Ryan Vacca
Professor Vacca joined the University of New Hampshire School of Law in 2017. Prior to this, he was the David L. Brennan Professor of Law at the University of Akron School of Law (2010-2017), where he also served as Director of the Center for Intellectual Property Law and Technology (2015-2017) and Interim Co-Dean (2016-2017). Professor Vacca teaches, or has taught, Fundamentals of Intellectual Property, Copyrights, Patent Law, Trade Secrets, Trademarks, Current Issues in IP, Contracts, Evidence, Property, and Professional Responsibility.
Professor Vacca has also been a visiting professor at the University of Oregon School of Law, the University of Denver College of Law, Swinburne University Law School (Melbourne, Australia), and Wuhan University of Technology (Wuhan, China). He received his B.A. from Amherst College, his J.D. from the University of Missouri School of Law (Order of the Coif), and his LL.M. in Intellectual Property from New York University School of Law.
Professor Vacca primarily focuses his research on intellectual property and judicial administration and reform. He is frequently invited to present his research at academic conferences and to lawyers, judges, and policymakers across the world. Before entering academia, Professor Vacca was an attorney at the law firm of Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP (now Stinson LLP) in St. Louis, Missouri, where he specialized in intellectual property and products liability.
Research Interests
- 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing
- Judicial/Law Administration
- Law & Legal Studies
- Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks
- Unfair Competition Law
Courses Taught
- LAW 405: The American Legal System
- LGP 920: Contracts
- LGP 924: Evidence
- LIP 912: Copyright Law
- LIP 918: Trade Secrets Law
- LIP 944: Fund of Intellectual Property
- LIP 947: Current Issues in IP
- LIP 954: Patent Law
- LRS 905: Independent Study
- TECH 780/880: Intellectual Property Law
Selected Publications
Vacca, R. (2023). United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In I. Stamatoudi, M. Ricolfi, P. Yu, & P. Torremans (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Intellectual Property Law. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Vacca, R., & Bartow, A. (2022). The Jurisprudential Legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. R. Vacca, & A. Bartow (Eds.), NYU Press.
Menell, P. S., & Vacca, R. G. (2022). Breaking the Vicious Cycle Fragmenting National Law.
Vacca, R., & Bartow, A. (2022). Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Copyright Jurisprudence. Nevada Law Journal, 22, 431.
Vacca, R., & Bartow, A. (2021). Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Intellectual Property Jurisprudence. Landslide, 14(Sept/Oct), 5-9.
Vacca, R., & Halpern, S. (2021). Copyright Law: Protection of Original Expression (4th ed. ed.). Carolina Academic Press.
Vacca, R., & Menell, P. (2020). Revisiting and Confronting the Federal Judiciary “Crisis”: Charting a Path for Federal Judiciary Reform. California Law Review, 108, 789. Retrieved from https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3436493
Vacca, R. G. (2019). The Federal Circuit as an Institution. In P. Menell, B. Depoorter, & D. Schwartz (Eds.), Research Handbook on the Economics of Intellectual Property Law (Vol. II - Analytical Methods). Edward Elgar Publishing. Retrieved from https://www.e-elgar.com/
Vacca, R., & Menell, P. (2019). 3D Printing and US Copyright Law. In D. Mendis, M. Lemley, & M. Rimmer (Eds.), 3D Printing and Beyond: Intellectual Property and Regulation. Edward Elgar.
Vacca, R. (2019). Uncertainty in Employee Status Across Federal Law. Temple Law Review, 92. Retrieved from https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3359683