The University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law

Program on Intellectual Property and Technology Law

IP @ the U

September 2025

Welcome to IP @ the U, a periodic newsletter for students, alumni, faculty and friends of the University of Utah College of Law's Program on Intellectual Property and Technology Law. This issue covers highlights from Summer and Early Fall 2025.

If you have news about IP events, accomplishments and milestones, please send them to our Program Director, Jorge Contreras.

IP CLINIC IS APPROVED BY USPTO

We are thrilled to announce that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has approved the College of Law’s application to operate a pro bono patent and trademark law clinic as part of its Law School Clinic Certification Program. The new IP Clinic will officially begin to operate on a pilot basis in the 2026 Spring semester and is currently open for enrollment. The IP Clinic will assist entrepreneurs, non-profit organizations, small businesses, students and others with intellectual property issues including the filing of trademark and patent applications. It will also carry on the work that the College of Law has done in support of the Center for Medical Innovation’s annual Bench to Bedside Competition, in which student teams from around the state compete to develop health care innovations.

We are especially grateful to Dan Thomas (’20) (dan.thomas@law.utah.edu), who will serve as our inaugural IP Clinic Director and Adjunct Professor Sam Noel of Lowenstein Sandler, who will support Dan and the IP Clinic.

THORPE, NORTH & WESTERN IP SCHOLARSHIP AWARDED

We are delighted to announce that Breanna Hickerson (3L) is this year’s recipient of the annual Thorpe, North & Western IP Scholarship, which includes a generous $1,500 prize. Congratulations to Bre for her IP-related accomplishments here at the College of Law, including her outstanding performance at the 2025 Giles Rich Moot Court Competition, in which the COL won the Regional championship.

NEW SIPLA OFFICERS

SIPLA officers 2025-26 (L to R: James Finn, Bryce Ferguson, Dalton Yerke, Zach Shear, Joe Wells)

Congratulations to this year’s Student IP Law Association (SIPLA) officers:

•  James Finn | President – james.finn@law.utah.edu | (LinkedIn)

•  Dalton Yerke | Vice President – dalton.yerke@law.utah.edu | (LinkedIn)

•  Joe Wells | Treasurer – joe.wells@law.utah.edu | (LinkedIn)

•  Zach Shear | Executive Board Member – zachary.shear@law.utah.edu | (LinkedIn)

•  Bryce Ferguson | Executive Board Member – bryce.ferguson@law.utah.edu | (LinkedIn)

Please feel free to contact your SIPLA officers, or the SIPLA faculty advisor, Prof. Contreras (jorge.contreras@law.utah.edu) with any questions about student IP activities and involvement at the COL. If you’d like to receive regular updates on activities, events and opportunities from SIPLA, you can sign up for the SIPLA email list by contacting any of the officers.

UTAH ON THE WORLD IP STAGE

Prof. Contreras at the University of Turin, with Prof. Marco Ricolfi (Univ. Turin) 
and Prof. Enrico Bonadio (St. George’s Univ. of London)

The University of Utah has recently been represented at World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) events by Professor Contreras. In June, he lectured at the WIPO LLM Program at the University of Turin in Italy, and in September he will speak at the WIPO Symposium on Standard Essential Patents in Geneva, Switzerland.

FACULTY PRESENT NEW WORK AT IP SCHOLARS CONFERENCE

Professors Anderson and Contreras each presented new work at the annual IP Scholars Conference held in Chicago this summer. Professor Anderson discussed his recent research on patent litigation funding, and Professor Contreras presented a paper co-authored with Professor Anderson and Professor Sapna Kumar of the University of Minnesota proposing the transfer of jurisdiction over IP cases from the International Trade Commission (ITC) to the federal courts.

NEW PATENT PLEDGE COLLABORATION WITH UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN

Prof. Contreras and Dr. Lenarczyk discussing the Patent Pledge Database 
at the CeBIL annual retreat in Roskilde, Denmark

This summer, the Center for Advanced Studies in Bioscience Innovation Law (CeBIL) at the University of Copenhagen assumed stewardship and maintenance of the Patent Pledge Database created in 2013 by Professor Jorge Contreras. The database will be accessible to researchers around the world via the Danish e-Infrastructure “DeiC Dataverse” site, located here, and will be regularly updated by a CeBIL research team led by postdoctoral fellow Gabriela Lenarczyk and CeBIL Director Timo Minssen. Professor Contreras will continue to collaborate with CeBIL researchers as an Inter-CeBIL Affiliate. Read more about the project here.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Be sure to watch for announcements regarding the locations of these upcoming IP-related events at the College of Law.

Sept. 29 (noon)  - The Federalist Society will host Judge Ryan Holte of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, who will speak about his recent paper on the Constitution's Property Clause. Professor Anderson will provide commentary and Professor Contreras will moderate. Judge Holte will also speak about clerkship and internship opportunities. For more information, contact Alessandra Coote (Alessandra.Coote@law.utah.edu ).

Oct. 30 (noon) – The Utah State Bar IP Section will host a presentation at the College of Law featuring Professor Contreras, who will speak about the recent AI Copyright cases pending in courts across the country.

Feb. 20, 2026 (all day) – save the date for the Utah State Bar IP Section’s Annual IP Summit, which will be held at the College of Law. Chief Judge Kimberly Moore of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will be the keynote speaker, and the day will be devoted to a range of current IP topics.

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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