Why Loyola

Reconsidering My Law School Decision: Why I (Finally) Chose Loyola

In April 2020, I was committed to attending a law school that was not Loyola. After making the tuition deposit, however, something didn’t feel right. I began rethinking whether that school would be the best place to spend the next three years. But where would I go?

My goal was to attend a school with a strong IP program. However, I wanted more than a curriculum. I wanted a community, a place that would make me happy when I walked through the doors every day. After making this realization, I scheduled calls with deans, professors, alumni, and students at other law schools to gain insights into their experiences.

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Jack Hynes
pancakes
Why Loyola

Patents and Pancakes

I had a fairly clear idea when I came to Loyola University Chicago School of Law that I wanted to focus on patent law. Having a science background, it seemed like a natural fit given the intersection between patent law and science. However, my interests weren’t solidified until I read patent cases assessing the validity of a patented pancake recipe. You’ll have to learn a little bit about my childhood to understand why those interests solidified though. 

A consistent motivating force throughout my life has been figuring out how things worked. As a kid, whenever I got bored with a toy, I would sneak tools from my dad’s toolbox and take it apart. I wanted to get a better understanding of how the toy worked. Knowing that I’d get a lecture on why I shouldn’t break my toys, I’d try to put them back together—often unsuccessfully. Nevertheless, the hunt for that forbidden knowledge was worth the lecture and one less toy. I needed to figure out how it worked, no matter the consequences.

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Louay Meroueh
Trademarks

Justice for Social Movement Trademarks

Thousands of people have taken to the streets, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, to demand justice and equal treatment for Black Americans after the murder of George Floyd. Throughout these protests, the slogan “Black Lives Matter” is often used by those condemning the treatment of Black Americans at the hands of police officers around the country. Is this phrase a trademark, and if it is, who owns it? Do trademark principles allow the Black Lives Matter Foundation, an entity associated with the movement, to have a trademark in phrases such as “Black Lives Matter” so that they can prevent other entities from commercially profiting from using it?

Let’s start by discussing some trademark principles.

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Lily Liermann
Photo by Daniel Cheung on Unsplash
Behind the Scenes, Copyrights, Fun Facts

IP Did you know? Behind the Scenes of Copyright in Pop Culture

Intellectual Property (“IP”) is everywhere. IP laws cover things we interact with daily, like media, technology and even health care through patents, trademarks and copyrights. One of the reasons IP is so interesting is that despite its big impact it tends to be behind the scenes enough that many probably don’t even realize its influence. This post highlights some of these interesting behind-the-scenes tidbits of copyright law.

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Lily Parker
Loyola Spotlight

Having Fun with IP Law: An Interview with Professor Nan Norton

Professor Nan Norton is currently on the adjunct faculty and library faculty at Loyola University Chicago School of Law.  She teaches classes on trademark law, intellectual property (IP) research, and basic legal research to Loyola students. Prior to working at Loyola, she was a shareholder at Brinks Gilson & Lione, a highly regarded IP boutique firm in Chicago, where she practiced trademark law. Professor Norton also worked as corporate counsel managing IP matters and at a general practice firm. She is co-author of Trademark Practice Throughout the World and was a contributing author to Designing an Effective Intellectual Property Compliance Program, which is part of the Corporate Compliance Series.

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Maggie DePoy
Loyola Spotlight

IP Meets IT — An Interview with Loyola’s Professor Charlotte Tschider

Professor Charlotte Tschider joined the Loyola University Chicago School of Law in Fall 2020. She was previously the 2018-2019 Jaharis Faculty Fellow in Health Law and Intellectual Property at the DePaul University College of Law. In 2019-2020, she was an Assistant Visiting Professor at the University of Nebraska School of Law. Her primary scholarship is focused on the global healthcare industry and its intersection with information privacy, cybersecurity law, artificial intelligence, and intellectual property (“IP”). Professor Tschider’s work has appeared in numerous law reviews, the American Bar Association’s The Law of Artificial Intelligence and Smart Machines (2019), and many other publications. More on Professor Tschider’s background and scholarship can be found here. 

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Kiana Baharloo
Loyola Spotlight

Introductions to IP: An Interview with Kara Smith

Kara Smith is an associate attorney at Neal Gerber Eisenberg (NGE) in Chicago Illinois. She graduated from Purdue University in 2013 before attending Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She was first introduced to Intellectual Property (“IP”) Law in her first semester Property course.

Kara Smith.

While at Loyola she represented the school as a Student Member of the Richard Linn Inn of Court and as a Vis Moot International Commercial Arbitration Fellow. She was a Civil Procedure tutor for Professor Richard Michael and was the Chair of Professional Development for the National Security Law Association.

Kara joined NGE after graduating cum laude from Loyola in 2017. Her practice areas include trademark, copyright, and patent enforcement and litigation. She also works as an adjunct professor at Loyola, teaching Advanced Legal Writing in Intellectual Property and coaches the Vienna Vis Moot team.

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Lily Parker
Loyola Spotlight

From Art History to IP: An Interview with Hillary Maynard, J.D. 2018

Hillary Maynard is an Associate at Ulmer & Berne LLP. Her work covers various intellectual property (IP) matters, including trademarks, unfair competition, and copyright. She is from Canada and completed her undergraduate degree at Queen’s University before moving to Chicago for law school. Hillary is also involved with the intellectual property community in Chicago. Her involvement includes serving on the Marketing and Communications Committee for Chicago Women in IP (ChiWIP), serving on the Unreal Campaign Committee for the International Trademark Association, and is an Intellectual Property Committee Chair for the Chicago Bar Association Young Lawyers Section.

Hillary has published several IP articles including Is it time for a Quarantini? Lessons for COVID-Related Trademarks and Walmart Burned by the Jury in Trademark Infringement Suit.

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Kiana Baharloo
Why Loyola

My Journey to IP at Loyola University Chicago

(Not) Aboard the IP Train

I first heard about intellectual property (IP) law during my junior year of college. I had a friend in the school of engineering who planned to pursue a career in patent law. My friend explained to me that a patent is a way to protect someone’s invention. She also mentioned that patent law is a subset of a larger legal area called IP. When I asked how someone becomes a patent attorney, she said that you need a science degree. As an economics major, I was put-off by this statement. I thought that IP was not an option for me. I can gladly say that I was wrong. Before I explain why IP is an option for me, let me explain how I ended up at law school in the first place! Continue reading “My Journey to IP at Loyola University Chicago”

Lily Liermann