Volume 4 / Number 1 / Introduction

The lightening pace of technological change has affected nearly every aspect of society. These technological advances—along with the rapid growth of electronic commerce—bring challenges to many areas of the law, not the least of which is the field of intellectual property. From the role of trademark law in domain name disputes to the role of patents in emerging businesses, the Articles in this issue of The Journal of Small and Emerging Business Law suggest ways in which intellectual property law and related doctrines might evolve to respond to the changing nature of commerce.

The Articles in this issue were presented at the 1999 Lewis & Clark Law Forum, entitled “Intellectual Property in the New Millennium: Keeping Pace With Change.” This fifth annual Forum hosted by Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College was conduct October 1, 1999. The mission of the Lewis & Clark Law Forum is to attract leading scholars to the Law School for open intellectual discussions of legal issues of national and international importance.

Northwestern School of Law and The Journal of Small and Emerging Business Law acknowledge the support of the following conference sponsors who helped make the Forum possible:

Blakely Sokoloff Taylor & Zafman, LLP
Chernoff, Vilhauer, McClung & Stenzel, LLP
Klarquist Sparkman Campbell Leigh & Whinston, LLP
Preston Gates & Ellis
Stoel Rives, LLP