Featuring scholars from seven United States law schools, the Nov. 16 forum, which was planned to be the first in an ongoing series of works-in-progress workshops and conferences, supported the development of scholarship in an increasingly significant area of intellectual property law.
Elon Law Professor David Levine, who coordinated the workshop, said the exchange of scholarly works-in-progress was valuable because it helped participants to focus research agendas, broaden perspectives and receive substantive feedback on draft articles.
“The professors who participated in today’s workshop are among those at the forefront of the increasing scholarly focus on trade secrets law,” Levine said. “Trade secrets law is already a significant part of the bundle of rights that innovators seek to exploit, and has a growing impact in our global economy, our access to information and our future.”
Participating in the conference were:
- Eric R. Claeys, Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law
- John Cross, Grosscurth Professor of Law, University of Louisville, Louise D. Brandeis School of Law
- Richard F. Dole, Bobby Wayne Young Professor of Consumer Law, University of Houston Law Center
- David S. Levine, Associate Professor of Law, Elon University School of Law
- Elizabeth A. Rowe, UF Research Foundation Professor of Law, Director, Program in Intellectual Property Law, Feldman Gale Term Professorship in Intellectual Property Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law
- Sharon K. Sandeen, Professor, Hamline University School of Law
- Mark F. Schultz, Associate Professor of Law and Director of Faculty Development, Southern Illinois University School of Law
Two Elon Law students, Susanna Guffey and Eddie Holder, also presented draft articles developed in a trade secrets law seminar, taught by Levine, at Elon.
“Inclusion of law students in scholarly discourse is part of our engaged learning approach to legal education at Elon, and a logical extension of what I did in the classroom.” Levine said.
In addition to presentations of scholarly works-in-progress, Dole delivered remarks about his involvement in drafting the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which has been adopted in 46 states and the District of Columbia.
Professors Rowe and Sandeen worked with Levine in coordinating the workshop. Based on the experience of the participants, organizers said they hoped to schedule the workshop on a regular basis to support the continued development of trade secrets law scholarship.