Months before starting law school, I spent a late night exploring legal careers. I had already been keeping up with trends in music, fashion, and entertainment, and I started noticing patterns. Artists struggling with ownership rights. Brands fighting over logos. Designers calling out copied products. I used those observations as a starting point for further research, following articles, news stories, and online discussions about these industries. Intellectual property kept appearing in the background of almost every explanation. I remember thinking, this is it.
Who owns a song or a design? What happens when an artist’s work is copied or a brand’s identity is challenged? How do creators protect their ideas while building a business? These questions drew me in, but I still wanted to understand the legal structure behind them.
Where It Started
I loved fashion from a young age. I enjoyed mixing outfits, sketching designs, and imagining how pieces came together. My mom encouraged me with sketch pads, and I spent hours drawing clothing.
Music shaped me just as much. My older brother played music constantly and eventually produced his own songs. Being around that process showed me how music is created and shared. It also introduced me to the business side, from production choices to marketing strategies. Both industries rely on systems that protect creative work and help it reach audiences.
At fifteen, I visited Parsons School of Design, a college known for training students in creative fields like fashion, design, and visual arts. I observed classes in fashion design, photography, and interior design. Students worked with fabric samples, sketches, and technical construction. Others focused on building garments at sewing machines. It felt serious and very real.
That visit showed me that creative work does not exist on its own. It is developed, structured, and prepared for use in a larger industry. Designers were not just creating. They were building something meant to be shared, sold, and protected.
Shifting My Perspective
These experiences did more than shape my interests. They pushed me to think about how creative work is supported behind the scenes. Fashion and music taught me to notice the decisions behind a final product and the systems that make distribution possible.
At the same time, I noticed that creators were often vulnerable. Designs were copied with little consequence. Artists were locked into agreements that limited control over their own work. I followed trends and news in these industries, and it often felt unfair. The work behind these creations was undervalued, and protection was not always straightforward.
That realization shifted my thinking. I wanted a career where I could help safeguard creative work. Intellectual property law provided that path. It offers a legal framework that allows ideas to be used, shared, and protected while ensuring creators maintain certain rights.
Searching for the Right Fit
When I began researching legal practice areas, entertainment law caught my attention first. It focuses on contracts, licensing, and the legal relationships that shape film, music, and media. I was interested in how those decisions affect an artist’s career.
Then I discovered fashion law. I learned that it involves protecting designs, managing brand identity, and handling business agreements. It showed me how legal rules operate behind the scenes of a creative industry.
I started to see how the industries I was drawn to were deeply connected to intellectual property law. Most of what I had heard about IP before that point involved patents and technical inventions. But as I kept researching, I realized the field was much broader.
Intellectual property also protects creative work through copyrights and trademarks. These tools allow creators and brands to control how their work is used. They apply to songs, logos, brand names, and designs.
That realization connected everything I had been noticing. Ownership disputes in music. Branding conflicts between companies. Conversations about copied fashion designs. They were all tied to intellectual property.
For example, artists have fought legal battles to regain control over their recordings when contracts limited their rights. A well-known dispute involved Megan Thee Stallion reaching a settlement with her former label, highlighting how legal agreements can shape an artist’s rights. In fashion, battles over brand identity can be just as complex. Designer Christian Louboutin fought for trademark protection of his iconic red‑soled shoes, demonstrating how design elements can function as brand identifiers. These examples helped me understand how intellectual property operates across industries I had followed for years.
Discovering how IP applied across music, fashion, and branding confirmed I had found the right path in law.
Learning IP Outside the Classroom
Once I better understood intellectual property, I started noticing it everywhere. I had always seen logos and branding, but I began thinking about them differently. Instead of just recognizing a brand, I started considering the legal protections behind it. What began as an interest in pop culture became curiosity about legal structure.
Coming to Loyola helped me see how a community can support that interest. I did not choose Loyola specifically for IP, but I quickly noticed how active the IP community is. As a first-year student, I have not taken an IP course yet, so much of my exposure has come from conversations with classmates, faculty, and attorneys.
After I shared my interest in the field, Professor Ho, the faculty advisor of the Intellectual Property Law Society, pointed me toward networking opportunities and student events.
Recently, I attended an Intellectual Property Law Society speed networking event. There, I spoke with Brittany Kaplan, an attorney at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP in Chicago whose practice reflects the work I hope to pursue. A part of her work focuses on trademark enforcement and brand management. Hearing her describe her work was both exciting and reassuring. I was especially interested in how her role involved advising clients on brand protection.
This conversation confirmed that the career I want exists. It also showed that this type of work is possible right out of law school.
Conversations like these have been especially valuable. They show how intellectual property operates in practice and how legal protections shape creative industries. The more I learn, the more confident I become in this path.
Where It All Came Together
Finding intellectual property felt like unlocking a door I did not know existed. It gave me language for interests I had carried for years. For the first time, I could clearly connect creativity and law.
Looking ahead, I am excited to continue exploring intellectual property at Loyola. I plan to take IP-focused courses next year to deepen my understanding of how these legal tools operate in practice. I also hope to continue attending networking events and connecting with attorneys in the field. Each opportunity adds another piece to the puzzle as I prepare for a career bridging creativity and law.
Taylor Harris
Assistant Blogger
Loyola University Chicago School of Law, J.D 2028