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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 Hit Record High Above $5,100 as Safe-Haven Demand Surges

Gold prices soared to a historic high above $5,100 per ounce on Monday, extending a powerful rally as investors flocked to the precious metal amid escalating geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty. Spot gold...

Morgan Stanley Raises KOSPI Target to 5,200 on Strong Earnings and Reform Momentum

Morgan Stanley has raised its end-2026 target for South Koreas benchmark stock index, the KOSPI, citing robust earnings momentum and ongoing structural reforms that continue to support further upside despite the markets...

Asian Stocks Mixed as Yen Surges and Markets Await Fed, Tech Earnings

Asian stock markets traded mixed on Monday as investors stayed cautious ahead of a highly anticipated Federal Reserve policy meeting later this week and a heavy global technology earnings calendar. Market sentiment across...

Asian Currencies Climb as Dollar Slumps, Yen Jumps on Intervention Speculation

Most Asian currencies strengthened on Monday as the U.S. dollar extended sharp losses ahead of the Federal Reserves highly anticipated policy meeting later this week. The Japanese yen led gains in the region, surging to...

China Yuan Hits 32-Month High as Central Bank Manages Appreciation Pace

Chinas yuan strengthened to a fresh 32-month high against the U.S. dollar on Monday, supported by a combination of central bank guidance, a weaker dollar, and seasonal corporate demand ahead of the Lunar New Year. The...

Politics

U.S., South Korea Deepen Defense Ties as Seoul Pursues Nuclear-Powered Submarine

The United States and South Korea have agreed to deepen defense cooperation, particularly regarding Seouls pursuit of a nuclear-powered submarine, in a move that underscores a shifting security dynamic on the Korean...

Australia Day Protests Highlight Deep Divisions Over Indigenous Rights and Immigration

Thousands of Australians marked Australia Day on Monday by attending large-scale Invasion Day rallies across major cities, showing support for Indigenous Australians and calling for unity amid growing political and social...

U.S. Security Guarantees for Ukraine Ready as Kyiv Awaits Signing Amid Ongoing Peace Talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has announced that a key U.S. document outlining security guarantees for Ukraine is fully prepared, with Kyiv now waiting for confirmation on when and where it will be signed....

Trump’s Centralized Foreign Policy Sparks Greenland Controversy and Ally Concerns

A recent Reuters report reveals how President Donald Trumps highly centralized foreign policy approach triggered diplomatic shockwaves over Greenland, alarming U.S. allies and even senior officials within his own...

More Than 100 Venezuelan Political Prisoners Released Amid Ongoing Human Rights Scrutiny

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Science

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Technology

Samsung Set to Begin HBM4 Production for Nvidia and AMD

Samsung Electronics is preparing to begin mass production of its next-generation high-bandwidth memory chips, known as HBM4, as early as next month, according to a source familiar with the matter cited by Reuters. The...

U.S. Lawmakers Demand Scrutiny of TikTok-ByteDance Deal Amid National Security Concerns

U.S. lawmakers are calling for closer congressional scrutiny of a new deal involving TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance, raising fresh concerns about national security, data privacy, and potential Chinese...

Ericsson Plans SEK 25 Billion Shareholder Returns as Margins Improve Despite Flat Network Market

Swedens telecom equipment giant Ericsson announced plans to significantly boost shareholder returns after reporting a sharp rise in net cash and continued margin improvements, even as the global mobile network market...

Microsoft Restores Microsoft 365 Services After Widespread Outage

Microsoft confirmed on Friday that it has fully restored access to its Microsoft 365 productivity suite following a widespread service outage that disrupted users across multiple regions, particularly in North America. The...

Tesla Plans FSD Subscription Price Hikes as Autonomous Capabilities Advance

Teslas Full Self-Driving (FSD) software is set to become more expensive over time as its technology improves, according to CEO Elon Musk. The announcement comes as Tesla Inc. continues its transition away from a one-time...
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