Welcome to the Tulane Center for IP Law and Culture. The Center is student-centered, where projects are designed to give law students real-world experience in solving the problems of today. We have participated in Call for Comments at the U.S. Copyright Office, gone on field trips to explore Los Angeles, and worked as a Team to uncover the laws of the world at the Law Library at the Library of Congress, Washington DC. Students have traveled on behalf of the Center to Berlin, Oxford, San Francisco, Tulsa, New York, Washington DC, and Texas. The idea is to create a space where students are trained in real-world research, and where our work makes a difference everyday.
LABS
Copyright Research Lab: our oldest prong (even older than the center itself!)
This is home to the Durationator, a decade-long research project into copyright law, and in particular duration-related questions around the world. While the lab still conducts research for the Durationator, Limited Times, LLC now handles the commercial side of the project, including subscriptions, customer requests, and research memos. Projects include not only the Durationator, but “Creating the Library Public Domain,” the 2017 Summer project, and many more off-shoots of the Durationator work.
IP and Entrepreneurship Lab
As of August 2017, Tulane Law School was certified by the USPTO to provide pro bono patent and trademark legal services to micro entities. We are in the process of integrating this new development into an IP and Entrepreneurship Lab that will begin in Spring 2018.
CENTER PUBLICATIONS
Video Games and the Law (Routledge Focus 2017)
Edited by W. Ron Gard and Elizabeth Townsend Gard, the book explored key legal issues surrounding video games. The book was co-authored by law students.
(iL)Legal Art Book (in progress)
This is our most ambitious publication. Three seminars over three years have worked on this publication which will be over 40 chapters devoted to art in its various forms and the law that impacts on its creation, preservation, and dissemination. We will be publishing chapters in 2018, and the entire book in 2019.
Law students help us keep track of what’s new in the world of IP.
CURRENT PROJECTS
The Durationator, a decade-long project, looks at the question of when a work enters the public domain, not just in the United States, but throughout the world. The goal is simple: simplify the process, and help make copyright more transparent. This project is part of the Copyright Research Lab.
Quilting Copyright
Our newest project looks at the role of creativity in quilting on an immersion level. We are working with quilters to understand their world, and with it, the legal issues of quilting. See the dedicated podcast, blog, research quilt guild, and in progress writing. This project is part of the Copyright Research Lab.
(IL)Legal Art: A Book Project
Over 40 chapters devoted to all aspects of art and the law written by law students. Topics include tattoo art, public art, etsy, and many more.
FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
As part of the Center, we have two tiers of fellows:
Law School IP and Culture Fellows: work with the Center, and often with a specific project or lab. This work takes many forms– classes, research assistantships, externships, independent study. Fellows are working on specific topics that will add to their own development, and help brand them as they enter the job market. Current and past examples:
Elizabeth Bolles/Comedy and Comedians
Bailey Fox/Teaching Art in Art Law
Thomas Lemler/Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
Jessica Greenberg/Holocaust and the Law
Law Alumni IP and Culture Fellows: staying connected with our projects, and continuing to work on their own interests, law alumni fellows are an important part of our vision of the community we create.
EVENTS/CONFERENCES/HAPPENINGS
Each year, we have many events and happenings.
Fall 2017: Writing IP – Conversations with Scholars and Practitioners
Each week, we are visited by scholars and practitioners who discuss their writing process and struggles. These are videotaped and are available for viewing here. This is the second time we have conducted these dialogues.
Spring 2018: The Role of Law in Creativity Entertainment Law Conference
Bringing together executives and insiders from disparate industries, the conference will continue our work on understanding how creativity happens, and what role law plays to support to distract. More information soon.
(Click here for more on what we’ve done in the past)
INTERESTED IN OUR PROGRAM? Contact Dr. Townsend Gard – townsend@tulane.edu