Intellectual Property and Information Policy Clinic

The iPIP Clinic is a national leader in creative legal and sociotechnical advice for justice-minded artists, nonprofits, and coalitions. We specialize in counseling, policy, legislation, transactional, amicus, and strategic pre-litigation matters, which you can learn more about through Our Work. iPIP Clinic matters always involves technology, but no technical degree or course prerequisites are required—even for our patent work.

Through casework and seminar, student attorneys develop competence across five iPIP x Justice themes: creativity (copyright and Digital Millennium Copyright Act), innovation (patent and trademark), transparency (trade secrets and Freedom of Information Act), autonomy (right of publicity and privacy) and accessibility (CDA 230 and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act). Taking this thematic approach in seminar creates deeper connections between otherwise disparate doctrines, which is a recurring theme of both seminar and casework. Students also engage in collaborative problemsolving, called “case rounds,” about professional responsibility Rules 1.1 and 1.6 (competency, cybersecurity, and confidentiality); Rule 1.2 (scope of representation); and Rule 2.1 (advisor). Students complement iPIP x Justice sessions and case rounds by honing transferrable skills like Wikipedia editing, public interest and movement lawyering for iPIP practitioners, and cura personalis, the Jesuit value of “care for the whole person.” Because our work is both legal and sociotechnical, seminar materials include songs, art, and films, as well as more than a dozen writing genres beyond Supreme Court opinions.

By the end of the semester, student attorneys will achieve the following objectives:

• Nurture the skills to think, write, and speak competently, conscientiously,
• compellingly, and creatively, both individually and collaboratively; 
• Think critically about iPIP’s claim to neutrality; and
• Interrogate the effects of iPIP on marginalized groups, including people identified by
• gender, indigeneity, race, sexuality, class, and disability;
• Think critically about the overlapping relationships between iPIP doctrines;
• Foster a working environment rooted in trust, humor, respect, and joy.

To learn more about Casework in the Clinic, visit Our Work.