Visiting Scholar Graeme Dinwoodie Connects with Students During NDLS Visit

Graeme Dinwoodie, professor of Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law at the University of Oxford, recently spent the week at Notre Dame Law School as a visiting scholar. While on campus Dinwoodie was a guest lecturer in Professor Mark McKenna’s Trademarks and Unfair Competition class, and presented his research, Territoriality and Trademarks: Lessons from (and for?) the European Union, to faculty.

Dinwoodie’s visit was a big benefit for students for several reasons, said McKenna, associate dean for faculty research and development, who hosted his visit. Dinwoodie, a co-author of the casebook students use in McKenna’s class, is a rare scholar with substantial expertise in both domestic and international IP law.

“He has the kind of perspective on trademark and copyright that very few other people have,” McKenna said. “Professor Dinwoodie’s international background, teaching interests and research agenda are an excellent fit with Notre Dame’s IP program. It was great having him here, and I have no doubt hearing his perspectives and career experiences added tremendous value to our students.”

Dinwoodie also gave a talk to the Intellectual Property Law Society about emerging issues in international trademark and copyright law and went to lunch with a small group of students.

Dinwoodie teaches and writes in all aspects of intellectual property law, with an emphasis on the international and comparative aspects of the discipline. He has held a number of visiting or honorary positions, including most recently as a Global Professor of Law at New York University School of Law, an Honorary Professor of Law the University of Strasbourg, and the George P. Smith II Distinguished Visiting Chair at Indiana University Maurer School of Law.

“Intellectual property law is a dynamic area of the law that continues to see growth in terms of hiring,” Dinwoodie said. “This is an exciting time to be an IP practitioner, and I was very impressed with the caliber of students at Notre Dame and their level of interest and interaction.”

Prior to teaching at Oxford, Dinwoodie was a professor of law and director of the Program in Intellectual Property Law at the Chicago-Kent College of Law. He has also previously taught at the University of Cincinnati College of Law and University of Pennsylvania School of Law, and from 2005-2009 held a chair in Intellectual Property Law at Queen Mary College, University of London.

Dinwoodie holds a First Class Honors LL.B. degree from the University of Glasgow, an LL.M. from Harvard Law School, and a J.S.D. from Columbia Law School.