I love commercials. As a kid, Bart Simpson sold me Butterfingers. I walked to school singing the KitKat song. When I was old enough to understand that someone had to write the commercial before they recorded it, I thought that was my dream job. Continue reading “IP And Me: How My Love of Branding Led to A Legal Career”
The Glamour of Entertainment Law
I’ve been interested in IP from an early age. Growing up, my mother’s best friend worked in Entertainment Law in Hollywood. I didn’t understand her job until years later, but she was working in IP.
At the time, her job simply seemed glamorous. She represented ‘the stars.’ I was intrigued by the idea of making money as a lawyer working with celebrities. I have loved music since I began playing the violin at four years old and I vividly remember my first concert at the age of six. Music has been a part of my entire life. Once I learned about IP and its relation to music, I couldn’t help but think of a better way to enjoy a career in law.
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.”
If Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo (painters or turtles) were to decide to paint something together, who gets to hold the brush? In Intellectual Property (IP) terms, working with multiple parties with competing IP interests can feel like many artists working on the same canvas. Let me provide some backstory before I answer this question.
One might think that if a company is well established, its intellectual property would be de facto protected. But that is not the case. Two of America’s most iconic companies, easily recognizable and hard to confuse, are currently in a battle over trademarks. These two companies are none other than Anheuser-Busch and Yuengling, two of America’s oldest breweries. Yuengling was founded in 1829 in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Anheuser-Busch, on the other hand was founded in the late 1850s, in St. Louis, Missouri. But recently these two giants of the industry have been warring over trademark rights. Continue reading “Battle of Breweries – Trademark Style”
“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 “My Path to IP at Loyola – Expect the Unexpected”
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?
Continue reading “Breathe, It’s Only Networking: Loyola x IPLAC Networking Event Edition”
Don’t we all love pets? I have to admit that I am biased. My interest in IP related pet products arose from my very own puppy, Java. I, like most pet owners, have a lot of toys for Java. And, like most pet owners, I always buy more.
Continue reading “IP and Furry Friends: Fun Patented Puppy Products”
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.
Now, I wouldn’t call myself a sneakerhead by any definition of the phrase, but certain shoes will forever pique my interest. The classic Jordan 1 silhouette has captivated me since I saw Space Jam as a kid and became entranced with the MJ legend. For decades after that seed of appreciation was planted in my head as a child, I never thought twice about sneaker style. I was more of a chukka guy, to be honest.
