I first heard someone ask that question as I passed through Stuart House my first week of 1L year. I thought to myself, what on Earth is “IPTF?” Is it an acronym signifying some state of mind, or perhaps some other law school-specific parlance related to the trials and tribulations of being a law student? I was never really good at keeping up with the lingo in high school or college, so to find a possible definition of “IPTF,” I first consulted a secondary source that some young people consider to be persuasive authority: Urban Dictionary. To spare you the trouble of visiting that source, it defined “IPTF” as follows verbatim (with typos): “‘iptf’ stands for I PITY THE FOO!!! famous saying of Mr. T”.

Not relying on a sole source, I continued my research and found that at Boston College Law School, “IPTF” actually stands for the “Intellectual Property and Technology Forum.” The IPTF is both a club and a student journal. As a club, the IPTF helps prepare students to be zealous advocates in intellectual property (IP) and technology law by hosting various guest speakers, firms, seminars, and “technology bootcamps,” and by connecting students with alumni of the IPTF who actively practice IP and technology law. As a student-run journal, the IPTF publishes legal scholarship with the goal of furthering the development of legal thought in IP law (including trade secrets, patents, trademarks, and copyright) and technology policy (including inter alia web-based civil liberties challenges, data privacy, and telecommunications law). ¹

At the start of each year, the IPTF Journal invites newly minted 1Ls to serve as Staff Writers, and 2Ls and 3Ls to serve as either Staff Writers or Editors. Staff Writers write either two short articles (one article in the fall and another in the spring, both typically under fifteen pages) or one long article (typically fifteen or more pages during the fall and spring semesters) for publication consideration. Staff Writers choose their article topic and aim to contribute something new to the IP and technology legal community, whether it be a legislative change, criticism (or affirmation) of a recent court decision, or some other novel viewpoint that has not already been argued. Editors, on the other hand, closely edit Staff Writer articles for substance and compliance with the IPTF Journal Style Guide and the Bluebook. Both the Staff Writer position and the Editor position require applications, and this year, the applications are due on September 9th (click on those links to view each application). 

To the 1Ls, you are probably questioning why one would apply to the IPTF Journal and take on more work in the midst of (arguably) the toughest year of law school. In my opinion and speaking from experience, joining the IPTF Journal as a 1L Staff Writer was one of the most rewarding experiences of my entire academic career. 

First and foremost, the Journal helped develop my writing ability. It taught me how to better comprehend unfamiliar legal issues, make cogent and persuasive arguments, and critically examine how technology and IP law affects our world, especially considering the advent of artificial intelligence. I learned from talented 2L and 3L editors who guided, taught, and mentored me through the entire process. To that end, the Journal forced me to put into practice the three-dimensionality of law: understand facts (the specific circumstances surrounding a particular legal issue), understand doctrine (the rules that currently govern that legal issue), and advance a legal theory (explain how the legal issue ought to be resolved in accordance with my viewpoint). 

Second, the IPTF Journal exposed me to diverse areas of IP and technology law that expanded beyond the 1L curriculum. I wrote my article on 47 U.S.C. § 230–a highly controversial and archaic Internet law that I knew absolutely nothing about prior to joining the Journal. If you are interested in reading it, would like to boost my stats, or both, you can access the published article here. Doing a deep dive into that area of the law helped give me a framework on how to approach any unfamiliar legal issue and successfully comprehend it. The experience helped me during my summer internship, where I was exposed to the world of insurance law (yet another unfamiliar area for me) and had to research, comprehend, and apply insurance case law. 

Third, my article for the IPTF Journal served as a useful writing sample for summer employers. Where most 1L writing samples are taken from legal writing courses, what distinguishes an IPTF Journal article is a selection of a unique topic, an advancement of a unique argument, citations that conform to the Whitepages of the Bluebook (i.e. law review style), and the fact that the article is pending publication or has been published. Undergoing the publication process and learning how to cite in accordance with the Whitepages is also helpful for the Boston College Law Review write-on competition at the end of 1L year.

Lastly, IPTF Journal 1L Staff Writers were able to present their articles to BC Law faculty and IP firms during the Spring semester. For me, having the opportunity to make arguments, answer questions from the audience, and engage in academic discussions was extremely rewarding. Few if any law schools afford 1Ls such incredible opportunities to learn.

So, when asked “are you IPTF?”, the answer should be a resounding “yes.”

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¹ The IPTF Journal was founded in 1996 and is exclusively led and published by students of Boston College Law School. Not to be confused with the School’s official Boston College Law Review or UCC Digest.

Justin Sells is a second-year student at BC Law, Staff Writer for the Boston College Law Review and an Articles Editor for the Intellectual Property and Technology Forum Journal. Contact him at sells@bc.edu.

Featured image is the five 1L presenters (from left) at the 2023 IPTF Writers Symposium: Austin Tarullo, Justin Sells, Emily Rockwell, Emma McMillan, and Lydia Rudden.