The University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law
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IP @ the U
September 2023
If you have news about IP events, accomplishments and milestones, please send them to our Program Director, Jorge Contreras.
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IP PROGRAM AND LABS BACK TO SCHOOL BARBEQUE |
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It was great to see so many attendees at the Welcome Back to School Barbeque hosted by the IP Program and Center for Law and Biomedical Sciences (LABS). The event, which was held at the College of Law atrium on September 28, was generously sponsored by the law firm Maschoff Brennan and featured delicious barbeque by Miss Essie's Southern BBQ. |
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Pictured L to R: Andrea Corbin, Victoria Carrington, Matt Finley Petersen, Ingrid Petersen |
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Pictured L to R: Lillian Kwok, Rynn Cervantes, Andres Cervantes, Matt McGrath, Rick Gilmore, Mark Ford |
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COLLEGE OF LAW SPONSORS PATENT CONFERENCE IN WARSAW |
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Prof. Contreras participating on a panel discussing the European Commission’s proposed legislation on standards-essential patents at the Polish Academy of Science in Warsaw |
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On September 7-8, the College of Law joined the Polish Academy of Science and Adam Mickiewicz University in hosting an academic/industry conference that explored a range of emerging issues relating to patents covering technical industry standards such as Wi-Fi, 5G and Bluetooth. In addition to speakers from academia, industry and legal practice, representatives from the European Commission and the judiciary offered their views on recent developments in this fast-changing field. Financial support for the conference was provided by Kirkland & Ellis and the Alliance for Open Media (platinum), Cleary Gottlieb, CMS, Ocean Tomo, SMM Legal (gold) and other generous sponsors. Professor Contreras joined Prof. Rafał Sikorski of AMU and Dr Aleksandra Kuznicka-Cholewa (PAN) on the organizing committee. |
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LILLIAN KWOK NAMED INAUGURAL MASCHOFF BRENNAN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SCHOLAR |
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Congratulations to Lillian Kwok (3L), who was selected as the College of Law’s inaugural Maschoff Brennan Intellectual Property Scholar. As this year’s Scholar, Lillian will be assisting our IP faculty with a range of research and writing projects. |
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A number of interesting IP and related developments were in the news this semester and our IP faculty have been actively consulted by the media for their views and opinions on them. Prof. Contreras was quoted in the NY Times, Baltimore Sun and other outlets regarding settlement of the lawsuit brought by the heirs of Henrietta Lacks against Thermo Fisher Scientific over the “ownership” of cellular material that was taken from her in the 1950s. The issues are mentioned in Prof. Contreras’s book The Genome Defense: Inside the Epic Legal Battle to Determine Who Owns Your DNA (2021). In addition, Prof. Contreras and Dave Fagundes of the University of Houston commented in The Conversation (and numerous syndicated publications) on former NFL player Michael Oher’s claim that members of his family cheated him out of compensation for his “life story rights” – rights that are not actually recognized by the law – for his depiction in the Oscar-winning 2009 film “The Blind Side”. The authors discuss these issues further in the Harvard Journal of Sports & Entertainment Law and UC Davis Law Review (forthcoming).
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Former Baltimore Ravens player Michael Oher has sued members of his family alleging that they cheated him out of compensation for his “life story” as depicted in the hit film “The Blind Side” |
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IP COMPETITIONS AND ACTIVITIES THIS SPRING |
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In Spring 2024, College of Law IP students will have the opportunity to participate in a number of external competitions and advisory activities including the following (check the Spring course listing to sign up, or contact Prof. Contreras)
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Bench to Bedside (B2B) Program - Through the University of Utah’s Bench to Bedside (B2B) program, students from any university in Utah can form student teams to develop medical innovations to meet medical problems. At U Law, under the supervision of practicing patent attorneys, 2L and 3L students meet with the teams to discuss the patent process and in some cases, help draft provisional patent applications. In recent years, the innovations have included mechanical, electrical, and software technologies. This is a great opportunity to develop your client interaction skills and patent drafting skills, culminating in the B2B Competition night held at the State Capitol. Adjunct professors Sam Noel and Dan Thomas ably advise the B2B team.
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USPTO Patent Application Drafting Competition - This Competition offers students an opportunity to develop patent prosecution skills by applying legal principles to a hypothetical invention scenario. Each team will complete a search pertaining to the Invention Statement, draft a utility patent application, and defend their decisions before a panel of judges comprising United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) executives/personnel, patent practitioners, academicians, and/or special guest judges from the IP community. Successful teams will demonstrate an ability to draft a patent specification and claims that are both patentable over the prior art and valuable, in terms of breadth of the claims and other considerations relating to post-issuance enforcement of the patent. The Competition consists of five Regional Rounds and a National Finals Round to be held in-person at USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. Past teams from the COL have placed very well in this competition, and we hope to do even better this year! The team this year will be coached by adjunct professor Ken Horton.
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Giles Sutherland Rich Memorial IP Moot Court Competition - This competition is an annual inter-law school event sponsored by the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA). Students participate in an internal competition in January. The winning team from the internal competition will go on to compete in the regional competition. Our team is advised by long-term coach by Dave Johnson. Note: Students should expect significant work over the Winter Break.
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Learn more about the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law's Program on Intellectual Property and Technology Law on our website. |
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