INTERNATIONAL LL.M. PROGRAMS: BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW, BOSTON, MA, USA

I would like to express my gratitude to Professor Stacey Dogan of the Boston University School of Law for generously offering her time and expertise to address my inquiries. CY

CY: An LL.M. degree in Intellectual Property (IP) allows foreign legal graduates to delve into U.S. IP law and broaden their international perspective to enhance their global legal practice. Could you please provide further insights into the curriculum for the LL.M. in Intellectual Property and Information Law program at Boston University School of Law?

SD: One of the great things about this program is the number of curricular options students have to design a program that truly meets their needs.  For example, an international student whose primary goal is to qualify to sit for the NY Bar exam can simultaneously take the courses needed to do so while also focusing their studies in the area of IP and Information Law.  However, the program also has enough advanced course offerings that a domestic student who already passed a bar exam can take this program and dedicate all or most of their coursework to this area of law.  Students can also take LL.M.-only courses in this area or classes in our J.D. curriculum.

CY: What type of student is best suited for the LL.M. in Intellectual Property and Information Law? Please provide insight into the typical backgrounds of enrolled students.

SD: As noted above, the program is very flexible for a wide range of student needs.  However, any student enrolling in this program should have a basic understanding of Intellectual Property Law and a desire to specialize in that area.  It also helps if the student has one or more years of professional work experience in this area, but it’s not a requirement.

CY: Given your extensive experience in developing interdisciplinary research partnerships at the Student Innovations Law Clinic (SILC), in collaboration with Boston University (BU) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), we are interested in hearing your perspective on the unique opportunities that this clinic offers to LL.M. students. As a founding member of the BU/MIT Student Innovation Law Clinic, please describe the overall structure of this clinic for our readers.

SD: The SILC program is a unique partnership between BU and MIT, in which BU Law J.D. students provide legal advice to student innovators at both BU and MIT. Our advice ranges from general corporate/start-up services to privacy-law risk assessment to regulatory and intellectual property counseling. Unfortunately, we are not able to offer clinic opportunities to our LL.M. students due to the significant demands of the clinic and the limitations of a one-year LL.M. program.  For students who want to participate in one of these clinics, we encourage them to consider applying to transfer to the J.D. program after their LL.M. year or applying directly for J.D. admission.

CY: With Boston’s standing as a center for technological advancements supported by academic excellence, are there any other developments, collaborations, or future opportunities at Boston University?

SD: The Boston metropolitan area – with its cutting-edge technology, biotech, healthcare, engineering, financial, and education sectors – offers a perfect ecosystem to explore IP, privacy, and technology law. BU Law has a variety of collaborations with academic, governmental, and private-sector partners throughout the region. For example, together with the Faculty of Computing and Data Sciences and the Questrom School of Business, we co-host the cyber alliance speaker series, which features leading researchers at the intersection of law, technology, and ethics. LL.M. and J.D. students are welcome to join these events and find them a terrific opportunity to engage directly with leading thinkers in this space. Our professors have also taught classes that bring law students together with computer science and data science students at BU and MIT to grapple with issues involving technology regulation. We have an ongoing partnership with the International Association of Privacy Professionals, which is based just north of Boston in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and through which our students can obtain IAPP privacy certifications during their law studies. BU and other local universities offer a steady stream of conferences, speakers, hackathons, and other IP, privacy, and technology regulation events.

CY: The rise of emerging technologies, like AI, can potentially bring about significant IP risks, especially concerning copyright issues related to the training data used by generative AI and its outputs. What advice would you give young lawyers and law students interested in pursuing a legal career in these groundbreaking fields?

SD: These are exciting and uncertain times in AI and technology regulation, and students who have a deep understanding of both IP and adjacent fields – including privacy and data protection, administrative law, and antitrust law – will be best equipped to become leaders in this space. Our students have taken leadership positions in private law firms, tech firms, government regulatory agencies, and civil society. The richness of our course offerings, the excellent reputation of our faculty, and the global reach of our alumni network make BU a terrific choice for anyone interested in a business, regulatory, or litigation practice involving AI.

CY: How can students find employment opportunities in the U.S. IP sector after completing an LL.M. degree in Intellectual Property and Information Law? What strategies can they follow or steps can they take in terms of networking, targeted job research, and online professional presence?

SD: We know there is no one-size-fits-all strategy for everyone. For example, a student with significant prior work experience who has the authorization to work in the U.S. will have very different employment opportunities and career search strategies than a student who is looking for a first professional job or who needs an employer that can offer a visa sponsorship to continue working in the U.S. after graduation. Our LL.M. program has multiple dedicated career advisors who work directly with students to understand where each student is coming from and to advance their career goals.

CY: Let’s shift our focus to the global impact of job intermediaries. It’s well-known that the market is dominated by many large companies such as YouTube, Google, eBay, and Amazon. These companies often require legal assistance from lawyers with expertise in IP law. What are your thoughts on the role of lawyers in resolving these IP-related issues? What critical roles do IP lawyers play in the protection of IP?

SD: IP lawyers play an important role both in advising IP rights-holders (such as photographers, artists, authors, publishers, movie studios, and record labels) and in counseling intermediaries about their obligations to help enforce IP rights. IP lawyers also provide essential expertise to government agencies evaluating the tricky IP questions raised by technology intermediaries and AI technology. Because different legal rules apply in each jurisdiction in which intermediaries operate, lawyers with substantive expertise in multiple countries and/or regions are especially valuable to both private and public sector employers.

CY: Other than artificial intelligence, what are the most urgent legal challenges in IP law that you think we are facing today, and how can young lawyers prepare to address them?

SD: One of the most exciting aspects of IP and information law practice is that it is constantly evolving in response to changes in the technological, economic, social, and political environment. The questions raised by AI fall within a broader set of questions involving the rights and responsibilities of technology developers vis-à-vis IP rights-holders, customers, citizens, and our democracy. Some of these questions involve IP; others raise tricky conflicts between multiple philosophical commitments that we hold as a society, such as the tension between our commitment to an informed electorate and our constitutional right to free speech. How should courts and policymakers balance those commitments when considering the obligations of online intermediaries to limit, say, election-related misinformation? There is no easy answer to these questions, and we need sophisticated lawyers and advocates involved in these conversations. Young lawyers can prepare themselves through formal programs like our LL.M. in IP and Information Law and by monitoring legislative, regulatory, and case-law developments in different jurisdictions around the world.

CY: In the 2024 U.S. News Best Graduate Schools rankings, Boston University School of Law was ranked eighth in the category of IP Law. What factors contribute to this remarkable achievement?

SD: BU Law is consistently ranked among the top law schools in IP, and we work hard to live up to our reputation. I think the ranking reflects a combination of factors. Our faculty includes leading scholars in patent, trademark, copyright, privacy and data security, consumer protection, competition law, health law, technology regulation, and related fields. We travel widely to share our research with lawyers, scholars, and regulators around the world. BU Law also hosts conferences, speaker series, and other events through which leading thinkers visit our beautiful campus and learn about our academic community. Finally – and most importantly – our robust academic programs attract excellent students who immerse themselves in challenging coursework and graduate to become leaders in the IP and information law space. These efforts and accomplishments collectively help build our reputation as a top-notch program.    

CY: Lastly, do you have any final words or insights for prospective LL.M. students planning a global career in IP law?

SD: I encourage all students – particularly those from countries with different teaching traditions – to get to know their professors and fellow students and fully engage in the classroom experience. You may not feel comfortable speaking in class, but it will pay off if you challenge yourself to join the conversation. Your time in your LL.M. program will likely be one of your life’s most formative (and interesting and fun!) experiences. You will build friendships and professional networks that nourish you personally and professionally. Come with an open and curious mind, ask lots of questions, work hard, and enjoy yourself.