Past internship Placements
Awards earned by students in 2005
Tameka Simmons '05
Ms. Simmons won the 2005 Jan Jancin Award for demonstrating excellence in intellectual property law. Ms. Simmons stands out through her remarkable service, while still a law student, in furthering IP pedagogy at the law school and in CLEs, through her dedication and service to IIPSJ and related HUSL programs, and to the IP Bar. The Jan Jancin Award is a national IP award open to all law schools (a number of whom have large IP and technology transfer programs) and to all of their students. This award is sponsored by the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), the American Intellectual Property Law Education Foundation (AIPLEF), and the Intellectual Propert Section of the American Bar Association.
Letoria House '06
At the 2005 annual Giles S. Rich Inn of Court Dinner (at which Sen. Patrick Leahy was the keynote speaker), Letoria House received the Giles S. Rich American Inn of Court Scholarship. This award is bestowed upon a recently admitted lawyer or a law student who has contributed significantly to the Inn as measured by "the degree and quality of participation" and by the person's "contribution to fulfilling the Inn's Mission." Part of the Inn's mission to further the principles of civility, professionalism, and competence in the practice of law. The GSR Scholarship is open to junior Inn members practicing throughout the DC/Maryland/Virginia region and to the student members of the GSR Inn from the five participating law schools (HUSL, Georgetown, Catholic, American, and George Mason).
Stephanie Harris '07
On the eve of her matriculation to HUSL, Ms. Harris became HUSL's first recipient of a Sidney B. Williams, Jr. Intellectual Property Law Scholarship sponsored by the American Intellectual Property Law Education Foundation. This scholarship is open to minority students throughout the nation. It is awarded to minority students with demonstrated accomplishment and potential in the field of IP practice. Ms. Harris's scholarship was renewed in 2005 on the basis of her continuing accomplishments as a HUSL student.
On a related note, Sid Williams, for whom the scholarship is named, is a great friend of HUSL, having served as IIPSJ's inaugural keynote honoree when IIPSJ was launched in 2002.
IP Empowerment Program
General Information
IIPSJ has an ongoing IP Empowerment Program working to empower marginalized communities economically, socially, and politically through their development, use, and lawful exploitation of IP. One of the steps in this ongoing program was the IP Empowerment Summit held on November 5, 2010. (In addition to the information below, the Summit Circular can be downloaded in pdf form.) Ongoing work is being done by committees and interest groups working on particular projects identified at the Summit and through partnering with the USPTO, NAACP, and other organizations.
IIPSJ IP Empowerment Summit
On November 5, 2010, the Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice (IIPSJ) conducted its first National IP Empowerment Summit at the Howard University School of Law. The IP Empowerment Summit brought together a diverse group of IP professionals, including IP lawyers from private practice, in-house counsel, and academia, to collaborate with legislators and public interest and community activists to devise strategies for community development built around artistic works and technological innovation.
IIPSJ IP Summit Empowerment Committees will be formed to create both discrete plans on particular topics and to collectively construct a blueprint to help educate and empower socio-economically marginalized communities to protect and commercially exploit their own IP works for their own benefit. We expect these efforts to lead to the establishment of IP Empowerment Zones in strategic urban locations. The groups to be served include associations of artists; students in fine arts, engineering, and science degree programs; community development association; and inventors. IIPSJ IP Summit attorneys will also work to empower attorneys serving these communities to develop the competencies and skills to carry out this work.
IP practitioners from a variety of law firms, in-house counsel departments, academic institutions, and public interest organizations have committed to participate in the IP Empowerment Summit, and plans are underway to link this program to similar initiatives around the nation.
The Need for IP-Focused Empowerment Strategies
In today's information-based economy, economic power is often dependent upon intellectual property. Consequently, IP attorneys can and should take the lead in empowering minority and other marginalized communities to compete for and attain a stake in the 21st century economy. Stimulating an increase in ethnic diversity within the intellectual property bar is a major objective of the Summit, and is a key means to implement the empowerment strategies.
IIPSJ IP Empowerment Summit Core Principles and Objectives
The core principles underlying IIPSJ's community IP empowerment program are:
- Education about IP rights and their value is central to the tasks at hand;
- Helping protect IP rights is a necessary step toward beneficial exploitation of the IP rights;
- Entrepreneurial values and skills are necessary for success of the program; and
- Political activism and legislative lobbying will play a valuable part in any such undertaking.
The one-day IP Empowerment Summit will bring together patent, trademark and copyright attorneys, other IP professionals, and members of the public interest and community action sectors, to meet, discuss, learn, and network about how they can implement the underlying principles through:
- Diversifying the field of IP practice;
- Empowering minority and marginalized communities through the vehicle of IP protection and exploitation; and
- Sharing best practices in an effort to further their professional careers and ascend to strategic positions through which to effectuate social change.
IP Empowerment Summit Pilot Community Programs
The IP Empowerment Summit will function as a clearinghouse of valuable information concerning minority artists, inventors, entrepreneurs, and IP professionals. Information regarding market opportunities and business development trends will also be developed as will a national database of minority IP lawyers. Much of this information will be captured at the Summit and then disseminated through IIPSJ’s website (www.iipjs.org). Summit participants will be invited to join permanent IP Empowerment Action Committees to assess and use the data, and to deploy the IP empowerment agenda through various community programs which include:
Minority Students in Science and Engineering Road Show
This program will engage law students, attorneys, and academicians in the development and presentation of "IP Road Show" programs designed to expose undergraduate minority science, engineering, and fine arts students to the fundamentals of IP law. The twin objectives of this program are to apprise students of information needed to exploit successfully their creative works as well as to expose them to the option of pursuing legal careers in the IP field.
Community IP Rights and Education Program
This program will educate high school and college students as well as community creative artists and inventors about the interconnected themes of the nature of intellectual property rights and of the value of exploiting creator's and inventor's rights. Law students and practicing IP attorneys will undertake to familiarize members of the target communities with the benefits of IP protection, and to help them to more fully appreciate that they are both creative artists and inventors as well as IP end-users. Community artists and inventors will learn how weak creator/inventor rights diminish their own prospects for IP-related economic empowerment. The program will include exploration of public domain material as a preferred source for user-generated content and private innovation since such material has fewer legal restrictions and concomitantly greater prospects for entrepreneurial success.
IP Talent Development Program
This program will bring together IP professionals and entrepreneurs to assist marginalized creative artists and inventors in the propitious exploitation of their creative output in the digital age. Sponsored community workshops and laboratories will provide development facilities, IP-related educational and vocational information, and opportunities for artistic license arrangements and technology transfer agreements.
IP Empowerment and Political Activism Project
This multi-faceted project will seek to increase public awareness and understanding of IP, will engage in political activism through community building around IP issues, and will function as a legislative developments think tank. IP professionals, educators, and public interest and community activists will collaborate on policy initiatives and lobbying efforts intended to impact IP legislation and government initiatives to ensure a close fit between IP rights and empowerment of minorities and other marginalized groups.
IIPSJ Program Date: November 5, 2010
The schedule for the IP Empowerment Program may be downloaded in PDF form.
Sponsors and Supporters
IIPSJ Education and Outreach
From its inception in 2002, IIPSJ has conducted programs to reach out to the bench and bar and to government officials through workshops and seminars as well as through participation in professional organizations such as the Giles Rich Inn of Court and the American Intellectual Property Association. One of IIPSJ's earliest conferences was a continuing legal education program designed for lawyers and judges. The CLE has been done annually ever since.
Over the years IIPSJ has sponsored or participated in various outreach initiatives and programs to educate undergraduates and community members about IP and its opportunities. This aspect continues to grow through partnering with the NAACP, the USPTO, Sramani, and with other organizations for particular programs.
IIPSJ at Howard University School of Law (HUSL) is designed to provide interested students with the tools needed to succeed as IP attorneys and advocates. IIPSJ at HUSL supports the IP curriculum, mentors students academically and professionally, supports student IP and entertainment law organizations, and sponsors outside speakers for various informational student programs.