Areas of Study
Legal rights concerning innovation, information, and technology – ownership rights through intellectual property (IP) and information-privacy protections through various laws – are among the most important and fast-developing areas of legal practice. You have many opportunities at St. Thomas Law to begin pursuing these fields for your legal career.
IP courses at St. Thomas Law cover the major statutes protecting trademarks, copyrights, patents and trade secrets. Courses also cover related areas of law that may be part of a practice focused on innovation and technology, including privacy law, cybersecurity and entrepreneurship.
Through classroom and experiential courses (clinics, externships and national competition teams), students are introduced to the principles underlying IP and information-privacy law; to practical aspects such as drafting patent and trademark applications, developing cybersecurity policies and handling employee inventions; and to broader issues such as the law's response to new technologies, the interaction of technology and privacy, protecting IP and privacy in other nations and the relationship of IP to social justice and economic development.
Experiential Learning
Trademark Clinic
Business Externship
Mentor Externship Program
Each law student is matched with a mentor who complements their interests and professional goals, such as IP law. Our mentors allow students to engage in legal work, professional networking and meaningful reflection.
St. Thomas Law annually participates in three national IP student competitions: the Giles Sutherland Rich IP Moot Court, the Saul Lefkowitz Trademark Moot Court and USPTO National Patent Application Drafting Competition. Each is offered as a credit-earning course for 2Ls and 3Ls. The competitions introduce students to current issues in IP law and help them build their written and oral advocacy and drafting skills.
St. Thomas teams have advanced to the national round of the Rich IP Moot Court competition each year since 2018. In 2020, St. Thomas Law students took first place in the Patent Application Drafting Competition.
Clubs & Organizations
The St. Thomas Student Intellectual Property Law Association (SIPLA) connects students with the IP and data protection and privacy communities through direct engagement with attorneys working in patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, data protection and privacy.
Further, SIPLA works to educate students in IP and data protection and privacy by supporting IP competitions, promoting classes and building relationships between St. Thomas Law and in the greater legal community.