Tag: IP

IP - From Theory to Practice, Trademarks

Trade Dress: Can A Tampon Applicator Get Trademark Protection?

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.

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avatarAriel Katz
Why Loyola

Places of Discovery Like Loyola

Finding Intellectual Property Law

Photo taken by Suet Lee

My favorite Saturday college pastime was teaching kids about everything from ozobots to farm automation to the Polar Virtual Reality Exhibit. I taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Discovery Building, a place where students and their families can explore science, technology, engineering, and math concepts through fun activities. The Discovery Building also houses the Morgridge Institute for Research, a private, nonprofit research institute dedicated to biology studies and interdisciplinary biomedical research. That is where I first discovered intellectual property (IP) law as a career path. How? By seeing its application in the lab!                                       

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avatarSuet Lee
Copyrights, IP - From Theory to Practice, patents, Trademarks

Stealing Settlers? How IP factors into Online Games

Can Intellectual Property Protect Board Games?

I love board games and have been playing a lot of Settlers of Catan online during the pandemic. I use a site called colonist.io, which is an offshoot, unaffiliated version of the Settlers of Catan game. During my Intellectual Property (IP) class with Professor Ho earlier this year, I wondered how IP rights extend to board games. When we tend to think of IP, we might think of cool technological inventions for patents or Disney’s Mickey Mouse for copyright. IP generally relates to protecting human created products, names, and expressions, and can give its owner rights to protect these.

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avatarAriel Katz
Behind the Scenes, 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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avatarLily Liermann
Photo by Daniel Cheung on Unsplash
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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avatarLily Parker
IP - From Theory to Practice, patents

IP – Surprisingly Relevant to Public Health

I started telling people I was going to law school just about one year ago. One of the first questions everybody asked was whether I was going into IP law. I had been working in software development for several years, so the assumption made sense given my technology background. I had other plans though.

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avatarScott Hulver
Why Loyola

The Road To Loyola

Life in the Rear View

I spent six years working in broadcast journalism and nearly two years in digital marketing before coming to law school. Titles switched, duties expanded and employers changed, but intellectual property (“IP”), especially copyright, was always at the core. I existed in a constant state of media creation and consumption. Come along for the ride, and I’ll explain how. Continue reading “The Road To Loyola”

avatarPatrick Lucas
Why Loyola

Why Loyola: From Peter Pan to Intellectual Property

When I first looked into Intellectual Property Law shortly after taking the LSAT, I thought that I was automatically ineligible without a science background. But, I was happy to learn that my initial assumption was wrong. It turns out you don’t have to have a science or STEM background to work in Intellectual Property.  Those things are only required for those interested in the patent bar, which is only required to practice on behalf of inventors before the USPTO. In reality, IP is more than just patents, and a diverse background might be more helpful than you think.

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avatarLily Parker
Loyola Spotlight

Making the Most of Loyola’s Opportunities: How Christian Morgan (JD ’17) Found a Future in IP

Christian Morgan Christian Morgan is an associate attorney at Norvell IP, LLC in Chicago, Illinois. After graduating from University of Nebraska—Lincoln with high distinction in 2014, he came to Loyola University Chicago School of Law where he discovered a future in intellectual property law.

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avatarRebecca Bavlsik