ND Law student to present at international trademark conference
Notre Dame Law School student Veronica Canton, 2L, has been selected to present a paper at the International Trademark Association’s annual meeting May 20 to 24 in Barcelona, Spain.
The paper, titled “DMCA Challenges Regarding Secondary Liability and Wrongful Classification of Trademark Infringement,” explores the need for a legislative structure to protect trademarks in the way that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act protects copyrights.
Canton had extensive experience working in the field of intellectual property law before she arrived at Notre Dame Law School. For nine years, she was an intellectual property practice assistant on the intellectual property team at Reed Smith LLP in the firm’s San Francisco office, where she helped attorneys prepare for all stages of litigation, including depositions, pretrial hearings, and trials at federal courts and The International Trade Commission.
Canton was born in El Salvador and moved to San Francisco when she was 9 years old. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in international relations at San Francisco State University.
Because she speaks Spanish fluently, she supported several of Reed Smith’s pro bono cases as an interpreter during client interviews, attorney-client meetings, meetings with foreign experts, pre-trial, and trial. She also assisted in the translation of documents, motions, and expert reports. The cases primarily involved women and children seeking asylum or Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.
“That also connects with why I wanted to come to Notre Dame, because Notre Dame does so much work supporting those types of cases,” Canton said.
“The school’s core values line up with mine,” she said. “In addition to doing internships and clinics to get practice, there is so much encouragement to do good for other people. Having our Catholic values instilled and supported with the legal education is very important.”
After her 1L year, Canton was one of 25 students selected to spend a week in Washington, D.C., to participate in the Intellectual Property Law Institute sponsored by Microsoft and the Hispanic National Bar Association.
She will spend this summer working with the litigation team at Michael Best & Friedrich LLP in Milwaukee.
Canton is a member of the Intellectual Property Law Society and the Hispanic Law Student Association at Notre Dame Law School.