Law Student Wins National Intellectual Property Writing Award, the Second Win for L&C in Four Years

Frank Morton-Park ’23 has been named the 2023 recipient of the Robert C. Watson Intellectual Property Award.

Frank Morton-Park ’23 has been named the 2023 recipient of the Robert C. Watson Intellectual Property Award for his paper on contract law, copyright law, and generative artificial intelligence. This marks the second time in four years that a Lewis & Clark student has won the prestigious award.

Morton-Park’s paper, “Licensed to Learn: Mitigating Copyright Infringement Liability of Generative AI Systems Through Contracts,” was inspired by the rise of AI technologies like ChatGPT and DALL-E. His work explores how these systems interact with intellectual property law, focusing on the rights of copyright owners and the implications of online content agreements.

Professor Lydia Loren, who taught Morton-Park in her Copyright Law course, praised his insightful analysis, stating, “Frank’s paper tackles an under-appreciated aspect of AI development, specifically the contract and copyright law interplay.”

Morton-Park, now working in IP litigation at Klarquist-Sparkman, accepted his award at the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. last October.

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