This blog post is part of our ongoing guest Blog Series: “Opportunity Knocks.” For a full schedule, please see: http://law.scu.edu/lcs-blog/upcoming-blog-series-opportunity-knocks/
To begin with, this was one of the most productive summers I had. Over the summer in Munich, I met a wonderful mix of passionate professors, amazing peers, and nurturing colleagues from my summer classroom experience and internship.
Upon arriving in Munich, we were introduced to a number of European professors, who were all well versed and well-known in European intellectual property, where many of them were associated with the famous Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property and Competition Law. With that said, Munich is also the heart of German and European intellectual property, as both the German Patent and Trademark Office, and the European Patent Office is headquartered there.
Over the course of 6 weeks, we covered topics ranging from European patent law, trademark law, copyright law (pertaining especially to software development), and aspects of antitrust and unfair competition. The classes were in the morning, around 4 hours every day. It should be noted that due to the amount and depth of topics covered, many of us studied for a considerable amount of time, starting approximately two weeks before the final exam. In addition, many of us also opted to start our internships early (after 2 weeks or 3 weeks of class), so it was a bit challenging during finals. However, by doing so, the material was deeply seared into our memory, and really helped us prepare for other upper division courses in US intellectual property law.
Outside the classroom, the summer program also facilitated several trips and visits. The class sat in a European patent hearing, regarding a Microsoft patent, at the European Patent Office. In addition, we visited nearby attractions as a class event. And what trip to Munich would be complete without a class visit to a local beer garden? Last but not least, the highlight of our summer was a tour in BMW’s worldwide research and development facility, where we met with their legal department and learned about BMW’s international trademark and design patent protection.
By working in one of Europe’s top patent firms, I was able to immediately apply my learning in European patent law to my daily assignments. The internship assignments were very hands on and substantive, where I amended various European patents (which were in English, one of the official languages of a European patent), and drafted office and client response letters on behalf of the firm.
Last but not least, Munich is truly a wonderful city to be immersed in. Many of us travelled to Switzerland, Austria, France and other cities in Germany over the weekend. Munich’s vibrant city culture is very warm and inviting, which made the overall experience even more memorable.
If you are interested in pursuing a high tech law career, I highly recommend the Munich program. The application process entails a short, 1 page cover letter describing your interest in the summer program, and how it ties in with your background. In order to participate in the program, students are required to either have a hard science background, or be fluent in German. If you also plan to do a summer internship in Munich, it would be helpful to do some research ahead, to have a basic idea of what type of setting (a large law firm, mid-size law firm, or solo practitioner) you would like to work in. In addition, it would also help to specify what type of field you would like to work in (patents, copyright or trademarks).
Chia Ju (Phoebe) Hung
Phoebe Hung studied chemical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and is currently a JD Candidate at Santa Clara University School of Law in the Class of 2015.
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