How did the daughter of an immigrant watchmaker from Mexico City end up as a law student at Loyola University Chicago School of Law fascinated by intellectual property law (IP)? She took a leap of faith and learned that timing is everything!
Continue reading “From Miami to Chicago: The Daughter of a Watchmaker Goes to Law School”
Monika Malek is an associate in Vedder Price’s Chicago office and a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property (IP) group. She maintains a broad practice spanning trademark, copyright and patent litigation, prosecution (writing and filing a patent), enforcement (monitoring for potential infringement or enforcing an owner’s rights) and portfolio management (advising on business strategies associated with a patent). Prior to joining Vedder Price, she was an associate at a boutique law firm where she worked closely with clients on litigation and transactional matters involving a wide range of IP issues. She earned her law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and her undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. While in law school, she was awarded Loyola’s Laura Terlizzi Scholarship, given to a female student intending to practice intellectual property law, and three CALI Awards for the highest grade in Copyright, IP Advocacy, and IP Colloquium. She also researched issues related to drug patents in domestic and international contexts as a research assistant to Professor Ho.
Continue reading “A Jack of All Trade(marks, patents & copyrights)s: An Interview with Monika Malek”
Donald Trump, a divisive figure in our current political climate, has faced a massive setback with his new social media network “Truth Social.” On August 2nd, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) denied Trump’s application to federally register (which grants federal protection of the trademark) the network’s name as a trademark. This is one of many setbacks that the former President has faced since leaving office. This relatively minor setback could potentially cause major re-branding issues for Truth Social further down the line if his appeal is unsuccessful. If Trump continues using the mark, he may be sued and will eventually have to change the name of his social media network or incur major legal fees.
Continue reading “Even a Former President Can Get into Hot Water With the USPTO”
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”
Fusion
[fyoo-zhin] (noun), A process or mechanism of combining two distinct matters into one.
For most of my life, I didn’t consider law school at all. I was interested in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), fields that I thought had nothing to do with law. In my head, TV-depictions of lawyers like Harvey Specter or Olivia Pope were the only representations of legal work. So basically, I thought attorneys managed million-dollar-deals or put criminals behind bars.
Finding Intellectual Property Law
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!
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.
Continue reading “Reconsidering My Law School Decision: Why I (Finally) Chose Loyola”
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.
Continue reading “IP Did you know? Behind the Scenes of Copyright in Pop Culture”
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.
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.
Continue reading “Introductions to IP: An Interview with Kara Smith”
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.
Continue reading “IP – Surprisingly Relevant to Public Health”
