Law Students Model for Intellectual Property

by Xuelu Pan, Washburn Review

On Friday, March 8, the Washburn Intellectual Property Law Society is going to put on a fashion show at 7 p.m. in the North Topeka Arts District. The main purpose of this event is to benefit the community and share their passion for intellectual property law.

The Washburn Intellectual Property Law Society (WIPLS) at Washburn University School of Law provides a forum for students interested in patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret law and seeks to expand awareness of intellectual property. WIPLS elects annually for its officers and right now there are seven officers. This is the first year that WIPLS hosted a fashion show. The decision to put on this fashion show was the idea of the WIPLS's Event Coordinator, Marissa Frederick, who has had experience in putting together a fashion show. The WIPLS's executive board thought it would be wonderful way to showcase local vendors and stylists, while providing a fun informational avenue to discuss the rights afforded by intellectual property law to small business owners.

The event will take place at Serendipity — 820 N. Kansas Avenue in the North Topeka Arts District. Catelyn Kostbar, president of the WIPLS, is in charge of this show. Catelyn is a third-year law student. Speaking of the why they chose NOTO as the show place, she said, “We chose NOTO [the North Topeka] Arts District because their goals aligned with ours in support of the art community.”

The show is scheduled to run until 9:00 pm, but announcement of raffle prize winners will be announced around 9:30 and then the venue will be open for socializing. As for the event arrangements, according to Catelyn, they will have law students and professors modeling local lines including seven law professors and 12 law students. None of them are professional models. Another law student DJ Nikki Nhu will be the music DJ. At the beginning of the show, there will be a presentation by Spencer Ward, who is also a law student at Washburn. Ward will talk about intersection of fashion and intellectual property law.

The show is open to the public and all are welcome to attend. Tickets for students are $12, $15 for general admission and all tickets at the door will be $20. Hors d' oeuvres and a cash bar will also be provided in the show place. 80% of the proceeds of the event will be donated to the NOTO Arts District; in turn, the money will go to funding art classes that NOTO hosts for children, adults, and the Topeka Rescue Mission.

Students have great expectations for this fun event. Angel Romero, a Washburn Law student in his third year, said, "I am absolutely pumped for this event! I've been so impressed by how hard everyone has worked to put this event on! Not only is this event truly unique, but it also supports NOTO at a time when the arts community in Topeka is really taking off! This will be an awesome event to bring students out into the community to have a great time. "

For more information, please visit NOTO’s official website http://notoartsdistrict.com/ or contact Catelyn Kostbar at catelyn.kostbar@washburn.edu.

Photograph: Students modeling in IP fashion show.

The Intellectual Property Law Society's first ever "What's In a Name?" fashion show was a great way for students to get out in the Topeka community, as well as learn about the importance of IP law as it relates to small businesses and the fashion industry.