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Two USD Profs. Present at 10th Intellectual Properties Scholars Conference

SAN DIEGO (August 10, 2010) – USD School of Law Professors Orly Lobel and Ted Sichelman will present at the 10th annual Intellectual Properties Scholars Conference (IPSC), August 12-13, 2010 at the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology at the UC Berkeley School of Law. The conference is co-sponsored by the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, Berkeley Law School; the Intellectual Property Program, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University; the Center for Intellectual Property Law and Information Technology, DePaul University College of Law; and the Stanford Program in Law, Science & Technology, Stanford Law School.

The IP Scholars Conference brings together intellectual property scholars to present their works-in-progress and to listen and discuss others' works. The format of the conference is designed to facilitate open discussion and to help scholars hone their ideas. Papers presented will be works-in-progress that can benefit from the commentary and revision provided by participants in IPSC.

Professor Sichelman will present his intellectual property (IP) theory paper, “Probabilistic Patent Races.” The paper addresses the concerns of Ayres and Klemperer's work by modeling a probabilistic IP game with two or more potential innovators, such as a patent race.

Ted Sichelman writes and teaches in the areas of intellectual property, law and entrepreneurship, empirical legal studies, law and economics, and computational legal studies. Prior to coming to USD, he completed a Kauffman Foundation Fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law. Professor Sichelman’s current research efforts examine the effects of the patent system on entrepreneurial companies, the role of patent law in technology commercialization, quantum game theoretic modeling of intellectual property law, real options modeling of litigation, and the financing of start-up and early-stage technology companies.

Professor Lobel will present a paper from her study, "Employment IP and Innovation: A Dynamic Model of Optimal Human Capital Flows" at the closing plenary session of the conference. The study seeks to enrich the analysis of human capital development and optimal flows. It adds a dynamic perspective to the model by looking at the investment incentives of both the employer and the employee. The paper integrates several hypotheses in a dynamic model. It then provides empirical support for the new model.

Orly Lobel writes and teaches in the areas of employment law, administrative law, legal theory, torts, consumer law and trade secrets. Prior to coming to USD, she taught at Yale Law School and served as a fellow at the Harvard University Center for Ethics and the Professions, the Kennedy School of Government's Hauser Center for Non-Profit Research, and the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. A graduate of Tel Aviv University Law School, she clerked on the Israeli Supreme Court and did her graduate studies at Harvard Law School. Her current research focuses on new models of law and governance in the context of the new economy, the labor market, privatization and new public management techniques. Professor Lobel received her LL.B. in 1998 from Tel Aviv University and both her LL.M. in 2000 and her S.J.D. in 2006 from Harvard Law School.

About the University of San Diego School of Law

The University of San Diego School of Law is a center of academic excellence focused on preparing its students for legal practice in the new century. One of the most selective law schools in the country, the School of Law's nationally recognized faculty create a demanding, yet welcoming environment that emphasizes individualized education. USD law school graduates consistently score higher than the state average on the California Bar Exam and go on to practice law throughout the country and abroad, forming an influential network of alumni. USD School of Law is one of only 81 law schools in the country to have a chapter of The Order of the Coif, the most distinguished rank of American law schools. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Founded in 1954, the law school is part of the University of San Diego, a private, nonprofit, independent, Roman Catholic university chartered in 1949.