Intellectual Property Law

Study at the New Hub of Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Did you know in 2020 The Kauffman Index named Miami the second most entrepreneurial city in the U.S. with the country's highest startup density? Miami Law students benefit from this innovative atmosphere that is full of possibilities with a curriculum that provides you with an array of intellectual property courses at the intersection of law, business, and technology.

Miami Law is one of only a handful of schools offering a Startup Clinic and courses covering topics such as big data, cyber security, cryptocurrency, legal informatics, programming, and much more. Our program will prepare you for your future career by providing you with the knowledge and skills you can use to thrive in an adaptive and energetic environment.

"I wanted to explore the passion that I had long had with the law, but with an eye toward combining it with my love of technology. I know I made the right decision coming to Miami Law. The experience and the opportunities have factored hugely in what I have become and where I am heading. It is more than I could have ever hoped.” (in Big Law IP Future for 3L Luiz Miranda in The Windy City)

Luiz Miranda, J.D./LL.M. International Law ‘17
Intellectual Property Litigation Associate at Mayer Brown
Chicago, IL

*Course list is not exhaustive and does not set out a path of study.

Academic Programs and Concentrations

Concentration in The Business of Innovation, Law and Technology (BILT)
Concentration in Litigation and Dispute Resolution

Clinics 

Startup Clinic - Certified by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

“Miami Law offered a variety of programs that appealed to me when I was deciding between Law schools. The great Miami weather also didn’t hurt during the decision-making process.  Professor Sawicki is a master of IP law, generally, and Patent law specifically. I apply the topics that he taught in his Patent Law course on an almost daily basis in my current career as a Patent Litigator.”

Dexter Whitley, J.D. '17
Associate at Fish & Richardson, P.C., Atlanta, GA

• STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
• LAW JOURNALS

“When you get any consumer electronics product in your home, you pull it out, unwrap it, and plug it into the wall and start using it. You can feel it, see it, touch it. What you don’t see is the intricate web of intellectual property licensing arrangements that preceded the purchase of the device by you and existed among dozens of Asian, European and U.S. companies.” 

Horacio Gutierrez, J.D. ‘98
Senior Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, The Walt Disney Company
Burbank, CA

**List is not exhaustive and is intended to provide examples of past externships and internships.

Faculty Experts

• Michele DeStefano is the founder of LawWithoutWalls and teaches a course on law, technology, and innovation, and her scholarship focuses on the growing intersections between law and business and legal entrepreneurship.
• Michael Froomkin is the founder of the We Robot Conference and is an expert in many areas including: internet governance, electronic commerce, and the area of drone law.
• Lili Levi teaches copyright law and international copyright law, defamation and privacy law; and prior thereto, was Broadcast Counsel at CBS, Inc. Her scholarship focuses on media and communications law.
• John M. Newman is an expert in antitrust, intellectual property and big tech.

“Miami is a really exciting area for startups and entrepreneurship more generally. It doesn't have the profile of Silicon Valley, but that's one of the things that makes it so interesting."

Andres Sawicki
Professor of Law and Director, Concentration in The Business of Innovation, Law and Technology (BILT)

• Andres Sawicki researches and teaches in the area of intellectual property.
• Stephen Urice is a a preeminent legal authority in art and museum law. He is a co-author of the standard art law casebook Law, Ethics and the Visual Arts. He has served as counsel and acting director of the Frederick Weisman Art Foundation in Los Angeles and served as director of Philadelphia’s Rosenbach Museum & Library. 
• Jaime Vining is Director of the Startup Clinic and teaches Trademark and Advanced Trademark Law, and has been named a “rising Star” by Florida’s Super Lawyer Magazine since 2009.

Conferences, Lectures, Centers

• We Robot Conference- Students participate in this bi-annual conference, founded at Miami Law, which focuses on legal policy issues relating to robotics.
• The Hoffman Forum - 
• The Launch Pad - University of Miami Entrepreneurship Center
• Global Entertainment and Sports Law + Industry Conference
• #MiamiTech Movement and the Law

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