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Entrepreneurs may have a new product and the financial capacity to get their idea launched but lack the necessary funding to protect their inventions or brand with a patent or trademark. Law students interested in careers in intellectual property law need practical learning experiences to help them succeed in this competitive field. IU McKinney’s Intellectual Property Law Clinic helps to meet both needs.

Students in the Intellectual Property Law Clinic at IU McKinney get to work with clients and put into practice the skills they learn in the classroom. Operated under the United States Patent & Trademark Office’s Law School Clinic Certification Program, all legal services offered by qualifying law students are conducted under the supervision of a licensed IP Clinic faculty supervisor. Pervin Taleyarkhan, ’13, teaches in the clinic with Derek Lavender, ’13, and Matthew Clark, ’13. All three alumni work in intellectual property law: Taleyarkhan is an in-house IP Legal Counsel at Whirlpool Corporation; Clark is an attorney at Frost Brown Todd where he practices in the areas of trademark, copyright, entertainment, and internet law; and Lavender is a registered patent attorney at Taft Stettinius & Hollister.

“The IP Clinic is about serving our students and the community,” said Professor Xuan-Thao Nguyen. She is the director of the Center for Intellectual Property Law and Innovation and the Gerald L. Bepko Chair at IU McKinney. “Our students will gain valuable experience from working with our dedicated alumni in prosecuting patent and trademark applications for independent inventors and small businesses. Personally, the IP Clinic is part of what I wanted since I started at IU McKinney in 2014. I am elated to see the IP Clinic is under Pervin Taleyarkhan’s leadership.”

“Having worked with the IP Clinic provides students with invaluable résumé-boosting experience that will likely be appealing to potential employers,” Taleyarkhan said. “Being a part of the IP Clinic provides students opportunities to build skills for practicing law and client interaction, all while in law school. Employers understand candidates with this type of experience in law school will likely quickly become productive and effective employees.”

Clinic students will be primarily responsible for client interaction and their work under the supervision of Taleyarkhan, Clark, or Lavender. The clinic students will be executing trademark and patent searches as well as engaging in trademark application prosecution and patent drafting and prosecution. “This includes opportunities for direct interaction with patent examiners and trademark examining attorneys at the United States Patent and Trademark Office,” Lavender said. “Accordingly, the IP Clinic gives students a glimpse of real-world legal practice and client management.”

The IP Law Clinic has drawn students who discovered their passion for intellectual property law while in law school. Among them are 4L evening student Helga Davila, LL.M. ’18. She became interested in IP law while earning her law degree at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú; she is originally from Lima, Peru. She plans to focus on commercial law and IP law after completing her J.D. at IU McKinney. Fariraishe Muzondo, a 4L evening student, became interested in IP law during the summer prior to entering law school when she was taking part in the Indiana Conference for Continuing Legal Education Opportunity program; the writing assignment was on trade secrets. Third-year law student Ming Yang also found her interest in IP, particularly trademark law, while at IU McKinney. The IP Law Clinic is giving Yang and her classmates the skills they will need to practice after completing their legal educations. “We’re learning to think like a lawyer, Yang said. “We discuss more deeply what the client needs.”

Other IP Law Clinic students knew before they enrolled at IU McKinney this was the area upon which they wanted to focus. Chitra Ram studied intellectual property for engineers at Purdue University. The 3L received a biological engineering degree before enrolling in law school. And Luke Peterson studied aerospace engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and worked as an engineer in the software and controls arena before beginning law school. The 3L evening program student currently works as a controls engineer writing software for electric vehicles.

Like Ram and Peterson, Clark knew he wanted to focus on intellectual property at IU McKinney. “I regularly advise clients on copyright protection, registration and licensing, as well as on a variety of issues and transactions within the field of entertainment, advertising, social media, and websites,” Clark said. “What appeals to me about IP is that it is so prevalent in our day-to-day lives, and it often comprises the most valuable assets of a company.”

In the photo from left are IP Clinic Director Pervin Taleyarkhan, ’13, with students Ross Brown, Helga Davila, Luke Peterson, Fariraishe Muzondo, Jeff Johnson, Ming Yang, Christian Mercho, Chitra Ram, and Brooks Pearce. Not pictured are IP Clinic faculty supervisors Matthew Clark, ’13, and Derek Lavender, ’13; and student Noah Long.