Susan Barbieri Montgomery

Northeastern’s Intellectual Property Law Clinic—which is led by law students, under guidance of faculty and staff—provides a range of legal information and services to students in the university’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Susan Barbieri Mongomery, executive professor of law and business, examines the impact of a recent verdict in favor of Apple in a case involving product infringement.

On Thursday, students, faculty, alumni and guests from the School of Law commemorated World Intellectual Property Day, celebrating visionary innovators, their contributions and the role of IP.

Northeastern conference brings together scholars, innovators and policy makers to discuss the relationship between intellectual property and innovation.

The months-long legal battle that has been raging between Samsung and Apple over patent infringement on Apple’s iPad is just one example of the patent wars being waged throughout the technology industry lately. Last month, Google acquired Motorola Mobility largely to obtain its slew of patents. We asked Susan Barbieri Montgomery, executive professor of law and business in Northeastern’s School of Law and College of Business Administration, to explain why these tech giants are so determined to build a “war chest” of patents.

Trademarks have made plenty of headlines this year. Sarah and Bristol Palin moved to obtain trademark protection for their names, Apple sued Amazon for trademark infringement over use of the term “App Store” and a company with ties to Charlie Sheen has filed for trademark registrations on 22 of the actor’s catchphrases. Susan Barbieri Montgomery, executive professor of law and business at Northeastern, breaks down the role of trademarks and how the Internet is changing the game.