The Legend of Zelda is a Nintendo video game series centered around protagonist Link. One of the newer installments of the series, Breath of the Wild, has won several awards in the gaming industry. But, what in the world does the Legend of Zelda have to do with patent law?
Brad Loren is an associate at McAndrews Held and Malloy Ltd. (McAndrews).
Prior to attending law school, Brad attended the University of Iowa where he 
earned a B.A. in Chemistry and Political Science. After earning his undergraduate degrees, Brad attended Purdue University where he earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry. Brad’s Ph.D. research focused on pharmaceutical development, specifically organic synthesis and drug delivery. After earning his Ph.D., Brad attended Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where he graduated cum laude in 2021. Continue reading “A Journey from the Lab to the Office: An Interview with Brad Loren”
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”
Every kid in the world at some point in their lives has probably dreamt of inventing something or creating a brand–and making millions off their creative genius. I know I have. While I regret to inform you that I am neither a millionaire nor the next Steve Jobs (yet!), I’ve dabbled in many areas of intellectual property, which ultimately led me down the path to IP law. Continue reading “My Creative Journey Towards IP Law”
“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”
Before coming to law school, I only had a vague understanding of what the public domain was. Mostly, it seemed like a phrase people would throw around when describing music that was insanely old. However, a few of my friends make music in their spare time and seeing how they used music they found within the public domain” helped me understand its importance and how it functions.
Using the internet, my friend would find songs that were in the public domain. He would slice and dice particular sections from them. He would then add the sounds into his own sound mix, often changing the pitch and adding effects as he went along. The final product would sound unrecognizable, and usually really cool. (If you want an example of how musicians do this, this link offers some excellent examples of how to use public domain music. It also has a sound example that shows the unique sound a sample creates).
Continue reading “Demystifying the Public Domain: How Expired IP Promotes Creativity”
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.
Continue reading “Stealing Settlers? How IP factors into Online Games”
How has patent law affected the bourbon industry? Faced with ample free time as a result of the stay-at-home order during the COVID-19 pandemic, this thought popped into my head while I was reminiscing about my past vacation to Kentucky’s renowned Bourbon Trail. Continue reading “A Toast to Patents”
Although people do not normally associate patent law with baseball, many of the edge-of-your-seat moments and walk-off homers would not be around today if it were not for patented technology. Let’s take a look at how patents have allowed us to play ball! Continue reading “Major League Patents – How Patent Law Has Shaped America’s Pastime”
