American University Washington College of Law Receives Top Ranking for Intellectual Property Law from PreLaw Magazine
April 19, 2019
American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL) received an A+ for Intellectual Property Law in rankings released in the Spring 2019 edition of PreLaw Magazine.
The grades were based on the breadth of the schools’ curricular offerings in this specialty area. The scores were given the following weights: 30% for a concentration, 24% for a clinic, 12% for a center, 12% for an externship, 8% for a student group, and 5% for a certificate.
The Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property (PIJIP) has continued to expand over the last decade. With 32 faculty members (16 full-time) and numerous courses offered in a wide range of intellectual property topics, AUWCL offers an unparalleled course of study. AUWCL’s Glushko-Samuelson Intellectual Property Clinic was the first of its kind in the country. PIJIP takes advantage of the law school’s Washington, D.C., location to convene national and international meetings that cover the wide range of emerging and important issues in the IP field.
“We are happy to be recognized for our strength in intellectual property law. With more than 30 IP courses and one of the oldest IP clinics in the nation, we certainly offer our students many academic opportunities to explore the field. And our five IP and tech related student groups demonstrate that this is a practice area that our students want to pursue. But perhaps our strongest asset is our immense network of alumni, who are always willing to connect with our students and guide them into the fascinating practice of intellectual property law,” said Professor Christine Farley, faculty director of PIJIP.
The program also was recently ranked #8 for Intellectual Property in the 2020 U.S. News and World Report rankings released March 12, 2019.
In addition to the abundant programmatic events throughout the semester, PIJIP offers one of the nation's top LL.M. degrees in intellectual property, with over 100 students from over 50 countries, and one of the largest intellectual property faculties. The program also offers two IP Summer Sessions for law students and practitioners. The Washington, D.C., session starting May 28 offers a broad selection of evening and weekend short courses in patent litigation, copyright fair use, design law, blockchain, and much more. While the session in Geneva, Switzerland, allows participants an in-depth look at international issues through direct contact with experts on intellectual property and international trade law at organizations such as WIPO and the WTO.