Laura Pedraza-Fariña
Professor of Law
Phone
(312) 503-2277
SSRN Author Page | Curriculum Vitae (pdf)
Assistant
Timothy Jacobs
Assistant Phone
(312) 503-8340
Assistant Email
t-jacobs@law.northwestern.edu
Biography
Laura Pedraza-Fariña joined the Northwestern faculty in 2013 as an Assistant Professor of Law. She is also a faculty affiliate of the Science in Human Culture Program at Northwestern. She received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her Ph.D. in genetics from Yale University. Her research interests include intellectual property, patent law, and international organizations. Her scholarship on intellectual property law uses the methodology of history and sociology of science and technology to analyze and inform the design of patent law. Her current projects include an analysis of the implications of sociological studies on tacit scientific knowledge for the disclosure theory of patent law, and a study of how the specialized court structure of patent law influences the content of patent decisions.
Areas of Expertise
- Patents
- Intellectual Property
- International Intellectual Property
- Law, Science, & Innovation
- International Organizations
Selected Publications
- A Network Theory of Patentability, 87 University of Chicago Law Review 63 (2020) (with Ryan Whalen).
- Anti-Innovation Norms, 112 Northwestern University Law Review 1069 (2018) (with Stephanie Plamondon Bair).
- Spill Your (Trade) Secrets: Knowledge Networks as Innovation Drivers, 92 Notre Dame Law Review 1561 (2017).
- The Social Origins of Innovation Failures, 70 Smu Law Review 377 (2017) and SSRN.
- Understanding the Federal Circuit: An Expert Community Approach, 30 Berkeley Technology Law Journal 89 (2015).
- Patent Law and the Sociology of Innovation, 2013 Wisconsin Law Review 813 (2013).
Education
- BA, Oberlin College
- PhD, Yale University
- JD, Harvard Law School
Prior Appointments
- Associate Professor of Law, Northwestern University School of Law
- Assistant Professor of Law, Northwestern University School of Law
- Visiting Lecturer, Georgetown Law
- Law Fellow, Georgetown Law
- Associate, Covington & Burling
- Consultant, Open Society Foundation