Op-Ed
COLUMNIST
Thomas G. Field, Jr.
ipFrontline - IP Law
Tom is Professor of Law at Franklin Pierce Law Center, where he has taught since the Law Center was founded in 1973.
At Franklin Pierce and briefly in Ohio, Tom has taught intellectual property courses as well as administrative process, antitrust, business associations, consumer product regulation, labor law, products liability, property, and many courses involving intersections of law with science and technology. He has also organized several conferences covering IP and other law-technology topics. In 1988, he founded the peer-reviewed journal, Risk: Health, Safety and Environment, and served as its editor-in chief until 2000. In 2003 and 2004, two of his casebooks were published by Carolina Academic Press.
A native of Morgantown, WV, Tom received his degree in chemistry from West Virginia University in 1964 and his JD from WVU in 1969. The following year, he received an LL.M (Trade Regulations) from New York University, where he was the 1969-70 Food and Drug Law Fellow.
In 1966-67, Tom rook a break from law school to be a patent examiner (polyolefin blends). Many exciting things were happening in the patent world, but he did not hear about them or understand their significance until much later.
As related in more detail on his home page, Tom has had a wide-ranging career, but his primary source of satisfaction continues to come from having played a major role in developing Pierce Law's unrivaled IP program.
Visit Tom's
Home Page Here.
Articles Appearing in ipFrontline™
Patent Qui Tam Actions Clarified, published: 2/4/2010
The PTO as PC Monitor, published: 1/25/2010
CRB Developments Concerning Board Appointments, published: 9/2/2009
35 U.S.C. § 2(b)(2)(B) after Tafas v. Doll, published: 3/25/2009
KSR: Filling Holes in Prosecution History, published: 2/3/2009
Aristocrat: Collateral Review of PTO Process, published: 10/28/2008
Limits to Administrative Appointments (Update), published: 8/1/2008
When the Copyright Office Hides the Ball, published: 7/2/2008
Getting less than expected in copyright transfers, published: 6/11/2008
Limits to Administrative Appointments, published: 5/28/2008
Pre-Litigation Hardball After Dominant Semiconductors, published: 5/15/2008
Tafas v. Dudas: Elephants in Mouseholes, published: 4/16/2008
Quanta: Separating the Wheat from the Chaff, published: 2/6/2008
GM v. Lanard Toys: What is "Functionality"?, published: 8/16/2007
Martignon: An Unwarranted Evasion of the IP Clause, published: 8/10/2007
Considering the Reach of Phelps, published: 8/2/2007
“Lawful Use in Commerce” Revisited, published: 6/26/2007
Is the Work-for-Hire Doctrine Trumped by Custom?, published: 6/14/2007
Evaluating IP Programs, published: 2/21/2007
Is the Lanham Act "Positive" Law? Does it Matter?, published: 1/30/2007
Lawyers Should Be Cautious When Copying Other Lawyers' Work, published: 10/31/2006
The Risks of Buying Secrets, published: 10/24/2006
Coping with Freelance Termination Interests, published: 8/4/2006
Pierce Law Institutes Intellectual Property Amicus Clinic, published: 8/3/2006
eBay Revisited, published: 7/22/2006
How Uniform Laws & Restatements Guide Federal Common Law, published: 7/11/2006
Government Liability for IP Infringement, published: 6/20/2006
Judicial Review of PTO Trademark Decisions, published: 6/13/2006
Patent Medicine, published: 6/6/2006
The PTO's Document Disclosure Program: Boon or Boondoggle?, published: 5/26/2006
Reducing Intellectual Property Validity Conflicts, published: 5/16/2006
eBay: When Should Permanent Injunctions be Denied?, published: 1/5/2006
Bird Flu: Emergency Access to Patented Drugs?, published: 10/18/2005
The Potential Pitfalls of Overlapping Design Patents and TMs, published: 8/19/2005
When Easy Cases Make Bad Law, published: 7/8/2005
Patent Bar Requirements, published: 5/16/2005
Avoiding Prosecution Estoppel and Saving Money, published: 4/29/2005
Why Parties Can Cite "Unpublished" PTO Opinions, published: 3/14/2005
Feist Reconsidered, published: 3/1/2005
Orphan Works, published: 2/7/2005
Long Overdue Benefits of Viewing PTO as Admin Agency, published: 12/21/2004
Seven-Plus on the Richter Scale, published: 12/1/2004
Perfume is Now Covered by Copyright, published: 8/9/2004
Authors' Rights in the Cyberage, published: 11/1/1998
