Empirical Studies in Intellectual Property

The Center for Empirical Studies of Intellectual Property at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law has created an Empirical Studies Database.

You can sort by:

• Lead author
• Title
• IP area (patent seems to have the most, but there are papers on copyright and trademark too)
• Type of study
  • Experimental
  • Qualitative
  • Quantitative

You can only sort by one at a time: you can’t easily look for, say, qualitative studies of copyright. But you can sort on one factor and then either skim or use Find (Ctrl-F) to look for the other.

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Graphic: image from ad for W.L.'s New Pattern Family Microscope, in 1884 pamphlet (John Bull's Neighbour in Her True Light), available on British Library's photostream. ®, ©, and ™ added by Mary Whisner.

Improve Your Professional Skills with Free NITA Videos

Getting ready for a new school year—and looking forward to a new career—you might benefit from some of NITA's free resources.

NITA—the National Institute for Trial Advocacy—is famous for its intensive training programs in (you guessed it!) trial advocacy. NITA offers various fee-based programs, but it also offers some free webcasts each month, with an online library of past webcasts you can view anytime. Some address skills needed in trial practice, but some are useful for any lawyer (or law student!). For example,

• Rise above the Rest: Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills for Lawyers, PART 1  and PART 2, addresses small talk, extemporaneous speaking, meetings, and phone calls—not just formal presentations. You can use these lessons in your job interviews and networking, as well as many other settings.
• Effective Legal Strategy: Turning Problems Into Victories, coming up Aug. 25, "provides a framework for analyzing a client's circumstances, determining the client's optimal resolution, and developing effective strategy and tactics."

And of course, NITA offers lots of webcasts on trial skills, such as witness preparation, jury selection, and cross-examination. Browse the list of webcasts. Look for the ones with "$0.00" under the shopping cart, and try them out!

Tips for Wrapping up Your Summer Job or Externship

A career consultant suggests 3 things to do before you wrap up your summer job (Nat'l Jurist, July 20, 2015):

1. Introduce yourself to key players you haven't met.
2. Wrap up all your projects.
3. Ask for references.

Let me add a few:

• Reflect and write some notes about what you did. 
• What did you like and not like? How will that affect the next job you seek?
• What did you learn about yourself? about the practice of law? 
• What will you put on your resume(s)? (Remember, you can have two or more resumes, tailored to different jobs you might apply for.)
• Think about writing samples. Ask your supervisors whether you can use any of your memos, motions, or other documents as writing samples. What identifying information about clients should be redacted? Make a portfolio of your work.
• Ask for advice. The attorneys you've worked for have gotten to know you. What would they recommend you do to help you move toward your long-term goals?