As an English major with an interest in art history coming out of Amherst College, Peter Karol envisioned himself working in a museum or publishing house more than at a law firm. But he ultimately found a perfect way to combine his interests when he discovered trademark and copyright law and the way those legal doctrines shape the creative work of artists and writers.
This fall, Karol will join the faculty of UNH Franklin Pierce as professor of law and faculty director of the Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectual Property, bringing with him nearly a dozen years as a full-time professor at New England Law and almost 20 years of IP practice experience.
Karol graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2004, and joined the Boston-based law firm of Sunstein LLP that same year as a member of the Intellectual Property Litigation, Trademark, Copyright, and Business Practice Groups.
Karol currently serves as associate dean at New England Law, where, in addition to being a doctrinal law professor, he is the founding director of the Intellectual Property Law Certificate Program, the co-coordinator of the Business and Intellectual Property Clinic, and an advisor to the Trademark Moot Court team, Intellectual Property Law Association, and Art & Fashion Law Society. He has long taught a range of classes, including Property, Law & the Visual Arts, Trademarks & Unfair Competition, Copyright Law, and Current Issues in Intellectual Property. He has published and presented numerous articles pertaining to US trademark and copyright law and is co-author of Posthumous Art, Law and the Art Market: The Afterlife of Art (Routledge, 2022).
In his prior career as a full-time IP attorney, Karol counseled clients on all aspects of patent, trademark, and copyright litigation, as well as trademark and copyright portfolio development. He will remain of counsel with Sunstein after he joins the UNH Franklin Pierce faculty. Karol believes that his work as an academic is informed by maintaining a stake in his practice. His connections to the IP community in Boston will allow him to open doors for students at UNH Franklin Pierce.
“Bringing a noted scholar to the law school is always exciting,” says Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law Rebecca Purdom. “Professor Karol is well known for his writing, but also as an excellent teacher and a successful lawyer. We are delighted that he will grow our intellectual property faculty and offerings with his thoughtful and exceptional teaching and scholarship.”
At UNH Franklin Pierce, Karol expects to teach Trademarks and Deceptive Practices, Law & the Visual Arts, Fundamentals of Intellectual Property, and Property Law. He was drawn to Concord because of the law school’s reputation for its world-class IP program. As a young professor, he participated in the law school’s renowned IP roundtables.
“It’s long been a dream of mine to teach at UNH Franklin Pierce,” Karol says. “I’m looking forward to getting to know the students, working with my new colleagues, and being in a community of like-minded people who care passionately about intellectual property and trademark law.”
