Peter J. Karol

Peter J. Karol is a Professor at New England Law in Boston, Massachusetts, where he specializes in Intellectual Property law with particular expertise in Trademark and Patent law. His scholarly contributions appear in the law school's faculty blog as part of the institution's academic discourse.

Professor Karol's research focuses on critical intersections between different areas of intellectual property law:

• Analysis of trademark registration challenges under Sections 2(a), 2(c), and 2(e)(4) of the Trademark Act
• Comparative examination of fee-shifting standards between patent and trademark litigation
• Legal frameworks for exceptional cases in intellectual property disputes
• Parody marks and their relationship to living individuals' names
• The appropriate boundaries between different intellectual property domains

His two most recent scholarly contributions demonstrate his analytical approach to contemporary IP issues. The 2016 'Drumpf ™?' article examines the legal complexities of registering parody marks related to public figures, while his 2015 'Creeping Doctrines / Shifting Fees' analyzes how standards developed in patent law might or might not appropriately extend to trademark litigation. Professor Karol consistently emphasizes the importance of maintaining appropriate distinctions between different intellectual property domains despite their common 'IP' categorization.