Student News

TIP Clinic Registration

Professor Bressler is now accepting applications for the Intellectual Property Clinic for the Fall, 2008 semester. Applications will be accepted until 4:00 p.m. on April 11, 2008.

If you are interested in applying, please read the following program description and complete the application here.

**Notice regarding the Technology/Intellectual Property Clinic**

Students should be advised that the prerequisite courses for the Technology/Intellectual Property Clinic for Fall, 2008 have been changed. There are no specific prerequisite IP courses for this clinic. Please list all of the courses that you have taken including the IP courses on your application and Professor Bressler will determine whether you have sufficient substantive IP law coursework for this clinic.

Giles Sutherland Rich Moot Court Competition

DePaul University students, Josh Larsen and Tom Rammer, won the Midwest Regional Giles Sutherland Rich Patent Moot Court Competition. The Midwest Regional is the largest of the four regional competitions with 24 teams participating. Josh and Tom not only won the regional competition, but they also got the awards for the best appellant brief and best appellee brief. Unlike most competitions, teams must write two briefs, one for each side to the dispute. According to the organizers of the competition, this is the first time in the Midwest Regional that one team won the award for having written the best brief for both appellant and appellee.

As a result of winning the regional, Josh and Tom will advance to the National Giles Sutherland Rich Moot Court Competition to be held in Washington D.C. April 16-18. Congratulations and good luck!

UPDATE: Josh Larsen and Tom Rammer, reached the semifinals of the national competition held at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in DC. During the semifinals they barely lost to the ultimate winners of the competition, the University of Texas. Josh and Tom wrote outstanding briefs and argued brilliantly. They have set a very high standard for future DePaul teams. Congraulations!

Updated on April 25, 2008

The Federal Circuit Bar Association is seeking new membership from students interested in the matters heard by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. That court hears cases involving the following matters:

• Patent and Trademark Office
• Patent Litigation
• Veterans Appeals
• International Trade
• Environmental and Natural Resources
• Federal Indian Law
• Government Contracts and Construction Law
• Merit Systems Protection Board Appeals

Membership is free to students the entire time they are in law school.

This membership includes the newsletters, law journals, invitations to webcasts (free for students), writing competition information, various available scholarship information, and networking with other members of the FCBA - including federal judges, partners, associates, government attorneys, and academia.

Students interested in joining should provide the following information to Olivia T. Luk, of Latham & Watkins, LLP at the address below:

1. Name
2. Address
3. Phone Number
4. Email Address
5. Law School
6. Date of Anticipated Graduation
7. Areas of Interest (Patent, Copyright, Trademark, Environmental, Indian, etc.)

Olivia T. Luk
LATHAM & WATKINS LLP
Sears Tower, Suite 5800
233 South Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60606
Direct Dial: +1.312.876.6587
Fax: +1.312.993.9767
Email: olivia.luk@lw.com
http://www.lw.com

The Nathan Burkan Memorial Competition

Congratulations to Igor Dubinsky and Jing Zhang on winning the 2007 DePaul University College of Law American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Nathan Burkan Memorial Writing Competition:

The 1st Place Award went to Igor Dubinsky for his paper, Déjà vu Double Headers and the Race to the Copyright Box Office: Rent Dissipation of Movie Profits and the Influence on Parallel Works.

The 2nd Place Award went to Jing Zhang for her paper, Pushing Copyright Law in China---A Double-edged Sword.

Both Igor's and Jing's papers have now been certified to the National Nathan Burkan Memorial Competition for consideration for a national award.

All of the papers submitted for this year's competition were of excellent quality and all applicants should be applauded for their efforts.

Triumph In Beijing For DePaul IP Moot Court Team

Professor Jerold Friedland, in an e-mail received today, was delighted to inform the law school that "… DePaul's team was awarded First Place in the First Annual Intellectual Property Moot Court Competition sponsored by the Supreme People's Court of China and Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU). We competed against 13 teams from Chinese universities, the China State Intellectual Property Office and a prominent IP law firm in a two-day event on May 27 and 28. Judges for the final round included two Justices from the China Supreme Court IP Division, Judge Elizabeth LaPorte of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the Senior Attorney for the Jones, Day Litigation Group, an official from China's State Intellectual Property Office and well-known academics from key Chinese universities."

"Our team included four participants in our 2007 Asian Legal Studies Program-- Tom Rammer, Dina Masiello, Angus Fung and Pedro Fernandez—and was superbly coached by Professor Song Richardson. Professor Kathy Strandburg also coached the team in Chicago on the preparation of their briefs."

Some additional background on the competition:

From the Rules for BFSU Intellectual Property Moot Court Competition:

"This Competition is organized by Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), School of Law, with an aim to promote legal education and awareness of the actual problems in intellectual property disputes arising in the business sectors in China. The problem presented for the Competition (The “Problem”) is entirely crafted on fictional basis and being litigated by fictitious parties. However, the legal issues presented for discussion are all practical that may affect the industries now or in the future"

"Chinese laws, regulations and the Supreme People's Court's decisions or interpretive announcements will be the governing law in general; international laws and treaties which by adoption have been incorporated into Chinese laws will also be binding; all other legal authorities, such as national laws of other countries, judicial decisions of any court other than the Supreme People’s Court, domestic or foreign, or commentaries made by legal scholars, will be considered at best as persuasive but not binding. For issues of first impression (meaning: not dealt with in the governing laws), a team is free to make an argument citing secondary authorities, which will be considered at the judges' discretion."

From the BSFU Law School website news item about the competition :

"Students from various parts of the United States under the DePaul-BFSU Summer Program of Law could not contain their excitement for being able to take part in this event, considering it "a good opportunity to learn and understand Chinese law and legal education." Chinese Students believe the same because through the Competition, they could see and experience first-hand how intellectual property law is put in action."

"After the two-day heated contest, DePaul Team won the first prize, Kanxin Team the second, with the third prize shared by Beijing Institute of Technology and Ximen. The "Best Memo" was awarded to Ximen University, and the "Best Advocate" to Ms. CHEN Tiantian, a second-year law student from Beijing University of Diplomacy."

In the closing to his message, Professor Friedland says that, "We are grateful to our good friends in China for inviting us and scheduling the event at a time that allowed our students to compete. The invitation reflects the deep relationship that our Asian Legal Studies Program has established with BFSU and other law schools in China. The team's outstanding performance before such prominent judges will surely enhance DePaul's reputation for excellence in the legal communities of China and the United States."

By Walt Bauman.

Jessica Underwood article "Impeaching Finnigan and Realigning the Corroboration Standard for Uninterested Single Witness Testimony with Precedent and Policy" was recently published in the Journal of Technology Law and Policy.

Jessica Underwood recently published her article "Impeaching Finnigan and Realigning the Corroboration Standard for Uninterested Single Witness Testimony with Precedent and Policy" in the Journal of Technology Law and Policy, and the article is pending publication in the Federal Circuit Bar Journal. Jessica worked on this article with Intellectual Property Professor Matthew Sag of DePaul University College of Law. The article examines the Federal Circuit split regarding whether an uninterested witness's testimony submitted to prove patent invalidity must be corroborated with other evidence as a bright-line rule or whether courts should have the option to evaluate this testimony on a case-by-case basis. Further, the paper makes a recommendation for a more moderate standard for uninterested witness testimony in lieu of a bright-line rule in order to realign the corroboration requirement's purpose and rationales with established case precedent and policy.

Congratulations to the 2007-2008 newly elected IP Society officers

The 2007-2008 IP Society officers are:

• President: Kyle Davis
• Vice President: Andy Balazer
• Secretary: Dan Rothenberg
• Treasurer: Ryan Crockett

Craig Mandell wins third place in Nathan Burkan National Writing Competition

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) recently sponsored the annual Nathan Burkan Memorial Competition, an essay contest for third-year law students that covers various aspects of copyright law. DePaul law student Craig Mandell’s article, “Balance of Powers: Recognizing the Uraguay Round Agreement Act’s Antibootlegging Provisions as a Constitutional Exercise of Congress’s Commerce Clause Authority,” earned him $1000 and a third place ranking in the national competition. He is the first DePaul student to reach the top three in the national competition.