Menu

Search

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...

1 

Economy

Qatar LNG Exports Plunge 96% as U.S.-Iran War Disrupts Gulf Energy Trade

Qatar has emerged as one of the biggest economic casualties of the six-month U.S.-Iran war, with liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports plunging 96% as the conflict severely disrupts energy shipments through the Gulf. The...

Gold Prices Hover Near Three-Month High as Oil, Treasury Yields Fall

Gold prices slipped slightly on Wednesday but remained close to a three-month high as falling oil prices and lower U.S. Treasury yields eased inflation concerns ahead of key Federal Reserve signals. Spot gold, or XAU/USD,...

Japan Eyes Tax Changes to Curb Condo Speculation

Japans land ministry is preparing to seek tax reforms for fiscal 2027 aimed at curbing speculative condominium transactions that have contributed to rising home prices in major urban areas, according to a Nikkei report....

Australia Inflation Beats Forecasts, Raising RBA Rate Hike Risk

Australias inflation remained hotter than expected in July, increasing pressure on the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to consider further interest rate hikes as underlying price growth stayed elevated. The consumer price...

Asian Currencies Mixed as Aussie Dollar Rises on Hot Inflation

Asian currencies traded in a mixed range on Wednesday, while the U.S. dollar remained relatively steady as investors awaited key U.S. inflation data for fresh signals on the Federal Reserves interest rate outlook. The...

Politics

Trump Floats ‘Lake America’ Rename as US-Canada Trade Tensions Deepen

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration is considering renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America, as tensions between the United States and Canada escalate following the collapse of bilateral trade...

Trump Administration Pauses Visa Appointments Worldwide

President Donald Trumps administration has temporarily paused or rescheduled visa appointments at U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide as the State Department launches a global training program for consular officers. A...

U.S. Caribbean Vessel Strike Kills Four in Latest Anti-Drug Operation

The U.S. military said four people were killed in a strike on a vessel in the Caribbean on Tuesday, marking the latest attack in Washingtons campaign against suspected drug-trafficking operations at sea. U.S. Southern...

CIA Director John Ratcliffe Visits Moscow for Talks With Russian Officials

U.S. CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow on Tuesday for meetings with Russian officials, according to U.S. media reports, marking a rare high-level intelligence visit amid heightened tensions involving Russia,...

Taiwan Foreign Minister Heads to Palau for Pacific Islands Summit Events

Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung will travel to Palau this week to attend events linked to a major summit of Pacific island leaders, as geopolitical competition between Taiwan and China continues to intensify across...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

SoftBank Eyes $20 Billion Bond Sale to Refinance OpenAI Loan

SoftBank Group is reportedly considering a bond offering worth between $10 billion and $20 billion as the Japanese technology conglomerate looks to refinance borrowing linked to its massive investment in OpenAI. The...

OpenAI Data Center Chief Chris Malone Exits Ahead of Planned 2027 Listing

Chris Malone, OpenAIs head of data centers, left the artificial intelligence company last week, marking another senior departure as the ChatGPT maker prepares for a planned 2027 listing, according to the Wall Street...

Meta, U.S. States Discuss Settlement in Teen Addiction Trial

Meta Platforms and attorneys general representing several U.S. states have held discussions over a potential settlement as the Facebook and Instagram parent faces a federal trial over allegations that its social media...

Google Expands Gemini Enterprise With AI Tools for Legal Sector

Google has expanded its Gemini Enterprise artificial intelligence platform with new tools designed for lawyers and law firms, intensifying competition among major technology companies seeking a larger share of the growing...

Luxshare Shares Rise as First-Half Profit Jumps 18%

Luxshare Precision Industry shares gained on Monday after the major Apple supplier reported strong first-half earnings and projected double-digit profit growth for the first nine months of the year, supported by expanding...
  • Market Data
Close

Welcome to EconoTimes

Sign up for daily updates for the most important
stories unfolding in the global economy.