Intellectual property expert joins USC Law faculty to head new Intellectual Property and Technology Law Clinic

Jennifer Urban, a specialist in intellectual property law and policy, will become director of the new USC Intellectual Property (IP) Clinic beginning Sept. 1.

The Intellectual Property and Technology Law Clinic is a joint project of USC Law, the USC Annenberg Center for Communication, and USC Information Services Division. Beginning in the spring 2005 term, the clinic will allow 2nd- and 3rd-year law students who have taken an introductory course in IP to work on cutting-edge public interest issues in intellectual property and technology law. Students will gain practical experience through such projects as helping “starving artists” register copyrights, working on open source licenses, and thinking through the complex public policy questions surrounding intellectual property in the digital age.

“Intellectual property is a critical issue in Los Angeles, and we are extremely excited that USC Law is able to build on its expertise in this area,” said Scott Altman, associate dean of academic affairs at USC Law. “The USC Intellectual Property and Technology Law Clinic presents the university with additional opportunities to expand its relationship with the entertainment industry, and it also offers our students the chance to get involved in a fast-growing, dynamic field. With Jennifer’s expertise, we are confident that this new clinic will provide an important service to the entertainment and arts communities and push USC Law’s intellectual property programs to higher levels of excellence.”

Urban joins the University of Southern California after more than two years with the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic at the UC Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law, one of the first intellectual property law clinics in the country. At Boalt Hall, she first served as a fellow and lecturer before her appointment as visiting acting clinical professor of law. She taught technology law and policy to law students as well as graduate students from Berkeley’s School of Information Management and Systems.

“I’m thrilled to have the chance to help build this program at USC, which is located in a city that has an unparalleled professional community in the intellectual property and entertainment law fields,” Urban said. “It’s wonderful to be a part of the growing IP public interest community and the emerging phenomenon of Intellectual Property and Technology Law Clinics. I will be able to combine my enthusiasm for public interest law and intellectual property with my belief that clinical legal education is deeply valuable to students.

“I especially look forward to working with the students and faculty at USC Law,” she added. “I’ve been incredibly impressed by their openness, scholarship and energy.”

As visiting acting clinical professor at the Samuelson Clinic, Urban’s work included projects related to digital copyright, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, open source licensing, Internet law, and privacy in a technological society. Prior to teaching, Urban was an attorney with the IP division of Venture Law Group in Menlo Park, Calif.

A first-generation college student, Urban earned a B.A. in biological science in 1997 from Cornell University and received her J.D. in 2000 from Boalt Hall.