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Q u e s t i o n s
I. What is the Significance of the Thesis Requirement?
A Intellectual Property Law Concentration is offered to all qualified candidates
for the J.D. at Suffolk University Law School who otherwise meet the course
and grade requirements of the program. Each graduate
of the Intellectual Property Law Concentration has the option of producing a thesis in some
selected field related to the student's concentration course work. The
thesis typically consists of a 25-35 page paper of original research.
The thesis is completed under the supervision of a full-time member of
the law faculty and carries with it two credit hours. Students applying
for thesis credit should sign up for a two-credit course called "High
Technology Law Thesis." Students electing to write a thesis, should enroll in the "Intellectual Property
Law Thesis" course in the Fall semester or the semester prior to the semester
of graduation. You will need to choose a thesis advisor from the full-time
faculty before being permitted to register for the "Intellectual Property Law
Thesis."
The thesis may be undertaken on a broad range of legal topics, including
intellectual property law, new technologies, commercial transactions in
information, electronic commerce, or international intellectual property
topics. The thesis should reflect state-of-the art thinking on a cutting-edge
legal or policy dilemma or issue that is not yet resolved. The goal is
to develop a thesis which has current significance for the legal academy
and the organized bar.
Examples of thesis topics we have previously approved include: 1. "The
Potential Tort Liability of Virtual Reality Scenarios"; 2. "2B or Not
to 2B: Is Article 2B Preempted by the Copyright Act?"; 3. "Internet Security
and the Preservation of the Attorney-Client Privilege in E-Mail Communications";
4. A Critical Examination of Utah's Model Digital Signature Act"; 5. "Protecting
Investment Instead of Innovation--Is a New Copyright Regime Necessary
for Databases and Other Compilations?"; 6. "Interpreting 35 U.S.C. §
271(b): Inducement of Patent Infringement and the Protection of Rights
Afforded to the Holder of a Patented Technology"; 7. "Baah, Baah Cloned
Sheep, Have You Any Patent?--An Analysis of Recent Developments in the
Law Governing Animal Patenting in Both the United States and the European
Community"’; 8. "The Necessity of a Prior User Defense in a First to File
United States Patent System." and 9. "Whether the Congressional Revival
of the Communications Decency Act Passes Constitutional Scrutiny. Electronic
versions of selected Intellectual Property Law theses are now available on Suffolk
University Law School's home page.
Avoid broad topics that are properly the subject of treatises such as
"Intellectual Property on the Internet," "Trademarks in Cyberspace, or
"Recent Developments in Copyright Law." The successful thesis is no different
than any other legal writing. A thesis is not a mere description of articles
that you have read. A thesis is an argument supported by research findings.
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II. Who are the Thesis Advisors?
All students are required to have an approved thesis advisor no later
than the semester preceding the semester of graduation. Students applying
for the thesis must choose a full-time faculty member who is willing to
supervise the student's thesis as thesis advisor. In general, the student
is expected to consult with their advisor (and, preferably, other members
of the faculty) concerning their thesis research. Students should meet
with their proposed advisors prior to registering for Intellectual Property
Law Thesis. The student, the student's thesis advisor, and the faculty director of the Intellectual Property Law Concentration must certify that the completed thesis
has been prepared in conformity with program guidelines.
Normally, the thesis advisor will be affiliated with the Intellectual Property
Law program. Your choice of a thesis advisor will depend on your field
of interest. For example, Professor
Lisle Baker has an interest in the utilization of new technologies in
law practice. Professor McJohn has a background in copyright law and computer
law. Professor Rustad's fields of interest are in software licensing,
electronic commerce, cyberspace law, and commercial transactions in information.
Professor Robertson has
expertise in antitrust law. Professor Beckerman-Rodau's areas of expertise include patent law and intellectual property law generally.
It may be appropriate that a full-time faculty member not affiliated
with the Intellectual Property concentration be chosen as thesis advisor. For
example, a student interested in the taxability of commercial transactions
on the Internet may be supervised by a member of the tax faculty. A student
completing a project on hate speech on the Internet may be supervised
by a torts professor or constitutional law professor. A topic such as
jurisdiction in cyberspace may be supervised by a professor whose area
of expertise is the conflicts of law or civil procedure.
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III. How Do I Choose a Topic and Develop a Thesis Statement?
The most difficult part of the thesis requirement is to choose your topic
and develop a thesis statement. The thesis contemplates a wide range of
topics to enable students to tailor a thesis which is relevant to the
student's course of study and career development. Your task is to choose
a topic that will shed light on an emergent legal or policy issue. The
Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, ABA Journal, National Law Journal
or other magazines and journals will often have stories about current
issues in intellectual property or emergent technologies. Trade publications
such as Wired, Network World, and the Electronic Banking Law and Commerce
Report will frequently be the source of promising topics. One of our
favorite sources is Massachusetts High Tech which is New England's
premier Intellectual Property newspaper.
The choice of a thesis topic is your responsibility. Frequently, the
thesis advisor will be able to help you narrow a topic down or provide
additional research sources. One of the common mistakes is to choose a
topic that is too broad. You will be required to obtain approval of your
topic prior to beginning writing. It is strongly recommended that you
submit a statement of your topic, detailed outline, and annotated bibliography
prior to beginning to write your thesis.
It is strongly advised that you begin your research in the summer prior
to your final year in the Intellectual Property Law Program. Once you have chosen
a topic, determine whether there are any decided cases or statutory materials
that relate to your issue. Read and research primary sources first, before
researching secondary sources such as law review articles or treatises.
If your thesis is a close examination of a recent decided case, try to
obtain the briefs or interview the lawyers. LEXIS and WESTLAW have a data
base devoted to briefs decided at the U.S. Supreme Court level. The amicus
briefs are frequently a rich source of arguments and sources for your
topic. It may also be appropriate to obtain briefs from the Federal Circuit,
U.S. Court of Appeals, which is court of last resort for many key intellectual
property decisions. Empirical research may be appropriate for emergent
topics.
A thesis may be supported by interviews or questionnaires with industry
participants. The most recent edition of the Bluebook provides the appropriate
method of citation for telephone interviews or questionnaires.
Boston is a convenient hub of the best law libraries in the country.
The Social Law Library is one of the best law practice libraries in the
country. Suffolk University Law School has built its collection in recent
years to support the Intellectual Property Law Program. Suffolk University Law
School is known for its excellent research librarians and helpful staff.
It may be appropriate for you to request materials through inter-library
loan through Suffolk's reference library located on 5th floor level of
the library. Suffolk's staff has prepared a number of useful guides on
researching substantive legal topics. It may be useful to consult with
a reference librarian on how to use statutory materials. If your topic
is an international topic, you may want to request permission to use Harvard
University Law School's Reginald Lewis international law library or Tufts
University's library attached to the Fletcher School of Diplomacy. There
is not another city in the world that can match the law and universities
libraries in the Boston metropolitan area.
The first stage in developing your thesis is to do the preliminary research
that leads to a topic. This entails a thorough search of legal resources
such as loose-leaf services, periodicals, and the emergent case law. Choose
a topic engaged your interest and is not yet settled. It is not sufficient
to merely summarize the extant case law and identify a problem.
You may wish to talk to your professors, employers, or lawyers in the
field of intellectual property to learn about recent developments. Focused
computer-based searches of LEXIS and WESTLAW may be undertaken after completing
your preliminary research. You may also wish to meet with Suffolk University
Law School's superb reference librarians to answer your research questions.
Conduct the preliminary research prior to choosing your topic in the summer
and you will be in a position to complete your thesis by the end of the
Fall Semester. There are no short-cuts to completing a thesis. Plan to
spend a minimum of three weeks investigating possible thesis topics.
It is usually necessary to narrow your initial choice of topic. Many
students are inclined to choose topics suitable in scope for treatises
or books. A thesis has a more modest objective. You need to think about
organizing your ideas around your "spin" or "take" on a topic. Fajans
and Falk recommend that you think of a thesis statement as "an original
and supportable proposition about the subject."1
The authors further recommend:
Once your preliminary research has enabled you to narrow
an interesting and significant subject to manageable proportions,
the next major step--perhaps the hardest step--is to find a thesis,
an original and supportable proposition about the subject.
A thesis, like a subject, should be manageable. You do not need
to resolve an entire area of law that is in turmoil.... Professor
Delgado suggests that you "find one new point, one new insight,
one new way of looking at a piece of law, and organize your entire
article around that. One insight from another discipline, one
application of simple logic to a problem when it has never been
made before is all you need."2
Another very useful source on choosing a topic and developing your thesis
is Eugene Volokh, Writing a Student Article (visited May 26, 1998)
<http://www.law.ucla.edu/faculty/volokh/writing.htm.
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IV. How Do I Use the Internet to Choose a Topic?
It is critical that you learn how to navigate information-retrieval systems
such as LEXIS, WESTLAW and the Internet in conducting your research. The
Internet can be used to do legal research, make connections, and engage
in on-line discussions and conferences. The World Wide Web has become
an important repository of useful information for emergent legal topics.
For example, you may get ideas for a topic by contacting the Science and
Technology Committee from the American Bar Association home-page.3
A growing number of electronic law journals are distributed on the World
Wide Web.4 Counsel Connect, another resource
for learning about emergent legal topics, maintains the world's largest
and most complete set of legal forms and brief banks.5
Discussion groups as well as conferences are hosted on-line at Counsel
Connect. Many thesis students find it useful to conduct Internet searches
of law discussion groups. Increasingly, many Internet USENET groups archive
messages and discussions.
The Internet is a place to post questions and to connect with law students
and lawyers interested in similar concerns.6
Begin by subscribing to lawyer discussion groups.7
An exhaustive list of law-related news groups is available through the
University of Chicago site.8 The fields of
intellectual property, electronic commerce, cyberspace law and Intellectual Property
law are served by notable law research links. The ACLU's Cyberliberties
Page is a comprehensive site for cyberlaw litigation. The Electronic Frontier
Foundation's "Legal Issues and Policy: Cyberspace and the Law" is another
good site.
You may also learn about emergent legal issues by visiting law firm home
pages. Hundreds of law firms now have their own home page on the World
Wide Web.9 Hale and Dorr, Mintz-Levin, Testa,
Hurwitz & Thibeault, and Gadsby and Hannah are several Boston law
firms with a presence on the 'Net.10 Specialists
in virtually every field will find information on the Internet to assist
their practice.11 Finally, you may wish to
link to other intellectual property or Intellectual Property law courses. John
Marshall Law School, Franklin Pierce Law Center, and Suffolk University
Law School have a variety of interesting links and ideas for your thesis.
A growing number of law school have courses with links to topics such
as information technology, digital communities, computers and society,
and network law.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) Web site is a key resource
for intellectual property lawyers.12 The
PTO provides abstracts of patents and notices, as well as links to international
intellectual property organizations such as the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO).
See the attached article by P.C. Jones, "Using the Internet for Intelligence
Gathering: Internet as a Source of Legal Information and Prior Art" (July
1996 AFTTE Meeting), for additional links to Internet resources. See
also, Burgess Allison's The Lawyer's Guide to the Internet (1995).
Visit Law Journal Extra's "Law and the Internet" website for recent online
articles on intellectual property and cyberspace issues. Another fruitful
source is the Internet's Cyberlaw Discussion Forum. Another great source
for topics is the American Bar Association home-page which has links to
the Business Law and Science and Technology Section. The ABA's electronic
commerce subcommittee contains useful information on digital signature
guidelines, electronic data interchange and other electronic commerce
issues. Links of interest may also be found on Prof. Beckerman-Rodau's webpage at www.law.suffolk.edu/arodau
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V. Timing
The Intellectual Property Law concentration should normally be completed in
the semester preceding graduation. Students should consult with their
thesis advisor to ascertain that faculty member’s particular timing requirements.
Be advised that some faculty will only supervise theses of graduating
seniors during the fall semester.
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VI. What is the Format of a Intellectual Property Thesis?
A. Title Page, Abstract, Text and Footnotes
The format for the thesis is as follows: Each typed thesis begins with a
title page listing your title, topic, faculty advisor, and date. There must
be a separate page with a 50-150-500 word abstract describing your thesis
topic, methodology, and conclusion. A table of contents should follow the
abstract page. An abstract must describe your thesis statement and the methodology
used to research your issue.
Your thesis should be 25-35 pages including footnotes and excluding technical appendices. (It
may be advisable to include statutory, scientific, or technical appendices
for some topics.) The thesis must follow correct Bluebook style
for citations and footnotes. See The Bluebook: A Uniform System of
Citation (16th ed. 1996). Footnotes are required rather than endnotes.
A bibliography of sources relied upon is also required. Cites to Internet
source materials must follow Bluebook Rule 17.3. The thesis must be submitted
in hard copy as well as in electronic (preferably Word Perfect 5.1 or
higher) format.
B. Style
The thesis is a topic requiring advanced legal writing skills. A thesis
needs a thesis statement stating your argument or approach to a topic. What
is your thesis? Generally, a thesis is an argument rather than a summary
of published authorities. If your thesis relies heavily on cases, you need
a careful analysis of the cases. Do not rely upon secondary authorities
for restatements of the holdings of cases. The thesis statement should be
presented no later than page two of your thesis. Your style should avoid
colloquial expressions and be scholarly in tone. Many successful legal writers
begin their paper with a "hook" which captures the reader's interest. A
good hook may be an interesting hypothetical, case-study, or anecdote. The
thesis statement should flow directly from the introduction. Your thesis
should not read like a military artillery manual but should engage your
reader.
C. Required Title Page for Thesis
[Title of Thesis]
Submitted to Professor________________in partial fulfillment of the
thesis requirement of the Intellectual Property Law Concentration.
Name of Author
[Date of Submission]
[Address, Phone, and e-mail address]
D. Table of Contents
A table of contents with page citations will provide the reader with a useful
outline of the thesis; most word processing programs include an automatically-generated
table of contents feature that can be utilized for this purpose.
E. Bibliography
A bibliography should reveal all of the sources you have relied upon in
developing your argument. One of the common mistakes is over-reliance on
a few secondary sources.
F. Length of Thesis
The standard is 25-35 pages, incluiding footnotes. Approval of the thesis advisor is required
for deviations from the suggested length. You may submit statutory or other
supplemental material in an appendix.
G. Successful Completion of Thesis Satisfies Writing Requirement
Successful completion of the thesis requirement satisfies the writing requirement
of Suffolk University Law School.
H. Grading of Thesis
The Intellectual Property Law Thesis is generally undertaken for a grade. Considerations
in grading include:
1. Has the concentrator developed an original thesis that sheds
light on an important problem in the field of Intellectual Property law? Is
the thesis persuasively presented? Does the author acknowledge uncertainties
and conflicts in the law and policy underlying the topic of research?
2. Is the research thorough? Are all relevant issues discussed?
Is the research up to date? Does the author rely principally upon primary
rather than secondary sources? Does the author employ legislative history,
Internet sources, empirical research, and cross-national sources in addition
to case law and commentaries? Does the author employ interview, survey
data, or questionnaires to augment legal sources? Are there interesting
hypotheticals, humorous examples or other devices to hook the reader's
attention?
3. Is the paper well-written? Are the rules of grammar, spelling
and syntax followed? Are case holdings, statutes and other materials accurately
represented? Is proper Bluebook citation form followed? Is the writing
primarily in active (versus passive) voice? Has the writer used correct
punctuation? Is the writing clear? Is all technical jargon defined and
explained? Does the thesis reflect a logical and clear organization? Has
the thesis been thoroughly edited and proofread? Is the thesis written
in an interesting style (rather than like a military artillery manual)?
4. Is the quality of the thesis such that it would be publishable
in a law review or other legal publication?
I. Conversion to Non-Graded Directed Study
A student's research and written work may constitute a substantial part
of a student's time, but still not meet the high standards for the High
Technology thesis. With the consent of the supervising faculty, the graded
Intellectual Property Law thesis course may be converted into a non-graded directed
study course. Conversion to directed study will prevent the student from
receiving the Intellectual Property concentration certificate, unless the student has
otherwise met the concentration writing requirement. The work completed
on a paper converted to directed study must be functionally equivalent to
that normally required of a directed study in order for credit to be given.
J. Publication
Abstracts of theses that satisfy the Intellectual Property Concentration requirements
may be selected by the faculty for publication on Suffolk University Law
School's World Wide Web home page. Students who do not wish to have an abstract
of their thesis published in this manner should inform the Director of the
Intellectual Property program in writing at the time the thesis receives final
approval. If you would like to post your thesis on Suffolk's home page,
please provide a copy in Microsoft Word or Wordperfect 5.1 or higher to
Jim Barrett
<mailto:jbarrett@suffolk.edu>, Webmaster after receiving approval for publication on the web site from the Faculty Director of the Intellectual Property Concentration.
The faculty also encourages Intellectual Property concentrators to submit their
publishable-quality theses to any of the several high-technology-related
student writing competitions, including the AIPLA’s Robert Watson competition,
the Federal Circuit Bar Association’s George Hutchinson competition, ASCAP’s
Nathan Burkan competition, the Journal of the Patent and Trademark
Office Society’s Student Paper contest, John Marshall Law School’s
Gerald Rose competition, and the Boston Patent Law Association’s contest.
See Professor Rustad for further information on these competitions.
K. Previously-Prepared Papers
Students may base their thesis on a topic studied in a previous course.
However, the thesis must be substantially different from any paper previously
submitted for a course grade. The thesis must reflect a significant extension
and expansion from the earlier work. If applicable, thesis students must
certify in writing that their thesis meets the "substantially different"
standard and must provide a copy of their earlier paper to their thesis
advisor.
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VII. Plagiarism
All students must comply with Suffolk University Law School's plagiarism
policy, as set forth in the Law School catalog ("Academic Integrity" rules
and regulations). We have attached a copy of the pertinent regulation
for your convenience, and we require that you review the policy prior
to the writing of the paper. Any verbatim copying from a source
must be set off in quotation marks. If you paraphrase an argument from
any source, it must be acknowledged. It is not permissible to paraphrase
more than a few words of the work of another. It is also impermissible
to copy substantial parts of the sentence structure, paragraph structure,
or organizational format of the work of another, even if you include citations
to the source. Students are also advised to read Chapter Six of
Fajans and Falk, titled "Footnotes and the Ethical Use of Borrowed Materials."
You should provide your advisor with copies of all of the sources you
relied upon in completing your thesis.
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VIII. Do You Recommend Any Reference Works on Writing a Law Thesis?
We highly recommend Elizabeth Fajans and Mary R. Falk, Scholarly Writing
for Law Students: Seminar Papers, Law Review Notes and Law Review Competition
Papers. (West Pub. 1996). This handy guide is available in the Suffolk
University Law School bookstore. The book has chapters on scholarly writing,
developing a thesis, research strategies, the writing process: revising
and polishing, and the ethical use of borrowed materials. In our view,
it is the best book available on writing a thesis. Another useful source
is Eugene Volokh, Writing a Student Article (visited May 26, 1998)<http://www.law.ucla.edu/faculty/volokh/writing.htm>.
Reading high quality publications such as The Wall Street Journal, New
Yorker, Scientific American, and Science provide good models for writing.
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Foot Notes:
1 Elizabeth Fajans and Mary R. Falk, Scholarly
Writing for Law Students: Seminar Papers, Law Review Notes and Law Review
Competition Papers 20 (West Pub. 1996).
2 Id.
3 The ABA's home page may be accessed at http://www.abanet.org/.
For example, suppose you are interested in the ABA
Section on Business Law, Tort and Insurance Law or Science and Technology.
Links to each section and major activity of the ABA are easily made.
4 The address is found at: http://lawweb.usc.edu/library/.
This site links to many electronic journals which may be of assistance
to you in choosing and narrowing your topic.
5 Counsel Connect is found at
http://www.counsel.com/.
6 Renee R. McDermott and James M. Garrettson,
"Environmental Law Cruising Information Highway," The Indiana Lawyer,
April 3, 1996 at 27.
7 "To subscribe, send an e-mail with the message
"subscribe net-lawyers FirstName LastName" (without the quotes and substituting
your real first and last name) to: listproc@lawlib.wuacc.edu.;
To quit your subscription, please send the message "unsubscribe net-lawyers"
(without the quotes) to listproc@lawlib.wuacc.edu."
Renee R. McDermott and James M. Garrettson, "Environmental Law Cruising
Information Highway," The Indiana Lawyer, April 3, 1996 at 27.
8 The Web address is:
http://www1.lib.uchicago.edu/e/law/index.php3 .
9 Miryam Strassberg, "For Research, Marketing
Lawyers Spinning the Web; Firms, Bars Find There's No Place Like a Home
Page," The Legal Intelligencer, July 3, 1996 at S1 (quoting National
Law Journal survey of the 250 law firms in which 85 percent have a
home page or are constructing them).
10 "The astonishing growth of the World Wide
Web has created a frenzy among law firms to get online and set up a site."
Benjamin Wittes, "Law Firms Find a Home on the Web," Texas Lawyers,
February 12, 1996 at 32. (noting that "[a] site maintained by Yahoo!,
one of the major Web search organizations, provides links to approximately
375 law practices").
11 The Internet addresses cited in this section
are drawn from Gregory P. Pressman, "Real Estate Lawyers Can Find Useful
Material by Surfing the Net, New York Law Journal, September 16,
1996 at S2.
12 The PTO address is:
http://www.uspto.gov.
Revised June, 2001
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