Nineteen students arrived in the strange new world of Beijing this week to take part in the sixth annual China Intellectual Property Summer Institute. Among these travelers are seven Pierce Law students: Brian Meli, David Connaughton, Jonathan Herstoff, Michael Maicher, Sofia Wise, Juliya Kleynbok, and yours truly- Brian Thompson. The other students are from various American law schools, including George Washington University, Miami University, and the University of Denver, as well as students from Tsingua University. Tsingua is considered the top law school in China and a leader in Chinese Intellectual Property.

The CHIPSI program officially kicked off on the evening of June 29. After a flight that for most students lasted between 13-20 hours, we were treated to a lavish dinner at a resturaunt near Tsingua University. The food was fantastic, and we were able to meet new friends, including teaching assistants from Tsingua who will be working with us during the program. Students have also been busy getting a crash course in Chinese by visting Beijing's many wonderful resturaunts, bars, and historical landmarks, including Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City. Students also visited the sight of this summer's Olympic games.This weekend, the entire group will visit the Great Wall and the Ming Tomb.

Classes began on Monday. Over the next four weeks, we will be take five classes at Tsingua. Pierce Law Professors Bill Hennessey and Mary Wong will teach courses in World Intellectual Property Trade and Contemporary Issues in Copyright Law. A third course, Contemporary Issues in Internet Law, will be taught by George Washington Professor Dawn Nunziato. The final two courses will be taught by Tsingua Professors Bing Wang and Jie Chang. Professors Bing and Jie are two of the preeminent authorities on Chinese Law and Intellectual Property.

Stay tuned to the reporter for pictures and stories from China! Zai jian!

With the title of collections assistant/government publications, Lisa L. Bonenfant processes and distributes incoming federal depository government publications materials and assists cataloging librarian Matthew Jenks.

Beautiful. Inspring. Profound. Exhausting.

These were just some of the reactions by Pierce Law CHIPSI program participants who hiked up to the Great Wall of China and visited the Ming dynasty tombs last Saturday. With a refreshing mist of perception on our backs, we hiked from a small village outside of Beijing to the Great Wall and hiked as much of the 6,700 km Wall as we could in two hours, The views of the vast mountains were an awe-inspiring and welcomed contrast from the urban landscape of central Beijing. We were also blown away with the history of the immense construction, many parts of which have been standing for over 2000 years.

After enjoying the Great Wall, we took a chairlift ride over forest-covered trails down to the village below. The sole disappointment of the day was that the toboggan ride that runs down from the Wall to the village was closed due to the rain.

We then went to a restaurant for a delicious authentic Chinese lunch. The restaurant was adjacent to one of the largest jade emporiums in China. Jade is one of the most valuable and celebrated ornamental stones of China. We were able to see how the stone was cut and shaped. After lunch, we headed to the Ming Tombs. The elaborate mausoleums are home to thirteen tombs of the Ming Dynasty. This was a full day that exposed us to the vast history of Chinese culture.

Following the Great Wall trip, Pierce Law student David Connaughton was asked to summarize his experience: "I won't realize how profound an experience it was being here, considering how historically significant and beautiful this is. I can say 'I was at the Great Wall of China.'"

The Pierce Law China Intellectual Property Summer Institute brings together students from across the world for a 5-week intensive academic program at Tsinghua University--the leading intellectual property institution in China. Students also experience life in Beijing and Xian, and enjoy the many sights, sounds, and tastes of China. In addition to the program-sponsored trips, we have seen Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Olympic Village. Stay tuned for more updates for CHIPSI!

New Hampshire's first capital murder case in decades is being closely watched, and the unusually elaborate jury selection process is making news. Reporters such as James Kimble of the Massachusetts Eagle Tribune turned to Professor Temple for insight:

"It will be an extensive, time-consuming process," said Charles Temple, director of the criminal practice clinic at Franklin Pierce Law Center. "It's unique to capital murder cases."

See "Screening begins for hundreds of potential jurors" for the complete story.

This week, we visited the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China. Officials from SIPO were joined by our host, Professor Bing Wang of the Tsinghua University, to share with us SIPO's strategic plan for 2008 and an overview of the patent process. We toured SIPO's massive office building where thousands of domestic and foreign patent applications are processed each year. We also toured Tsinghua department of technology. Students shared their projects and explained how Tsinghua is helping to expand technology throughout the country.

This week, we also finished our classes with Professor Dawn Nunziato of George Washington University. Professor Nunizatio provided a survey of intellectual property with a focus on cross-border jurisdictional, copyright and trademark issues. Pierce Law Professor Mary Wong also joined us this week for her third year teaching in the program. Professor Wong will be teaching Contemporary Issues in Copyright Law.

After nearly two exciting weeks in Beijing, we will be boarding a train to travel twelve hours to the ancient capital of Xi'an. Xi'an was the capital of China for nearly three thousand years and is one of the most ancient cities in China. In addition to taking classes in Xi'an, we will visit historic sites including the Terra Cotta Warriors and the City Wall.

Stay tuned to the Pierce Law Reporter for more updates!

Students Paul McAdams, Ethan Ice and Theodore Hosemann attending the eLaw Summer Institute

At a reception, sponsored by the Southern Law Association and the UCC Faculty of Law, the President of the Southern Law Association, Mr. Pat Mullins, welcomed the students to Cork and wished them well in their studies. The attendance at the reception included a number of High Court judges, as well as members of the local judiciary, the legal profession and the Law Faculty.

The Institute is accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA), and, therefore, the program must adhere to various ABA standards. For instance, students attend three 70-minute classes per day starting at 9am and finishing at 2pm. This also means that students from the United States can use the credits accumulated from eLSI to count towards their law degree in their home institution and hence graduate faster. All participants on the program receive a certificate of participation and for Irish and other non-US students, eLSI provides a taste of law school 'American-style.'

The Institute focuses on the emerging policy and law of the information age and is designed to be a critical learning experience for the lawyer of the 21st century. Topics include: regulation of the internet and cyber crime; data protection; online contracting; and the legal control of blogs, spam and phishing.

As well as addressing issues of law and policy of the information age, the Institute is at the forefront in using information technology in the delivery of its courses: Students are provided with CDs of reading materials in advance of classes. The Institute also includes asynchronous teaching modules whereby individual classes are pre-recorded and delivered on DVD for viewing on computer or Video iPod.

Given Ireland's position as a key player in the Information Technology sector, the Law Faculty at UCC has developed considerable research and teaching expertise in the fields of e-Law and as well has hosting the e-Law Summer institute offers an LLM (Masters Degree) in eLaw.

Franklin Pierce Law Center, a global leader in intellectual property law and the law of commerce and technology, co-sponsors eLSI, as well as summer programs in China, Washington, D.C. and at its Concord, NH campus. The law school offers JD, Master's and LLM degrees.

Brian Thompson, a 2L at Pierce Law, is reporting from the China Intellectual Property Summer Institute. He is one of 22 students from law schools across the United States and China taking classes in Beijing and Xi'an while experiencing life in one of the most exciting countries in the world.

Week three of CHIPSI began in the ancient city of Xi'an. Over the weekend, students visited the Terra Cotta Warriors and the tomb of the Qin Dynasty. Several students also traveled to Shaanxi Province and hiked up Mt. Hua, which is one of the tallest mountains in China and the site of several Taoist Temples. We began our hike at 1 a.m. and ascended over 2000 meters. At 6:00 a.m., we arrived at the top and saw a beautiful sunrise. The hike was very steep, but it was an unforgettable experience! We have also enjoyed the food in Xi'an. There are several outdoor markets throughout the city offering a variety of local cuisine.

On Saturday, we toured Xi'an. We visited the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the city wall. We then took a 12 hour train ride back to Beijing. While we have been gone, the capital city has made its final preparation for the Olympics. New subway lines have opened and construction projects have finished. Also, many cars are not allowed to drive in order to decrease air pollution and ease traffic congestion. The city is very excited for the games, which are now 16 days away!