David L. Schwartz
Frederic P. Vose Professor of Law
Associate Dean of Research and Intellectual Life

Phone
(312) 503-2646
Curriculum Vitae (pdf)
Related Links
SSRN Author Page
Assistant
Francesca Bullerman
Assistant Phone
(312) 503-1570
Assistant Email
Francesca.Bullerman@law.northwestern.edu
Biography
David Schwartz has focused his teaching and research on intellectual property and patent law, with a particular emphasis on empirical studies of patent litigation. He also co-authored a casebook on the law of design, including design patents. Prior to entering academics in 2006, Professor Schwartz practiced intellectual property law, focusing on patents and patent litigation, for over a decade. From 2000 to 2006, he was a partner at two intellectual property boutique firms in Chicago, where his practice included patent, copyright, trademark and trade secrets litigation; patent and trademark prosecution; and intellectual property-related transactions. He began his career in 1995 as an associate at Jenner & Block.
Professor Schwartz's research focuses on empirical studies of patent law and judicial behavior, including of the use contingent fee representation in patent litigation; reversal rates in patent claim construction cases; litigation involving non-practicing entities; the effect of the presumption of validity on jurors; and the doctrine of equivalents. He has also studied the use of legal scholarship by the judiciary. His scholarship has appeared in leading law journals such as the Cornell Law Review, the Northwestern Law Review, the Texas Law Review, the University of Chicago Law Review, the Michigan Law Review, and the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies. He has also published in Science.
In terms of service to the practicing bar, Professor Schwartz was the program director for the Richard Linn Inn of Court, which focuses on intellectual property law, from 2011 until 2013. He also served from 2011 until 2013 on the board of managers for the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago. Professor Schwartz is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Areas of Expertise
- Patents
- Intellectual Property Law
Selected Publications
- How to Build a More Open Justice System, 369 Science 134 (2020) (with Adam R. Pah, Sarath Sanga, Zachary D. Clopton, Peter DiCola, Rachel Davis Mersey, Charlotte S. Alexander, Kristian J. Hammond, & Luis A. Nunes Amaral).
- Patently Risky: Framing, Innovation and Entrepreneurial Preferences, 34 Harvard Journal Of Law & Technology ___ (forthcoming 2020) (with Matthew L. Spitzer, Elizabeth Hoffman, & Eric L. Talley).
- Understanding Patent “Privateering”: A Quantitative Assessment, 16 Journal Of Empirical Legal Studies 343 (2019) (with Jay P. Kesan & Anne Layne Farrar).
- Heterogeneity Among Patent Plaintiffs: An Empirical Analysis of Patent Case Progression, Settlement, and Adjudication, 15 Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 80 (2018) and SSRN(2017) (with Christopher Anthony Cotropia, & Jay P. Kesan).
- The Law of Design: Design Patent, Trademark, & Copyright - Problems, Cases, and Materials (West Academic 2017) (with Edward S. Lee, & Mark McKenna).
- Our Divided Patent System, 82 University of Chicago Law Review 1073 (2015) (with John Allison & Mark Lemley).
Education
- BS, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- JD cum laude, University of Michigan Law School
Prior Appointments
- Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
- Stanford Clinton Sr. and Zylpha Kilbride Clinton Research Professor of Law, Northwestern University School of Law
- Professor of Law, Northwestern University School of Law
- Visiting Professor of Law, Northwestern University School of Law
- Professor of Law and co-Director of the Center for Empirical Studies of Intellectual Propert, IIT/Chicago-Kent College of Law
- Assistant Professor of Law, John Marshall Law School