• The School
• Law Programs
• Admission & Financial Aid
• IP @ Pierce Law
  • Overview
  • IP degrees and programs
  • IP faculty, scholars and staff
  • IP Careers
  • IP Students
  • IP Library
  • Publications and web sites
  • Practice Based Training: Clinics, externships and competitions
  • IP Conferences, Institutes, Symposia and Workshops
  • IP News
  • IP Alumni
  • Serving the IP Community
  • IP for the Public Interest
  • Germeshausen Center
  • International Technology Transfer Institute
• Library & Publications
• News & Events
• eCampus

IP for the Public Interest: The Pierce Advantage

FAQ : I participated in Engineers Without Borders, a humanitarian organization that partners with developing nations to improve their quality of life. Does Pierce Law offer opportunities to use my IP education to both help humanity as well as learn valuable skills?

Answer - Absolutely Yes 

35 years training IP professionals in developing nations

35 years of clinical service to inventors, authors and artists

the only law school in the world with an Institute that help build Tech Transfer Offices

the only law school in the world producing sophisticated Patent Landscape Educational Report Series on biotechnology issues affecting global health and agriculture challenges

players in important public policy decision making submitting friend of the court briefs

leader in the interface of ACLU and IP issues

leaders in public interest work in agriculture, biotechnology, traditional knowledge, health care and the environment

a Social Justice Institute that integrates IP issue

For two years Pierce Law worked on the patent landscape surrounding technologies for the enhancement of sweet potatoes for the people of Africa.

Introduction- Pierce Law is a Leader in IP for the Public Interest for 35 Years

Intellectual property in the public interest is increasingly a global concern. Among law schools, Pierce Law has consistently been uniquely positioned to make significant contributions to this rapidly emerging field. The potential ramifications of such efforts are considerable, as intellectual property capacity fosters invention and drives innovation, raising standards of living and promoting international economic development.

According to Professor Ellen Musinsky, Pierce Law has long been a leader in both practice and policy based intellectual property legal education that promotes the global public interest and serves humanitarian objectives.  This has been accomplished by building intellectual property capacity that advances the public interest in a wide range of endeavors, ranging from traditional transactional IP clinics to assist inventors and artists to assisting in matters of economic development, public health, agriculture, environmental protection, technology transfer and software and technology licensing.

Although Pierce Law has always advocated the value of global intellectual property, whether used in the public or private interest, it is important to note that Pierce Law graduates decide how to apply their skills in intellectual property law and management. As Professor Thomas G. Field Jr. observes, "[As] I see it, whether PI is called public interest, social justice or even poverty law, it's subject matter neutral. Non-profits, for example, have the same trademark and potential copyright issues as anyone. Moreover, they seem to appreciate that when patents are available they foster the aims of the enterprise."

Pierce Law proudly partners with the NGO: