10th Anniversary of IP Law AND POLICY LL.M.
After six years at the helm of the Center for
Microsoft, Gomulkiewicz represented software
Advanced Study and Research on Intellectual
developers and users at the Preston, Gates &
Property (CASRIP), Professor Toshiko Takenaka
Ellis (now K&L Gates) law firm, working on the
wanted to expand the reach of the IP Law
famous Apple v. Microsoft case. He was also no
curriculum. So she began playing with the idea
stranger to UW Law, having regularly taught a
of a yearlong IP LL.M. program. “I wanted the
class on legal protection for software at the school
program to be the first program on the West
and sometimes guest lectured for Takenaka’s IP
Coast,” Takenaka recalled. “I believed in [its]
courses.
nation’s premier Intellectual Property Law and Policy LL.M. programs.
Guided by his experience, Gomulkiewicz led the development of a high-quality IP curriculum rooted in a balanced approach to practical and theoretical learning. Students began their studies
She enlisted the help of Associate Dean Patricia
with an intensive “boot camp” class called IP Law
Kuszler to design an interdisciplinary program,
Core. The curriculum culminate in courses that
relevant to IP lawyers in hot industries in the
take students into advanced topics and practical
Pacific Northwest, such as software and biotech.
application, such as drafting license agreements
After years of planning, their vision was accepted
and patent applications. A unique program
by the graduate school in the spring of 2002. The program wouldn’t be the success it is today without its first director, former Microsoft Associate General Counsel Bob Gomulkiewicz ’87 (pictured above). He joined the faculty in autumn 2002, bringing ample IP experience with him. At Microsoft, Gomulkiewicz led the
requirement is a major research paper. In the 10 years of the IP LL.M. program, more than 30 student research papers have been published in law journals and two have been cited by courts. Externships and Oxford-style tutorials also provide opportunities for students to learn IP law from different perspectives.
legal team supporting the development of major
A number of other faculty and staff have been
software products, such as Windows and Office.
instrumental in building the program as well. Sean
He also served as chair of the Uniform Computer
O’Connor, who established the Entrepreneurial
Information Transactions Act (UCITA) working
Law Clinic, served as Associate Director and
group of the Business Software Alliance. Before
for a year as Co-Director. Dan Laster, a former
fa l l 2 012
anniversary of that idea’s fruition — one of the
uw law
potential.” This year, we celebrate the 10th
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