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Shontavia Johnson

Shontavia Johnson

Shontavia Johnson joined the Drake University Law School faculty in 2010 and was named the Kern Family Chair in Intellectual Property Law and Director of the Intellectual Property Law Center in 2016. She teaches Introduction to Intellectual Property, Trademark and Unfair Competition Law, Internet Law, Entertainment Law, and Property Law. Named one of the Top 40 Young Lawyers in the US by the American Bar Association, Shontavia was recently placed on the prestigious Fulbright Specialist roster and named a 2016 A. Leon Higginbotham Fellow by the American Arbitration Association.

Shontavia’s research focuses on intellectual property law, entrepreneurship, and innovation, and includes such topics as the protectability and reach of unregistered trademarks used on the Internet, the impact of the America Invents Act on startups and entrepreneurs, the role of the Thirteenth Amendment when permanent tattoos embody commercial trademarks, and viral meme trademarks. Her publications have appeared in the Berkeley Technology Law Review, the Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review, the John Marshall Review of Intellectual Property Law, and the Arkansas Law Review. Shontavia has taught intellectual property law to students in the U.S. and abroad and served as a consultant to both startups and large corporations.

In 2014, Shontavia’s article, Trademark Territoriality in Cyberspace: An Internet Framework for Common Law Trademarks, was awarded the International Trademark Association Ladas Memorial Award, a competition that identifies the best article in the world on a trademark law topic. That same year, her article, Memetic Theory, Trademarks & the Viral Meme Mark, won third place in the competition. Shontavia has received the Iowa Organization of Women Attorneys Gertrude Rush Award, the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics Outstanding Alumnus Award, and the Jackie Robinson Foundation 42 Under 40 Alumni Award. In 2013, Shontavia was also named one of 40 Lawyers Under 40 by the National Bar Association and IMPACT.

Shontavia is also the founder and managing attorney of Jackson Johnson LLC, a boutique law firm serving entrepreneurs and entertainers. She frequently counsels clients in all areas of intellectual property law and consults with clients on entrepreneurial growth and development. She is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and a licensed mediator and arbitrator.

Shontavia received a B.S. in Biosystems Engineering from Clemson University, where she was a Palmetto Fellows Scholar, Coca-Cola Clemson Scholar, and a Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholar. She received her J.D. from the University of Arkansas School of Law, where she was associate editor of the Arkansas Law Review and a member of the National Criminal Procedure Moot Court team. While in law school, she was named a Vincent W. Foster Scholar, Jim G. Ferguson Scholar, and Harold Flowers Law Society Scholar, and she also served as a judicial extern to Judge Jimm Larry Hendren of the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. Shontavia also studied international law and comparative constitutional law at the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town, South Africa.

Can the world ever really keep terrorists off the internet?

Jun 09, 2017 18:28 pm UTC| Insights & Views Technology

After Londons most recent terror attacks, British Prime Minister Theresa May called on countries to collaborate on internet regulation to prevent terrorism planning online. May criticized online spaces that allow such...

America's always had black inventors – even when the patent system explicitly excluded them

Feb 15, 2017 06:38 am UTC| Insights & Views Law Politics

America has long been the land of innovation. More than 13,000 years ago, the Clovis people created what many call the first American invention a stone tool used primarily to hunt large game. This spirit of American...

Celebrity voices are powerful, but does the First Amendment let them say anything they want?

Dec 12, 2016 09:57 am UTC| Law

When NFL player Colin Kaepernick refuses to stand for the national anthem, or the cast of the Broadway musical Hamilton confronts the vice president-elect, or the Dixie Chicks speak out against war, talk quickly turns to...

US Election Series

Donald Trump tweeted himself into the White House

Nov 10, 2016 22:14 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Donald Trumps presidential election victory has been described as stunning, shocking and having elicited a primal scream from the media. The president-elect resonated enough with more than 59 million Americans that they...

How the IOC effectively maintains a gag order on nonsponsors of the Olympics

Aug 13, 2016 11:00 am UTC| Insights & Views Law Sports

If youre one of the billions of people around the world following the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in any form, youre probably aware of its most talked-about sports moments. Simone Biles of the United States (with dual Belizean...

Who owns your tattoo? Maybe not you

Aug 08, 2016 05:53 am UTC| Insights & Views Law

More than 20 percent of all Americans have at least one tattoo, and for millennials that number jumps to almost 40 percent. What could be more intimately a part of you than a work of body art permanently inked into your...

Can you sue if someone posts an unflattering photo of you on social media?

Mar 08, 2016 23:46 pm UTC| Law

Open your Twitter or Instagram account and chances are good somewhere in there you may see an unflattering photo of a stranger. Its become increasingly common to share pictures of people we dont know online. And it...

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Economy

Gold Prices Surge as Rate Cut Bets Strengthen Amid Trade War Escalation

Gold prices climbed in Asian trading on Thursday, driven by softer U.S. inflation data that reinforced expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts. Spot gold rose 0.4% to $2,945.18 per ounce, while April gold futures gained...

Australia’s Stock Market Nears Correction as U.S. Tariffs Shake Investor Confidence

Australias SP/ASX 200 index is on the brink of correction territory, tumbling 9.8% from its all-time high on February 14, driven by escalating trade tensions following U.S. President Donald Trumps new tariffs. As of 03:20...

South Korea Warns of Heightened Currency Volatility Amid U.S.-China Trade War

South Koreas central bank cautioned that escalating tensions in the U.S.-China trade war could prolong market instability, increase capital outflow risks, and amplify dollar-won exchange rate volatility. The Bank of Korea...

Asian Currencies Stabilize as Dollar Holds Gains Amid Trade Tensions

Asian currencies saw slight gains on Thursday after recent losses, but market sentiment remained cautious due to rising global trade tensions and fears of a U.S. recession. Meanwhile, the dollar steadied following a mild...

Oil Prices Dip Amid Recession Fears, Rising Supply, and Trade War Concerns

Oil prices edged lower in Asian trading Thursday, easing after a recent rebound as concerns over a potential U.S. recession and increasing production weighed on sentiment. Brent crude futures slipped 0.2% to $70.83 per...

Politics

India May Limit Starlink’s Satellite Spectrum to 5 Years, Defying Musk’s 20-Year Request

Indias telecom regulator, TRAI, is set to recommend a five-year allocation for satellite broadband spectrum, challenging Elon Musks Starlink, which sought a 20-year permit. This move aims to assess market adoption before...

Trump’s Bold Tax Plan: No Taxes for Americans Earning Under $150K

U.S. President Donald Trump aims to eliminate taxes for individuals earning less than $150,000 annually, according to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in a recent CBS News interview. I know what his goal isno tax for...

Germany Eyes Historic €500B Fund Amid Political Showdown

Germanys outgoing Bundestag will debate a 500 billion infrastructure fund and major borrowing reforms on Thursday, a move that could reshape Europes largest economy. Friedrich Merz, the conservative leader who won last...

Walmart Faces Scrutiny in China Over Supplier Price Cuts Amid Tariffs

Chinese officials met with Walmart (NYSE:WMT) this week to address reports that the U.S. retailer pressured Chinese suppliers to cut prices to offset U.S. tariffs. The meeting, held on March 11, was confirmed by Walmart...

G7 Foreign Ministers Meet Amid Rising Tensions Over Ukraine, Tariffs, and US Policy Shifts

Foreign ministers from the G7Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the U.S.along with the EU, gather in La Malbaie, Canada, for crucial talks as tensions rise over U.S. foreign policy shifts under President...

Science

Leonardo da Vinci’s incredible studies of human anatomy still don’t get the recognition they deserve

Wikimedia, CC BY-SA The mere mention of Leonardo da Vinci evokes genius. We know him as a polymath whose interests spanned astronomy, geology, hydrology, engineering and physics. As a painter, his Mona Lisa and Last Supper...

One of the largest searches for alien life started 30 years ago. Its legacy lives on today

In February 1995, a small research organisation known as the SETI Institute launched what was then the most comprehensive search for an answer to a centuries-old question: are we alone in the universe? This Sunday marks...

South African telescope discovers a giant galaxy that’s 32 times bigger than Earth’s

Inkathazos glowing plasma jets are shown in red and yellow. The starlight from other surrounding galaxies can be seen in the background. K.K.L Charlton (UCT), MeerKAT, HSC, CARTA, IDIA, CC BY You may not know it, but right...

It’s science, not fiction: high-tech drones may soon be fighting bushfires in Australia

Picture this. Its a summer evening in Australia. A dry lightning storm is about to sweep across remote, tinder-dry bushland. The next day is forecast to be hot and windy. A lightning strike tonight could spark a fire that...

Earth is bombarded with rocks from space – but who gets to keep these ultimate antiques?

Every day, about 48.5 tonnes of space rock hurtle towards Earth. Meteorites that fall into the ocean are never recovered. But the ones that crash on land can spark debates about legal ownership. Globally, meteorite hunting...

Technology

WeRide Expands Robotaxi Services in Beijing After Securing Key Permit

WeRide Corp (NASDAQ: WRD) has received approval to launch commercial robotaxi services in Beijing, marking a significant milestone in its autonomous ride-hailing expansion. The newly granted permit allows WeRide to operate...

SpaceX Delays NASA Crew-10 Launch Amid Technical Issue, Stranded Astronauts Await Return

SpaceX postponed the NASA Crew-10 mission set to bring back astronauts stranded on the International Space Station (ISS), citing a technical issue. The launch, originally scheduled for Wednesday night from Kennedy Space...

AI Boom Fuels 10% Growth in Semiconductor Market for 2025, but Challenges Remain

The global semiconductor market is set to grow 9.5% in 2025, driven by soaring demand for AI and data center chips, according to ING analysts. While this growth lags the 11.2% forecast by the World Semiconductor Trade...

TSMC Proposes Joint Venture to Run Intel’s U.S. Foundry with Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (NYSE:TSM) is in early talks with Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), AMD (NASDAQ:AMD), Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO), and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) to form a joint venture (JV) to manage Intels...

Salesforce Invests $1B in Singapore to Advance AI and Digital Innovation

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) is making a major investment in Singapore, pledging $1 billion over the next five years to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) development and digital transformation. The move reinforces the...
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