Foley & Lardner introduced the annual intellectual property writing competition in 2000 in an effort to stimulate scholarly research and writing in the legal profession among first- and second-year law students interested in publishing opportunities.
“Ranked among the nation’s leading intellectual property law firms, Foley & Lardner is proud to sponsor a contest that engages students’ critical thinking and writing skills,” said Michael D. Kaminski, a competition judge and partner in the firm’s Intellectual Property Department.
“Over the past four years our Intellectual Property Writing Competition has featured some of the nation’s top-performing law students.”The firm invited law students throughout the United States to submit papers on a variety of intellectual property topics. Submissions were judged based on several criteria, including originality of thought, contributions to the law and practice, completeness of scholarly research and the overall style and content of work.
Competition winners were selected from among nearly 20 entries, with only one student in each class-standing awarded the grand prize. The following is a list of winning students and the topics:
Grand Prize Winners
1st Year Law Student: Jonathan Schwartz, University of Illinois College of Law, “Will Mickey Be Property of Disney Forever? Divergent Attitudes Towards Patent and Copyright Extensions: Examining the Elements of an Extension in Light of Eldred v. Ashcroft”
2nd Year Law Student: Stephen Smith, Georgetown University Law Center, “The Status of the Doctrine of Equivalents After the Supreme Court’s Opinion in Fest V. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki”
Honorable Mention Prize Winners
1st Year Law Student: Carla Ruggiero, University of Michigan Law School, “Using the Federal Trademark Dilution Act to Protect Design Trademarks: Unconstitutional Patent Prosecution or an Acceptable Use of Commerce Clause Power?”
2nd Year Law Student: Shawn Shillington, New York University School of Law, “Nine Points in the Law of Possession: The Written Description Requirement’s Effects on Incentives for Investment in Research and Development”
2nd Year Law Student: Alex Sears, Hastings College of the Law, “Pop Goes the Gator: Trademark and Copyright Implications of Adware on the World Wide Web: Balancing the Interests of Content Providers, Advertisers, and Consumers”
