VANDERBILT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROGRAM FAST FACTS FAST FACTS
Intellectual property is one of the most vibrant and challenging areas of today’s legal profession. Emerging technologies are transforming the role communications networks and content play in our lives, and information has become globally accessible. Attorneys must be prepared to navigate an expanding array of rapidly evolving legal regimes. Clients need lawyers who are well prepared to help them thrive in this dynamic environment. The Vanderbilt Intellectual Property Program prepares Vanderbilt Law graduates to meet this challenge. A Broad and Varied Curriculum Students learn IP law basics in introductory courses— Intellectual Property, Copyright Law, Patent Law and Trademarks—and gain practical experience in the Intellectual Property and the Arts clinic and the Patent Litigation practicum. They also explore advanced topics, including international intellectual property law, intellectual trade law, comparative copyright law, sports law, music and copyright, entertainment law, artificial intelligence, the law of cyberspace, and science and technology law. A Faculty of World-Class Scholars and Practitioners Daniel Gervais (Ph.D. Nantes; LL.M., LL.B. Montreal) is an expert in international intellectual property law and the law of artificial intelligence.
Michael Bressman (J.D. Harvard) is an experienced
IP lawyer who teaches the Intellectual Property and the Arts clinic. Judge Kent Jordan (J.D. Georgetown) of the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit teaches a short course, Trademarks. Suzanne Kessler (J.D., M.A. Stanford), an experienced
entertainment lawyer, teaches two short courses: Intellectual Property Licensing and Entertainment Industry Transactions. R. Gregory Parker (J.D. Notre Dame) represents
technology companies in patent, trademark, trade secrets and copyright disputes and teaches courses in patent law.
Joseph Fishman (J.D. Harvard, M.Phil. Cambridge)
is a copyright expert whose research focuses on how intellectual property law influences creativity and the creative process.
“I wanted to pursue a career in patent law, and the Vanderbilt Intellectual Property Program attracted me to the law school.” VIVEK BISWAS | Class of 2019 Associate, Robins Kaplan, Minneapolis 2018-19 Managing Editor, Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law While earning his undergraduate degree in chemical engineering at Washington University, Vivek attended a career talk by a patent lawyer and realized he was interested in patent law. After his 1L year, he confirmed his interest by interning for Judge K. Nicole Mitchell of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, which has a heavy docket of patent cases. Working on JETLaw was a good experience, Vivek said, because “ it was a good opportunity to review current scholarship in patent law.”
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Student Organizations The Vanderbilt Intellectual Property Association and the Entertainment and Sports Law Society sponsor events, help students develop employment networks with alumni and local practitioners, and help students find and take advantage of opportunities to gain practical legal experience in Nashville during law school. Accomplished Alumni Vanderbilt’s alumni network includes nationally renowned Intellectual Property lawyers who frequently speak at Vanderbilt Law School. Copyright Policymaker Aurelia Schultz ’09 is a counsel for policy and international affairs at the U.S. Copyright Office in Washington, D.C. Schultz began her career as a Google Policy Fellow at Creative Commons, a nonprofit that offers authors, artists, photographers and other creative professionals worldwide copyright licenses they can use to protect and share their intellectual property. Industry Advocate Mitch Glazier ’91 is CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America, a D.C.-based trade group that represents record labels’ business and legal interests. In recent years, Glazier has worked with the House Judiciary Committee to update copyright law, advocating a more streamlined approach to licensing music that works in an era of streaming services that provide access to millions of recordings. “Intellectual property is the one area on the judiciary committee that is completely bipartisan,” he says. Patent Policymaker Julie Samuels ’05 founded and leads Tech: NYC, a New York-based nonprofit that supports and connects tech entrepreneurs and investors. She previously worked as a senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, where she held the Mark Cuban Chair to Eliminate Stupid Patents and focused on impact litigation and public policy aimed at addressing patent law in the tech industry.
The Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law ranks second among 21 student-edited U.S. law journals in the field of Arts, Entertainment and Sports Law and sixth among 32 journals focusing on Science, Technology and Computing Law in the most recent (2020) Washington and Lee Law Journal Rankings. JETLaw publishes four editions each year and hosts an annual symposium, which in 2021 explored “The
Daniel Gervais, who directs the Vanderbilt Intellectual Property Program, is the author of The TRIPS Agreement: Drafting History and Analysis, the leading guide to the text that governs international intellectual property. Gervais is also the author of (Re)Structuring Copyright (Elgar, 2019), a book laying out his comprehensive proposal for international copyright reform, and co-author of the textbook International Intellectual Property: An Advanced Introduction. His recent journal articles have explored artificial intelligence and the interfaces between Big Data and intellectual property law, and he has developed elective courses addressing artificial intelligence and robot law. Professor Gervais is a member of the American Law Institute, where he works on a team proposing copyright law reforms. He holds the Milton R. Underwood Chair in Law and is a professor of French at Vanderbilt University.
Law of Global Emergencies,” including the impact of laws governing patents, technology transfer and emergency action.
Visit the VIPP Web page.
An Entertainment Industry Capital Vanderbilt is ideally situated in a major center of entertainment law. Nashville is home to numerous record labels, television networks, instrument manufacturers, and three leading performance rights licensing organizations: BMI, ASCAP and SESAC. The Vanderbilt Intellectual Property Program coordinates with noted practitioners, many of whom are Vanderbilt Law alumni, to provide fellowships and externship opportunities to students interested in studying technology, intellectual property, entertainment and innovation law.
Joseph Fishman studies and teaches Copyright Law and teaches the Intellectual Property Survey and a Music and Copyright seminar. His research focuses on how copyright law shapes the production and consumption of music, and his work has appeared in leading journals, including the Harvard, NYU and University of Pennsylvania law reviews. Professor Fishman majored in music at Harvard University and studied musicology at the University of Cambridge before earning his J.D. from Harvard. Explore the Frontiers of IP Law VIPP hosts IP scholars and practitioners throughout the academic year who deliver talks and teach short courses. In 2019, Vanderbilt Law School hosted the 38th Annual Congress of the International Association for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property, attended by more than 120 IP law professors representing 32 countries.
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