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Collaborating to solve IP and branding challenges

The McCarthy Institute sits at the intersection of trademark law, marketing, technology, and consumer behavior. A joint-program with Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, The McCarthy Institute conducts regular symposia, workshops, networking groups, and pursues original IP and branding research and scholarship.

Connecting the world’s best IP professionals and brands

The McCarthy Institute is named after J. Thomas McCarthy, its Founding Director and world-renowned author of the multi-volume treatise, McCarthy on Trademarks and Unfair Competition Law, which has been cited in over 7,000 judicial opinions. Over the past decade, The McCarthy Institute has grown into a community of IP and branding professionals focused on the latest developments in trademark law, the technologies powering brand development, and the consumer behaviors that make up brand perception. The McCarthy Institute strives to develop a better understanding of the way that culturally transformative business trends shape the law and vice-versa.

The McCarthy Institute pursues original research, publishes peer-reviewed scholarship, sponsors industry events, and hosts an annual symposium that draws hundreds of the world’s top legal and branding professionals.

In 2021, The McCarthy Institute joined Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law in Phoenix, Arizona.

The McCarthy Institute student information handout

The McCarthy Institute Research Fellowship

Fostering original IP and branding scholarship

The McCarthy Institute sponsors student and faculty research projects from ideation through publication in peer-reviewed law journals. McCarthy Research Fellows pursue innovative and important solutions to pressing interdisciplinary problems at the intersection of trademarks, branding, and consumer behavior. In addition to project funding, McCarthy Research Fellows receive personal guidance from the faculty, advisors, and directors in addition to unique networking opportunities with industry leading professionals.

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Current ASU Law and MBA students interested in joining The McCarthy Institute should contact Prof. David Franklyn directly with details for their proposed research.

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The McCarthy Institute Research

Award-winning publications cited by lawyers, judges, and regulators

The McCarthy Institute scholarship is published in leading peer-reviewed law journals and is widely recognized throughout the legal industry as respected commentary on complex issues. In 2016, the US Patent and Trademark Office Society recognized one of our publications with the prestigious Dr. Joseph Rossman Memorial Award for the greatest contribution to the field of Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights.

Going Native: Can Consumers Recognize Native Advertising? Does It Matter?

19 Yale J.L. & Tech. 77 (2017).

The Problem of Mop Heads in the Era of Apps: Toward More Rigorous Standards of Value Apportionment in Contemporary Patent Law

98 J. Pat. & Trademark Off. Soc'y 182 (2016) (Winner of the 2016 PTO Society Rossman Award for the greatest contribution to the field of patents, trademarks and copyrights)

Search Bias and the Limits of Antitrust: An Empirical Perspective on Remedies

55 Jurimetrics 339 (2015).

Owning Oneself In a World of Others: Towards a Paid-For First Amendment

49 Wake Forest L. Rev. 977 (2014).

Trademark Surveys: An Undulating Path

92 Tex. L. Rev. 2029 (2014).

Trademarks as Search-Engine Keywords: Who, What, When

92 Tex. L. Rev. 2117 (2014).

Trademarks as Search Engine Keywords: Much Ado About Something?

26 Harvard J. L. & Tech. 481 (2013).

The European Court of Justice Rules on Keyword Ads and Trademark Rights

14 Intell. Prop. L. Bull. 89 (2010).

The New Federal Anti-Dilution Act: Reinstating the Myth of Likely Dilutive Harm as a Mask Anti-Free-Rider Liability

11 Intell. Prop. L. Bull. 199 (2007).

Debunking Dilution Doctrine: Toward a Coherent Theory of the Anti-Free-Rider Principle in American Trademark Law

56 Hastings L.J. 117 (2004).

Owning Words in Cyberspace: The Accidental Trademark Regime

2001 Wis. L. Rev. 1251 (2001).

The Apparent Manufacturer Doctrine, Trademark Licensors and the Third Restatement of Torts

49 Case W. Res. L. Rev. 671 (1999).

Toward a Coherent Theory of Strict Tort Liability for Trademark Licensors

72 S. Cal. L. Rev. 1 (1998).

The McCarthy Institute webinar series

The McCarthy Institute hosts one-hour webinars on YouTube covering a variety of topics including case law updates, biotech patents, international trademark law, and branding.

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The 2023 Copyright Symposium (March 16, 2023)

Transform: A New Horizon in Copyright

Through the Copyright Symposium, The McCarthy Institute at ASU Law and the UCLA Institute for Technology, Law and Policy brought together the foremost copyright scholars, practitioners, and industry leaders to engage with cutting-edge issues within copyright law.

In recognition of one of the most significant copyright cases before the United States Supreme Court in the new millennium, the inaugural theme for the Symposium was “Transform: A New Horizon for Copyright.” Content focused on various of the most significant issues in copyright law today.

Learn more

IP-Con

September 29, 2023

The McCarthy Institute at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law is thrilled to announce that IP-Con is headed to the Bay Area this year! The conference, hosted by Oracle, will take place on September 29th at the Oracle Conference Center in Redwood Shores, CA.

The proliferation of AI is disrupting the foundation of IP law by challenging long-held conceptions of what it means to be a creator, inventor, or producer of intellectual property. This latest installment of IP-Con will bring together government, academia, industry, and legal practice experts to explore this new intersection of AI, IP, and regulatory initiatives.

Learn more about IP-Con

Student Executive Director of The McCarthy Institute
Zach Rufa

Student Senior Managing Fellow of The McCarthy Institute
Monica Moazez

Student Senior McCarthy Fellow for Scholarship
Jackson Polansky

Student Senior McCarthy Fellows for Symposium
Hailey Jundt
Torrina Brice-Nash

Student Senior McCarthy Fellow for Special Projects
Jake Nelson

Student Senior McCarthy Fellow for Finance and Development
Christopher Chebat

Group of student fellows and professors from The McCarthy Institute

Student McCarthy Fellows

Jessica Banks
Timmy Basista
Markus Benavidez
Darci Botsch
Gus Campbell
Gray Colpaert
Reilly Cunnington
Tim Dabrowski
Chase Dietz
Bryce Dilullo
Patrick Doherty
Leah Dosal
Gregory M. Esser
Suha Fasih
Carlton (Dwayne) Fearon
Greg Goekler
Joseph Good
Bryce Griffith
Vrinda Gupta

Max Hardt
Nour Hasan
Jasmine Held-Hernandez
Carrie Hoffelt
Bennett Houck
George Hughes
Cody Jackson
Ryan Johnson
Daedalus Laroche
Amber Li
Tianyue Ma
Alexander Mazzeo
Joseph (Rocky) Mckay
Matt McGraw
Sierra Murphy
Jack New
Helen Pauly
Alice Perepech
Kyndal Pirtle

Jackson Pittman
Elizabeth (Liz) Porter
Felix Raimondo
Rebekah Richardson
Isabella Santos
Bryan Scott
Chance Strawderman
Trevor Wagner
Leo Yang
Natalie Zarasian