Introduction

The University of New Hampshire School of Law offers LLM, master’s degree, and diploma certificate programs for lawyers and non-lawyers in three specialized areas of the law: Intellectual Property, Commerce and Technology, and International Criminal Law and Justice.

Launched in the fall of 2010, UNH Law’s Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectual Property is home to one of the nation’s most highly-regarded IP programs, a hallmark of the school since it was founded in 1973. UNH Law has been ranked in the Top 10 nationally for the study of IP Law by US News & World Report for 25 consecutive years. In building relationships with leaders in industry and government around the world, the Franklin Pierce Center for IP has established itself as a global hub with rich and varied resources – including the only academic IP library in the United States. Franklin Pierce Center for IP faculty, students, researchers and partners work at the intersection of law, business, and technology, and students graduate with the skills and knowledge necessary to impact innovation in the ever-evolving world of IP.

The center offers one of the most extensive selections of intellectual property courses in the country, exposing students to a wide range of cutting-edge IP issues. Ahead of the curve in integrating intellectual property studies into legal education, the center focuses on offering students practical experience that will prepare them to succeed immediately in legal careers anywhere in the world – and, with a global network of successful alumni connected to the Franklin Pierce tradition, students have access to IP professionals in more than 80 countries.

Practice-based learning is foundational to a UNH Law education – we have a faculty of top IP professors with extensive practice experience who prepare students for real-world situations. Our IP professors are also renowned for their scholarship and research, and are genuine mentors who teach courses designed to foster engagement – our comfortable student-to-faculty ratio promotes campus-wide collaboration.

Facilities

One nationally-unique asset to the University of New Hampshire Law School is the Intellectual Property Library, opened Jan. 1, 1995. It is the only dedicated academic IP library in the United States. Many distinguished IP visitors, scholars, fellows, academics, and practitioners have proclaimed this information center the top English language collection in the world, equaled only by the multilingual IP library at the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property. With the Franklin Pierce Center for IP, the University of New Hampshire School of Law is the only law school in the nation with:

• a dedicated IP Global Resource Center classified at the research level of collection development;
• thousands of donated volumes of unique practitioner materials;
• a virtual, award-winning IP website library and portal, the IP Mall;
• all WIPO publications; and
• an IP librarian holding both Juris Doctor and Master of Intellectual Property Law degrees, with more than 20 years’ experience, who actively publishes articles on IP information and, as a member of the faculty, teaches courses in IP legal research and patent informatics.

The Franklin Pierce Center for IP Global Resource Center

• has collected IP materials on the research level for more than three decades;

• includes approximately 13,000 print volumes dealing with IP, commerce, and technology;

• provides students access to every major English language IP research product available;

• is home to the Homer Blair Patent Model Collection and the Ralph Baer:Father of Video Game Invention Technology Permanent Exhibit ;

• is the recipient of many donations by well-known practitioners and corporations;

• has been designated by the United States Patent and Trademark Office as a Patent Trademark Resource Center (PTRC) serving the UNH community and the State of New Hampshire by educating patrons on the patent and trademark searching and prosecution processes;

• has assisted more than 1,500 patrons from other libraries in finding IP materials not otherwise available to them. Ninety percent of the physical collection is not available in any electronic format.

The Franklin Pierce Center for IP Global Resource Center’s collection supports the largest IP curriculum in the world and covers

• the IP spectrum from news and practice to highly scholarly works;
• interdisciplinary aspects of IP;
• the synergy of law, technology, science, and business;
• English language works in domestic, foreign, and international IP law;
• materials from the earliest law books to the most current web resources; and
• continuing education and professional organization materials not available at other law schools.

The Virtual IP Collection

Beyond “the four walls” of the physical space are a host of licensed database services that serve scholarly and academic research. The office of the intellectual property librarian has access to every major IP information provider for purposes of teaching and scholarship. Full access to many of these services is available to the Franklin Pierce Center for IP community on campus and at home.

Student Services and Organizations

Students at UNH Law can expand their intellectual life beyond the classroom through involvement in academic and professional organizations, including the American Constitution Society, the Federalist Society, and the Student Intellectual Property Law Association (SIPLA), among many others. Moot Court teams compete against the top writers and orators from other law schools in the nation.

Groups such as the Chinese & Taiwanese Students Association, Black Law Students Association, the J. Reuben Clark Law Society, and Lambda Law enable students to connect with one another through shared experiences and identities.

The University of New Hampshire School of Law publishes two law journals through which students can gain experience in every aspect of publishing an academic law review – UNH Law Review, and IDEA: The Journal of the Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectual Property.

Career Services

The Career Services staff at UNH Law offers advice and resources to students and alumni throughout the job search process. We offer individual counseling, programs, and workshops throughout the academic year. Workshop topics include writing an effective cover letter and résumé, professionalism, and interviewing skills, among others. Our programs enable students to acquire critical knowledge about different areas of practice and provide an opportunity to meet informally with practicing attorneys.