“Study what interests you and the rest will work itself out” As a high achieving high school student, choosing a college major felt like choosing a career. I remember placing so much pressure on picking my college of study. Then I got some very simple advice from my career counselor at the time. She said, “study what interests you and the rest will work itself … Continue reading An Unexpected Journey From Healthcare to IP
Even before starting law school at Loyola, I knew that I wanted to practice intellectual property (IP) law. IP law involves both transactional law and litigation. While transactional law focuses on the creation and review of documents and contracts, litigation focuses on resolving disputes, often in a courtroom setting. While I have always been interested in IP transactional law, I also saw the value of understanding litigation. Understanding litigation can be key to a lawyer’s transactional practice. A transactional lawyer can learn how to better draft documents and contracts so that a dispute (hopefully!) never arises and litigation is not needed. Continue reading “A Record Store Versus a Boy Band: My Experience on Loyola’s IP Moot Court Team”
Initial Training
Slaying dragons has never been my forte. I have always preferred to play the part of the advisor to the knight. In my mind, the sword felt like lead. I never quite mastered the footing. The chain metal armor is dreadfully unfashionable.
Continue reading “Slaying the Law School Dragon”
For as long as I can remember, creative storytelling, imagination, and magic, have always captivated me. From, fascination with Disney at an early-age to getting a degree in theatre design in undergrad, I remain engaged with my creative side as much as I could. However, it was not until my first semester at Loyola University Chicago School of Law that I learned that the magic … Continue reading The Magic of the Unknown: Discovering IP at Loyola
As I attempt my first blog post for IP Bytes, I am reminded of the overwhelming sense of apprehension I feel every time I sit down to write. What if I don’t choose the right words? What if I bore my audience? Will I look back at this post as a seasoned 3L and cringe at my first attempt at blogging? These questions taunt me as I begin to write.
The first thing my law school classmates asked when I shared that I had a science undergraduate degree was – “Oh, so are you thinking of IP law?”
Surprisingly, I did not even know much about Intellectual Property (IP) law until I came to Loyola. When applying to law school, I heard about Loyola’s prestigious health law program and decided, prematurely, that that’s what I would do. It seemed like the best of both worlds with my background – healthcare in a legal setting. However, it was not until I started 1L that I realized (1) how my true interest is in IP (and specifically patent law!) and (2) how great the IP program is at Loyola.
Continue reading “The Unspoken Strength of Loyola’s Intellectual Property Program”
Semicolons and IP
Learning about Intellectual Property (“IP”) taught me that I am not particularly attached to teaching proper semicolon usage. After years of working as an English Language Arts tutor for K-12 students, this realization came as a bit of a shock. Punctuation was not, in fact, my passion. What I love about teaching is what also attracts me to IP. I enjoy shedding light on the boogeyman that lurks in unfamiliar subjects.
Continue reading “Semicolons and the IP Boogeyman”
I still remember my first sparring match vividly. It was a 3-minute practice combat session in my childhood martial arts class. I practiced techniques, learned the rules, and prepared myself for controlled combat with a partner. I instantly fell in love with the competitive spirit of sparring. Recently, I was reminded of that spirit when I discovered patent litigation as a law clerk.
Continue reading “Sparring in Federal Court: The Competitive Spirit of Patent Litigation”
Like many other engineering graduates in the state of Michigan, I started my engineering career in the automotive industry. Lucky for me, I landed a pretty fun job in vehicle safety. The crash lab located in the space behind my office ran full speed crash tests on a daily basis. However, I spent most of my day behind a computer analyzing vehicle structures for crashworthiness.
Continue reading “Cash Rules Everything in IP”
By the time November 1st rolls around each year, I often expect to hear “All I Want For Christmas Is You” when I turn on the radio. Mariah Carey is America’s Christmas ‘It-girl.’ According to Vulture magazine, as of Christmas 2022, Mariah’s song was the longest-running holiday Number 1 song of all time. Her song, which was released in 1994, has garnered so much recognition … Continue reading Mariah Carey: No Longer The Queen of Christmas According to Trademark Experts
