly recommend Loyola to any law school applicant interested in IP law. The opportunities for students are unmatched by any other school and are available from day one. Between the IPLS events, courses available to 1Ls, and faculty members who are always willing to discuss the field, Loyola provides every resource to engage students with IP law and make it accessible to all.