Monthly Archives: March 2015

The patent application

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http://www.toonpool.com/cartoons/Vanilla%20Ice%20Patent_145365

http://www.toonpool.com/cartoons/Vanilla%20Ice%20Patent_145365

A post from our student blogger Megan

Three words: patent application drafting. This is what the MSPL is immersed in as of right now. Our graduate thesis consists of drafting a patent application which is due on April 1. Drafting a patent application is a true art form and more in-depth than its moniker suggests. It is not simply an “application” that one fills in information into prepared blanks. In fact, patent application drafting requires serious skill and thought into the future. Most of what goes into a patent application is very calculated language and terminology, with careful consideration of what types of language could be litigated on at a later time.

One interesting aspect of the patent application is that there are rules that accompany each part of the application. There is even a rule for the title which states that: it must be 500 characters or less and the words ‘“new,” “improved,” “improvement of,” and “improvement in” are not considered as part of the title of an invention, these words should not be included at the beginning of the title of the invention and will be deleted when the Office enters the title into the Office’s computer records, and when any patent issues. Similarly, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” should not be included as the first words of the title of the invention and will be deleted when the Office enters the title into the Office’s computer records, and when any patent issues.”’ This rule for invention titles is actually very short and understandable compared to the other rules for each part of the patent application.

Combine the pressure of submitting a patent application within a specific deadline (timing is everything in the patent world—if you miss a date your client can be enormously hindered) and the rapidly, seemingly never-ending evolving design of cutting-edge inventions, and you have the perfect storm of quiet chaos. My desk is stacked with notes from inventors, red-inked application drafts, and sticky notes with simple reminders to look up a rule of law. I work day in and day out on the application but somehow each new day brings a new challenge: this document is truly living and breathing, it changes each time the inventors email with a new drawing or ask about adding a detail that they hadn’t considered before.

Be forewarned: patent application drafting is not for the faint at heart. I joke, but in all honesty, while drafting my first patent application has admittedly been a struggle, it has also deepened my appreciation for the agents and attorneys that draft applications on a daily basis. These professionals walk a thin line between fully describing the underlying invention, and avoiding costly litigation blunders that may crop up sometime in the future. This requires the utmost in scientific and engineering comprehension, along with a deep-seated legal knowledge of rules.

The enjoyment in drafting the application has been in translating science and engineering principals into legal language. We are seeing the finished product after months of careful planning and understanding another person’s detailed creation. I am eternally grateful to the Notre Dame inventors I got to work with to draft my first patent application; I learned a ton and the experience was one-of-a-kind. I’d like to make this blog entry longer but please, excuse me, I have to get back to this application!

Patent trolls

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Just your friendly neighborhood patent troll. Beautiful image courtesy of WIPO illustrator, Bob MacNeil

Just your friendly neighborhood patent troll. Beautiful image courtesy of WIPO illustrator, Bob MacNeil

A post from our student blogger Roberto

Staying up to date on intellectual property news is tough.  In a field centered on the advancement of technology it’s no surprise that there are things always going on.  Doing a quick search on Google for “Intellectual Property” returned more than 15,500,000 results in the “news” category alone.  Lately, one of the most trendy and talked about topics is “patent trolls”, which are also known as “non-practicing entities” (NPEs) because of their tendency to never actually produce a product covered by the patent, and “patent assertion entities” (PAEs).  The term “troll” is pretty descriptive and, even without any further understanding of the concept, one immediately conjures up a negative image in their head.  For instance, some may imagine a mammoth forest green creature with warts the size of golf balls covering them from head to toe whom is wielding a massive sand barbaric wooden club.  Taken in a patent law context, that creature with warts is often a corporation swinging around the weight of its potentially damaging patent portfolio.  In many instances, patent trolls are corporations that acquire and own patents simply for the purpose of chasing down potential “infringers” and doing all they can to get the most money possible out of them.  At first, many of these trolls send the infringing entity a letter asking for a reasonable royalty to continue doing whatever it is the troll believes is infringing their patent.  Now, either the “infringing” company gives in to the troll’s demands or they do nothing and wait for the troll to potentially file a lawsuit against them.  Often times after not getting their royalty, the trolls file lawsuits which, in the end, cost companies on average around $2M.  While some large corporations can easily absorb that cost many small startups cannot and are permanently crippled as a result.

While patent trolls have existed for a long time, by some accounts since the turn of the 20th century, there has been a recent push to reform current laws to combat patent trolls.  On March 18, 2015, there was a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on patent reform titled The Impact of Abusive Patent Litigation Practices on the American Economy.  At this hearing a large amount of focus was placed on finding ways to eliminate trolls from existence.  The troll destroyers, as I have termed them, argue that patent trolls have cost American businesses a lot of money.  Further, many fear that patent trolls could attack vulnerable small startups and force them out of business when they don’t have the funds to enter into a lawsuit or pay the royalties demanded by the trolls.  It is no surprise that over the past four years ten bills that attempt to combat patent trolls have appeared before Congress without any of them getting through.  These bills have not only met a tough audience, much of congress is not particularly well versed in patent law or related issues, but also has met a battalion of resilient and powerful patent troll lobbyists.  Many of these past reforms focused on increasing the penalties on trolls for losing patent infringement lawsuits and the same plan of attack is still being pursued by some Senators today.

Given all of the hatred on the patent trolls, by people like the troll destroyers, it makes sense to ask yourself how anyone could possibly be in favor of patent trolls.  Well take a journey with me as I transform you into just that, a patent troll abolitionist and war chief.  Imagine yourself coming up with a great idea for a brand new windshield for your car.  This windshield is amazing, it’s hydrophobic causing rain and water bead up and roll off it, it’s internally heated by invisible resistance heating elements that melt snow on contact and prevent ice from forming on it, it has an integrated and invisible photovoltaic cell array that charges the car’s battery, and it attaches to the cars computer to regulate the temperature of the glass so that it never gets fogged up.  After developing the product and working with your friendly neighborhood patent agent you are granted a patent on your awesome new windshield.  You call all your family members and friends and ask them to pitch in money to help you get a company started.  After investing all that time and money you finally get your first sale.  Sales over the next few months are slow, and you decide to approach Ford about licensing the windshield from you for use in future vehicles.  Much to your surprise, it is almost impossible to figure out who to talk to and how to get them to listen.  After pitching your idea to several “VPs” they tell you that they aren’t interested and send you on your way.  Discouraged, you decide to continue to try and sell it on your own, figuring that your awesome product would catch on and people would buy them once they saw how great they are.  One weekend you are sitting at home watching the commercials during the Packers game when you see it.  A commercial for the brand new Ford Raptor, a truck that has a never-before-seen windshield that has all the same features as your prized creation.  You are in an utter state of shock.  You run to the computer and do a quick online search.  You immediately notice that the windshield is identical to yours and it is getting all kinds of publicity causing orders for the new truck to go through the roof.

This is almost identical (minus the awesome windshield idea I came up with) to the stories of many inventors, including a U.S. veteran named Fred Sawyer, whose amazing story can be read here.

What do you do?  You could try to bring legal action, but that takes funding you simply don’t have. You would need to have the funding to compete with a mega-corporation that plans to simply out spend you.  What is most likely to happen is that you lose out and go out of business.  Today, inventors can turn to patent trolls to team up and go after that big corporation using the funding the patent trolls have.  Without someone like the patent trolls the small inventors would have no chance at competing in arena where the price of entry is north of $2M.   Without trolls there would be no way to practically enforce patent rights because of these financial realities.  Still, inventors pay a heavy price for partnering with the trolls, often forfeiting 95% of their patents value after winning a patent infringement case.  Even if the inventors decide to go to battle alone the act of waging war on an all-powerful corporation often earns them the title of “patent troll” as well.

So, now that you have seen both sides of the coin, what are we to make of patent trolls as a whole?  I believe the term “patent troll” is misleading and that the trolls are actually divided into two camps.  One camp that wants to pillage every possible piece of intellectual property and make as much money as possible through downright exploitation of the system, these are the trolls that (almost) everyone agrees we need to address in some way.  The other is the camp of trolls that exist to provide balance and security for the small inventors against the big corporations that they otherwise would have no chance against (included in this camp are the single inventor “trolls” going at it on their own).  Any potential patent reform needs to be wary of these two distinct camps and the effects any legislation would have on this precarious balance of power.  Take away too much of the troll’s power and with it goes the security of the single inventor.  Figuring out an answer that protects inventors while combating wasteful litigation will be difficult but is necessary to preserve the integrity of our patent system.

The MSPL takes on DC

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A post from our student blogger Catie

MSPL students pose for a picture in front of the White House before going in for a tour

MSPL students pose for a picture in front of the White House before going in for a tour

To continue our whirlwind of a spring semester, a small group of MSPL students spent our spring break in D.C., exactly one month after our excursion to San Francisco. I know that it’s hard to believe that a trip anywhere could live up to a visit to sunny California, but D.C. was absolutely amazing! We were lucky enough to experience beautiful weather in the nation’s capital, as we mostly took the metro and traveled on foot to explore the area. The experience was four days packed with law firm and professional visits, informative and fun site seeing, and sampling of some of the area’s unique restaurants!

Similar to our agenda in California, we had the opportunity to visit a few law firms and D.C. area organizations that each houses at least a small cohort of IP professionals. With each visit, the MSPL’ers held candid conversations with these patent agents and attorneys to gain a solid understanding of what a career in patent law is like. We definitely learned something new at each location, and it was really awesome to be exposed to so many new concepts of intellectual property in such a short amount of time!

It was also fascinating to observe the personality dynamics of each firm or organization. A point that has frequently been reiterated to the MSPL is that as we begin our job search, it is important that we are not only determining where we would like to work, but also in what kind of environment we would like to work. It has been described that interviewing for a job is much like dating: it is critical to assess whether or not you like the given set of employers and would enjoy working with them just as much as they are assessing you in the same way. With such a small group of MSPL students, we also had the opportunity to speak with the IP professionals more casually and talk more about ourselves and our backstories. We made really great connections, and this helped to break down the serious and stiff demeanor that the East Coast was made out to have (prior to the trip, of course). This enhanced our experience all the more, to the point where the MSPL’ers had a really difficult time pinpointing our favorite visit by the end of the trip!

We also took the time to do some site-seeing. On the first day, we visited the USPTO and saw an examiner’s office up close as well as visited the patent drop-off window! Between professional visits on the first day, we stopped by the National Archives, where we saw the Magna Carta, the U.S. Constitution (including the clause of Article One that authorizes patent law!), and a few of the earliest granted U.S. patents. The next day, we had the privilege of touring the White House, the Capitol Building, and the Supreme Court, where we had the exciting opportunity to actually go inside the courtroom! On one stormy, foggy night, we took the opportunity to make the trek around the Lincoln Memorial, the National World War II Memorial, the Washington Monument, and then circled back around to walk past the White House before heading back to the hotel. On top of the magnificent site-seeing that we did, we also ate at some fantastic D.C. eateries, where we dined on specialty pizza and fresh seafood, and even had the experience of eating at the Old Ebbitt Grill!

My description of the trip is clearly incomplete without mentioning the wonderful family-bonding that we had on the trip! Although we only had a small sub-set of the MSPL in attendance, we still had tons of fun spending time together and exploring the area. From terrible direction-giving to cramming inside of taxis together, we had a great time and many laughs along the way. We even topped off our trip by passing the time on the drive home with an in-depth exploration of music and sharing of all of our favorite genres! If it isn’t already obvious, it was a truly fantastic trip. It was a spring break well spent, and I am incredibly happy that I made the decision to go!

The intellectual property story of Legos

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Figure 1: Comparison of Mega Bloks (Top) and Legos (Bottom). (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

Figure 1: Comparison of Mega Bloks (Top) and Legos (Bottom). (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

A post from our student blogger Roberto

As a kid, I could usually be found playing ball in the yard with my brother until the sun went down.  When we were forced to be inside, either by the lack of sunlight or good weather, my brother and I would always find something fun to do.  Many times I would find myself with screwdriver and hammer in hand, plotting how to take something apart in order to figure out how it worked.  As you may be able to guess, this led to the absolute destruction of many valuable items, including a watch which was my mother’s wedding gift to my father.  Shockingly, my parents were in desperate need of a new way for me to get my early engineering fix and began investing in Legos.  Like any aspiring engineer, I spent days on end constructing the coolest hydrogen-powered intergalactic star destroyers and subterranean exploratory vehicles.  Pretty soon I was bringing my creations to family gatherings showing them off like blue ribbon cattle at the state fair.  Before long my amazing family contributed to the cause by routinely giving me Legos on birthdays and at Christmases.  I remember one year getting a set of Mega Bloks and initially not even realizing the difference.  For those who do not know, Mega Bloks are a direct competitor to Lego’s interlocking brick platform and often times can even be used interchangeably with Legos.  After using these new Mega Bloks with my old Legos I soon realized the truth; the Mega Bloks were simply not as nice as the Legos I had come to know and love.  These Mega Bloks looked and worked like Legos but were not made to the same quality.  Rather than precisely locking together like Legos, Mega Bloks were flimsy and never really fit well together often leading to weak structures that fell apart.  In contrast, my Lego creations were so rigid that they needed to be pried apart and often doubled as formidable defense measures against an unexpected onslaught by my brother.

So why am I spending all this time talking about Legos?  Well, while reminiscing about my childhood over our recent spring break I remembered my love for the little plastic blocks.  After I thought about them for a while I asked myself two things.  First, where the heck were they, I needed to find them and relive all these awesome memories.  And second, I wondered what kind of crazy intellectual property issues Legos ran into.  After doing some research I found out that the Danish company started selling toys in 1932 and introduced the first of their famous bricks in 1958.  As you may be able to guess, many of Lego’s patents have since expired with the last major one expiring in 1978.

Mega Bloks first entered direct competition with Legos in 1991 and has been involved in about a dozen lawsuits with Lego since then, many of which are still active.  The natural question now is, how did Mega Bloks’ activity after Lego’s patent expirations result in a lawsuit?  Well, after running out of patent protection Lego’s savvy legal team turned to copyright and trademark protection.  In particular, Lego has tried to protect the visual appearance of its standard brick with eight studs through trademark protection.  In 2005, Lego sued Mega Bloks for trademark violation in Canada and lost and after that, Lego brought a similar suit against Mega Bloks in Europe and lost again.  As it stands right now, Lego is currently grasping at straws to protect its intellectual property and facing the possibility of little real protection.

Figure 2: Image of "Lego Friends" Comparison (Courtesy of Cato).

Figure 2: Image of “Lego Friends” Comparison (Courtesy of Cato).

While many of the cases surrounding Lego’s trademark of a block with studs have been settled Lego is now going after competitors for making products similar to their new “Lego Friends” products.  Lego has recently filed a complaint to the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) against several companies to bar importation of several products similar to their “Lego Friends” products on the basis of copyright infringement.  The ITC’s intellectual property powers originate from their responsibility to protect domestic industries from “unfair competition”.  The key issue here is that Lego is a Danish company which manufactures its products in Europe and Mexico.  This may disqualify them from standing as a “domestic industry” and therefore they may not subject to the ITC’s protection.

What presents an even more interesting situation for Lego is the advent of 3D-printing technology.  As you may know, 3D-printers are becoming less expensive and are beginning to offer more capabilities.  In the coming years as 3D-printers become common place it will be impossible for Lego to prevent others from printing their own bricks.  In fact, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University recently created an online library of pieces which can be printed by anyone with a 3D-printer.  It is not out of the realm of possibility that 3D printers will dramatically impact sales of products like Legos which are largely uniform and easy to print.  As the cost of 3D-printers and supplies continue to decrease, at what point will Legos become simply too costly?  These issues are surely being considered by the company and it will be exciting to see how they adapt.  Before long Legos may no longer be bought at the store, but downloaded online and printed at your desk.

Getting down to business

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Enlightened Diagnostics™ (EnDx™) from left to right: Gaylene Anderson, advisor; Colin O’Toole, MA ’15; Scott Manwaring, MBA ’15; Chris Cali, MS ’15; Megan Usovsky, MS ’15; and Victoria Zellmer, PhD ’17

Enlightened Diagnostics™ (EnDx™) from left to right: Gaylene Anderson, advisor; Colin O’Toole, MA ’15; Scott Manwaring, MBA ’15; Chris Cali, MS ’15; Megan Usovsky, MS ’15; and Victoria Zellmer, PhD ’17

A post from our student blogger Megan

When we think about patents we normally don’t think about business. In reality, patents go hand-in-hand with business. Why do people seek patent protection in the first place? Ultimately, patents place a monopoly on a device, machine, manufacture, or method, and insure that others do not make or use the patented item for a specified period of time. Patenting, as you can see, means the difference between having the ability to create a business based around specified items or not.

At Notre Dame I have had the distinct honor of being part of a business team that competes at competitions around the country. This experience has been incredible to say the least. My capstone project for the MSPL has been intricately woven into a business venture. For the past eight months, Chris Cali, ESTEEM masters 2015 candidate; Victoria Zellmer, PhD in biochemistry 2017 candidate; Scott Manwaring, MBA 2015 candidate; Colin O’Toole, Masters of Accounting 2015 candidate, and myself, have met outside school hours to craft a business plan and presentation to sell our inventors’ technology to potential investors. The five of us have learned that building a business from scratch takes a lot of time and effort: sweat equity needs to be poured into creating a business formula that will work, as well as a healthy dose of personal time and attention.

When we first met on a balmy sunny day in August, our business team was all smiles; we had no idea the commitment we were about to engage. With the help of our steadfast business team advisor, Gaylene Anderson, we started to meet at least once every week. The process was slow at first but as we started to decipher the makeup of our technology and how it worked, we were able to begin drafting a rough copy of our business plan over first semester break. The original plan was the culmination of each team member’s contribution: our technology entrepreneur drafted the majority of the business plan, our biochemist added her expertise on the science, our engineer/MBA added his knowledge of the technology as applied to business, the accountant added his numbers throughout spreadsheets, and I added sections devoted to our intellectual property. We entered several competitions ranging from the McCloskey business plan competition here at Notre Dame, to national competitions in Texas and California.

Our first competition took place at the University of Louisville in Kentucky at the Cardinal Challenge on Valentine’s Day. We didn’t know what to expect but we looked dapper in our company color—royal blue—which also paid deference to the University of Notre Dame. With some nerves and a little trepidation, we made it through a fifteen minute presentation. There were four judges that provided feedback after we presented. Some of the feedback was harsh—since we didn’t know what to expect we were thrown off by some of the criticism. We left the first round with some worry that we would not make the final round; however, we also left with a huge sense of accomplishment.

The top four teams were announced during lunch and we were called last. We made it, though! All the hard work had gotten us to at least a spot in the top four. We practiced for another couple hours and then it was show time again. We pitched our idea to a second set of tough judges as well as a larger audience.

I can still remember the feeling I had when the third and fourth runner-ups were announced: complete and utter happiness! Our company name was called for second-place. This was a respectable showing, but the entire team agreed that we were hooked on the spirit of the competition, our technology, and eventually, we set our minds to win it all going forward to other competitions.

Business is integrally tied to patents, and quite possibly to everything we do in life. As the old saying goes, “nothing in life is free.” This means you can capitalize on almost everything out there. But business is more than just making money. It is about selling something that is going to help someone. Our technology is an imaging platform that enhances cancer diagnostics. And I get to be part of this—simply amazing. Now, let’s get down to business, and I’ll update you on our progress as we compete for first place at further business competitions.

Trademark tactics

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The WalletHub logo is being opposed by Major League Baseball on behalf of the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs. (Courtesy of Evolution Finance) (All Courtesy of Washington Post)

The WalletHub logo is being opposed by Major League Baseball on behalf of the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs. (Courtesy of Evolution Finance) (All Courtesy of Washington Post)

A post from our student blogger Roberto

When many hear the words “intellectual property” they think only of patents.  In fact, there are many other forms of protection that are available depending on the subject matter.  For example, a trademark can be filed to protect any word, name, symbol, or design, or any combination of the proceeding, to be used in commerce.  This identifies and distinguishes the goods of one from the goods of another and serves as indication of the source of goods.  Not surprisingly, most of the work of patent agents relates to patents.  However, it is important to understand the other types of protect that exists and how they may fit in with your client’s needs.

For me, it has always been easiest to learn through examples.  Better still, it is more fun to learn through examples that peak my interest.  As you will likely find out in the coming months (through subsequent posts) I am an avid baseball fan and even play on a team back in Milwaukee.  With spring training starting just a few days ago, and a torturous ending to the Packers’ season, I admittedly have a bad case of baseball fever.  Out of the blue, I decided to do an online search for “baseball intellectual property”.  Oddly enough, there were a few news outlets covering a trademark dispute between the Chicago Cubs (Booooo!!), the Washington Nationals, and a small Washington D.C. startup called Evolution Finance.  Evolution Finance uses the trademark to represent WalletHub, a Web site they run where consumers can compare credit cards and find personal finance advice.  The dispute is over Evolution’s application for a trademark, the white W on the green background, which Major League Baseball (MLB) is opposing because of the trademarks owned by their clubs, the Cubs and Nationals.  While I have watched baseball my entire life, well since I can remember, I have watched baseball.  One of my first memories was hitting baseballs off a tee in my backyard and I can’t tell you how many summer hours I have put in on the diamond.  Even with my knowledge of baseball, I had absolutely no idea what the Cubs’ trademark was from.  While I had never seen the Washington trademark because it was from their early Senators years (1912-1927), I was shocked to hear that the Cubs trademark had been used at least 38 times each season since the 1940’s.  In fact, the Cubs trademark is actually depicted on a flag that is hoisted at their home stadium, Wrigley Field, after each home victory.  After learning this, it made sense to me why I had not seen the flag before.

MLB is arguing that consumers may be confused by the Evolution Finance trademark and mistakenly associate it with baseball or believe that it is endorsed or partnered with MLB.  Conversely, Evolution Finance is arguing that their uses are substantially different than those of MLB and that the uber-powerful baseball conglomerate is attempting to hijack the letter W and all its potential uses.  Currently the two sides are awaiting a trial before the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board which will decide the fate of Evolution Finance’s trademark.

In a follow up to my last post, it looks like football player has followed in Marshawn Lynch’s footsteps and filed their own trademark application.  Jameis Winston, the highly touted and potential first overall selection in this year’s draft, has filed a trademark application on his nickname “Famous Jameis”.  In addition to the contract he will sign, last year’s number one pick Jadeveon Clowney signed for $23M guaranteed, Winston will look to cash in on branding much like Lynch aims to do.  The trend of sports players seeking trademark protection for nicknames or catch phrases definitely seems to be heating up.  In recent years Johnny Manziel, Roberto Griffin III, Jared Allen, Darrelle Revis and former players John Elway, Bart Scott, Michael Strahan, and Terrell Owens all have filed trademarks.  Given the cash cow that sports marketing is, it is not surprising that athletes are looking to capitalize.

California dreamin’

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The Notre Dame Patent Law family at Half Moon Bay

The Notre Dame Patent Law family at Half Moon Bay

A post from our student blogger Megan

“California Love,” “California Dreamin,’” “California Girls,” “Like a California King,” and “Californ-I-Ay.” These are just a few of the dozens of songs that have been written about the thirty-first state admitted to the union. With so many songs written about it, there must be something special about California, and in fact, there is. Sure, there’s the beautiful topography, the pristine beaches, and the endless drops of sun all year round, but what else? The MSPL received an invitation from Notre Dame’s William K. Warren Foundation Dean of the College of Science, Gregory P. Crawford, to visit Silicon Valley for a full week to find out what really makes California unique. We learned that the Golden State is more than just a pretty place—it’s all about hard work, passion for what you do, and an effortless vibe of excitement.

Dean Crawford is relocating to California to launch a strong Notre Dame presence on the West Coast. After all, California boasts the second highest number of Notre Dame Alumni in the entire United States. But in addition to this fact, Notre Dame has solidly established itself as a competitive science, technology, and business university—three qualities that fit like a glove with NorCal’s high-tech atmosphere (think Google, Facebook, and a whole host of start-ups that have hit the area like a spontaneous meteor shower within the past decade and a half). Dean Crawford serves as a charismatic ambassador between the halls of gold and blue in Indiana and the glistening sunshine soaked techie industry in San Francisco. During a brief November, 2014 meeting with the MSPL, Dean Crawford shared his plans for the ND-CA alliance. A casual comment was thrown out suggesting that Dean Crawford host the class in California during the second semester of the program. Dean Crawford immediately jumped on board. Ten weeks later we boarded a plane and watched the frigid snow of South Bend disappear, touching down a few hours later in beautiful San Francisco on a warm Sunday afternoon.

The MSPL cohort visited multiple private law firms including Morrison Foerster, and companies such as Qualcomm and eBay. MSPL’ers also got to spend time with Notre Dame alums that are now living and working in NorCal. Tim Connors informally lectured to the group on the basics of venture capitalism and John McNelis discussed the life of a patent attorney. The week-long Cali trip included some fun events like a visit to Half Moon Bay and some of the best ice cream sandwiches we’d ever tasted in the Valley.

The California trip was fun, but perhaps the most surprising thing about Silicon Valley was the immediate rush of intoxicating intellectual satisfaction that the people of NorCal emanated. Everyone that we were introduced to from IP lawyers to tech-savvy engineers loved what they did, loved where they lived, and exuded an air of confidence and happiness. Silicon Valley, you see, is the land of the start-up. Some new businesses rise up and some don’t make it off the ground. But regardless of whether your venture makes it in this area, at least you tried. And you don’t stop there. You keep going until you do succeed.

I once had an undergrad geography professor who hailed from California and he told us time and time again, “everything you hear about California is true.” He was right. California is one of those rare places that not only looks beautiful on its surface, but is truly filled with inspiring people who have big dreams. It might sound cliché, but the exposure to such a unique area of the country has changed the way that I think. If you have an idea, chase it. If you succeed, great; if you fail, try again. But whatever you do, have the courage to do it, not just dream about it.