David L. Schwartz
Frederic P. Vose Professor of Law

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 served as the Associate Dean of Research & Intellectual Life at the law school from 2019 until 2022. 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.
Areas of Expertise
- Patents
- Intellectual Property Law
- Empirical Legal Studies
- Law & Technology
- Law & Courts
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 191 (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
- Associate Dean of Research and Intellectual Life, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
- Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
- Professor of Law and co-Director of the Center for Empirical Studies of Intellectual Property, IIT/Chicago-Kent College of Law
- Assistant Professor of Law, John Marshall Law School