We offer an exciting Intellectual Property, Entertainment & Sports Law Fellowship Program.
The Intellectual Property, Entertainment & Sports Fellowship Program provides a wealth of opportunities for students interested in all aspects of business law and particularly those dealing with entertainment and sports. This Fellowship Program is definitely NOT limited to those with technical backgrounds. The “soft IP” areas of trademark, copyright, rights of publicity, trade secrets, and even many aspects of patent law are open to anyone with the interest and drive to succeed in a rapidly expanding area of law that has become essential for anyone with a business or corporate practice.
If you are a prospective law student with an undergraduate or advanced degree in the hard sciences or engineering, this program would provide you a wealth of opportunities to incorporate your existing skills into a package that is in high demand in the legal community.
Our program provides access to entertainment, sports, and intellectual property law in the classroom and in the field. Fellows typically attend a multi-day, for-credit seminar introducing various aspects of entertainment, sports and IP law, including the basics of patents, copyrights, and trademarks as well as how these bodies of law interact with other areas such as contract and antitrust law. The program in the past has included members of the bench and bar, many of them alumni of the law school, who provide real world flavor to the academic experience.
In the second and third years, Fellows may:
- Take a variety of electives focusing on all aspects of Intellectual Property, Entertainment & Sports Law;
- Take Introduction to IP Practice where they learn to prepare a variety of documents such as cease and desist letters, non-disclosure agreements and search reports that form the core of a practicing IP lawyer’s workload whether in the sports or entertainment industries or other areas where IP law is involved;
- Take a series of sports-law courses covering all aspects of professional and amateur sport in the US and abroad;
- Receive preference to register for advanced IP, Entertainment & Sports Law classes;
- Work one-on-one with professors on sports, entertainment, and intellectual property-related scholarly projects;
- Participate in sports, entertainment, and IP-related interschool competitions, including the National Sports Law Negotiation Competition hosted by TJSL; and
- Organize and attend many scholarly and practice-oriented programs dealing with various aspects of sports, entertainment, and intellectual property through the Fellowship Program and active student organizations such as the Intellectual Property Law Association and the Entertainment and Sports Law Societies.
The best parts of the Fellowship Program, however, are the opportunities to engage in real-world practice. This happens in two ways:
First, Fellows have the opportunity to work in the Law School’s Small Business Law Center prosecuting patent and trademark applications for small business, non-profits, and independent inventors. Students have the unique opportunity to interact with PTO staff while representing clients under the direct supervision of licensed California attorneys. The PTO also grants special privileges to certified clinics that enable matters to move through the process faster, giving students a better chance to see the project through. Clinic graduates comment on their experiences here.
Second, many Fellows work in intellectual property related externships, earning Law School units for working with a corporation or law firm.
“One of the best decisions I ever made was attending Thomas Jefferson School of Law to take part in the IP Fellowship Program. Through the program, I have drafted patents for low-income inventors in the Small Business Law Center, worked as a student patent examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and am currently a paid legal intern at Maxwell Technologies working in conjunction with a leading national patent law firm, Knobbe Martens. Additionally, I have competed amongst the best of the best in the American Intellectual Property Law Association Giles Rich Moot Court competition representing TJSL and have received the American Intellectual Property Law Association’s Sidney B. Williams Jr. Intellectual Property Law Scholars Program Scholarship for $10,000. Without the guidance, encouragement, and support of the IP staff at TJSL, none of this would have been possible.”
“Working in the school’s Trademark Clinic was such a great experience. I learned what working in a law firm would be like. I had my own set of clients and worked with them on different stages of their trademark applications. Some clients were brand new, and others had already submitted a trademark application and needed help with upkeep or responding to office actions. So, I was able to work on a variety of things with each client and their situation. From working in the clinic I wanted to see what the other side was like and was fortunate enough to get an internship with the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) working in their trademark division. I really appreciate the opportunity that the Trademark Clinic gave to me, including the ability to transfer the skills I learned there over to my current firm where I do IP litigation. ”
“I was exposed to the entire patent prosecution process ranging from taking the paperwork [that a] scientist would give the patent attorney; turning that into claims for the patent application; and taking a patent to license agreements between Pfizer and its licensees. This included filing U.S. and foreign patent applications as well. It was truly an extraordinary experience, and it is certainly something I am proud to have done. My mentor was very knowledgeable and showed patience with a novice like me. I couldn't have asked for a better summer.”
Jennifer McCollough
Law Clerk at United States District Court for the District of Delaware
“I cannot emphasize enough the real-world practical experience you will gain from working in the patent clinic,…you can tell your potential employers that you already have experience doing many of the things that will be required of you, something that many law school students do not have the opportunity to say….I believe experience in the patent clinic is the single most important thing a TJSL student interested in patent law can do….”
Sumant Pathak
Intellectual Property Associate & Patent Attorney at Rosenberg Klein & Lee and May 2014 TJSL grad
“The Intellectual Property Fellowship Program at Thomas Jefferson was extremely helpful to me because it allowed me to develop practical skills while also taking insightful classes that focused on various aspects of intellectual property. The USPTO Patent Clinic was integral to my initial learning of various skills required to be a successful patent practitioner. I was able to hone these skills with a local San Diego IP law firm through the school’s externship program. I was also able to partake in intellectual property classes ranging from Trademark and Patent Law to one on Open Source. I was thus able to blend the intellectual rigor of the IP classes at the school with practical skills to present myself as a viable candidate to various firms. Moreover, the keen interest and help from the IP fraternity at the school, ranging from professors to alumni, allowed me make a seamless transition from the technical field to the legal field.”
