WCL Glushko-Samuelson IP Clinic

Intellectual Property Clinic student attorneys provide IP counseling on Kikim Media’s new film Look Who’s Driving set to air on PBS on October 23^rd.

Autonomous vehicles are now being tested on public roads around the world. As ambitious innovators race to develop what they see as the next big thing, some experts warn there are still daunting challenges ahead, including how to train artificial intelligence to be even better than humans at making life-and-death decisions.

How do self-driving cars work? How close are we to large-scale deployment of them? And will we ever be able to trust AI with our lives?

Tune in to PBS on Wednesday, October 23 at 9pm (8pm Central) to catch Look Who’s Driving on PBS’s flagship science series, NOVA. The clinic’s work on this film is part of its long-standing effort helping documentary filmmakers follow best fair use practices.

OCTOBER 10, 2019 | 6:00 PM | ROOM NT01
RECEPTION TO FOLLOW

Click Here to Register to Attend  |  Click Here to View the Webcast

RUTH L. OKEDIJI

Harvard Law School
Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Berkman Klein Center

A renowned scholar in international intellectual property (IP) law and a foremost authority on the role of intellectual property in social and economic development, Professor Okediji has advised inter-governmental organizations, regional economic communities, and national governments on a range of matters related to technology, innovation policy, and development. Her widely cited scholarship on IP and development has influenced government policies in sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, and South America. Her ideas have helped shape national strategies for the implementation of the WTO’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement). She works closely with several United Nations agencies, research centers, and international organizations on the human development effects of international IP policy, including access to knowledge, access to essential medicines and issues related to indigenous innovation systems.

Professor Okediji was a member of the United States National Academies’ Board on Science, Technology and Policy Committee on the Impact of Copyright Policy on Innovation in the Digital Era. She served as the Chief Technical Expert and Lead Negotiator for the Delegation of Nigeria to the 2013 WIPO Diplomatic Conference to Conclude a Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works by Visually Impaired Persons and Persons with Print Disabilities (Marrakesh VIP Treaty). Okediji was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the 2015 – 2016 High Level Panel on Access to Medicines.

Professor Okediji is a recipient of numerous awards for excellence in teaching, research and mentoring. She is an editor of the Journal of World Intellectual Property Law and an elected member of the American Law Institute. Her most recent book, Copyright Law in an Age of Limitations and Exceptions, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2017.

Professor Okediji is a graduate of the University of Jos and Harvard Law School.

To support the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property, click here. 

On September 20th Professors Peter Jaszi and Vicki Phillips Joined the National Museum of the American Indian for a symposium celebrating clinic client, friend and mentor Suzan Shown Harjo. Her game-changing advocacy, achievements and continuing struggle for Native justice are an inspiration to all of us.

2003 IP Clinic Alum, the Honorable Zuberi Williams joined us on Thursday, September 5th to swear in the new student attorneys of all the WCL clinics!  In his remarks, Judge Williams reflected on his year in clinic, and his years in practice and on the bench. He reinforced two core clinic goals–the value of storytelling on behalf of clients, and the importance of collaboration.

Professor Vicki Phillips presented a poster describing her co-authored article surveying the growing landscape of IP and technology clinics at the 2019 AALS Conference on Clinical Legal Education on May 4, 2019 in San Francisco, CA. Technology has been vilified for its role in creating a polarized country. At the same time, technology has tremendous power to inform, mobilize and unite. IP and technology clinics have been on the rise for the past decade, but the rich opportunities they present for helping students consider the role of technology in society and developing critical subject matter expertise has never been more important than now.

Phillips and co-author Prof. Cynthia Dahl of Penn Law collected and analyzed survey data from 72 live client IP and technology legal clinics in the United States and Canada. Beyond purely mapping the clinical community, the survey results frame and address questions about what law school clinics are teaching students, the clients they serve, and how IP and technology clinical models are a natural extension of the clinical tradition to further the public interest and access to justice.

Victoria Phillips & Cynthia L. Dahl, Innovation and Tradition: A Survey of Intellectual Property and Technology Legal Clinics, 25 Clinical L. Rev. 95 (Fall 2018) https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3184486

Click Here to access a pdf version of the poster!

We wish the best of luck to the graduating students from the IP Clinic class of 2018-19 May you go out into practice client-centered, collaborative and reflective. Tell good stories!

Most importantly, may you find fulfillment and happiness in your new career as a lawyer.

Thank you for all your good work on behalf of your first clients this past year!

The United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling affirming the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, holding that Section 411(a) of the Copyright Act allows plaintiffs to sue for copyright infringement only after the Copyright Office has issued a final action on an application for registration.

The opinion, written by Justice Ginsburg, settles a circuit split over the “registration” requirement for suit under the Copyright Act. Some circuits followed the “application approach,” meaning plaintiffs could sue as soon as they filed their application with the Copyright Office. Other circuits followed the “registration approach,” meaning plaintiffs had to wait to file suit until they received a final decision from the Copyright Office.

The Supreme Court’s 9-0 decision aligns with the amici curiae brief  prepared by IP Clinic student attorneys, Hailie Ingman, Ben Kessler, Andrew Levey, Ted Sotland,  and Mariana Viera under the supervision of Professors Hillary Brill and Peter Jaszi. The brief argued that the registration approach upholds the standards of copyright quality and respects the Copyright Office’s expertise in issues of copyrightability.  Furthermore, the registration approach supports the institutional history of the Copyright Office and the importance of the registration process as “a screening mechanism that safeguards against the proliferation of unfounded assertions of copyright.”

Glushko-Samuelson Intellectual Property Law Clinic students Hailie Ingman and Zach Engleman helped producer and filmmaker Jesse Alk with the release of his critically-acclaimed and award-winning film, Pariah Dog. The student attorneys provided a fair use analysis of various clips used throughout the documentary film to ensure they met legal fair use standards. Their work has helped continue the long-standing effort this clinic has undertaken in ensuring documentary filmmakers follow best fair use practices.

The documentary film tells the story of pariah dogs living in Kolkata, India while bringing to light the stories of the people that take care of them. These street dog caretakers have dedicated their lives to ensuring the dogs have a happy and healthy life, even though they themselves are struggling to ensure their own health and happiness.

We are happy to announce that Jesse Alk premiered the film at the 2019 Big Sky Film Festival where he won first place for feature films over 40 minutes.

More information on the film can be found at http://www.pariahdogmovie.com/.

On February 25^th and March 25^th, IP Clinic Students will present the second and third installments in a series of IP educational programs for startups. These programs are organized and facilitated in cooperation with the Innovation Incubator at the Center for Business and Innovation at American University’s Kogod School of Business. The programs will occur in the evenings from 8:30 PM to 10:00 PM. More information about the programs and their respective topics is provided on the attached promotional material.

The Clinical Law Review has published a new paper coauthored by Professor Victoria Phillips.

“Innovation and Tradition: A Survey of Intellectual Property and Technology Law Clinics” is based on a survey of 72 IP and Technology clinics. The paper takes stock of what IP and Technology clinics were founded to accomplish, how and what they are teaching students, and what clients and missions drive them. It highlights some individual innovations to inspire the community to continue to grow and change. It concludes by assessing what these clinics accomplish, how they are faring on these goals and the role they may play in the future of clinical legal education and experiential learning more generally.