Tulane Law Appoints Jeremy Bock as First Holder of Alan and Louise Fisch Early Career Professorship in Intellectual Property Law

Tulane University Law School has announced that Associate Professor Jeremy Bock has been appointed as the inaugural holder of the newly established Alan and Louise Fisch Early Career Professorship in Law. This endowed professorship was created through a gift to support early-career faculty scholarship in intellectual property law, particularly patent law, reinforcing Tulane Law’s commitment to excellence in this domain.

Alan Fisch, a 1994 Tulane Law alumnus and co-founding managing partner of Fisch Sigler, LLP, a prominent intellectual property litigation firm in Washington, D.C., expressed his admiration for Bock’s work, stating, “Jeremy is a world-class talent, his work is impactful. We’re honored that he’s been selected as the inaugural holder of this professorship.”

Professor Bock’s research focuses on intellectual property, technology law, and regulation, with a particular emphasis on the patent system. His scholarship uniquely incorporates insights from behavioral economics, cognitive psychology, and management science to evaluate patent law doctrines within the practical realities of the patent ecosystem.

Tulane Law Dean David Meyer highlighted the significance of the new professorship, saying, “We are excited about this new professorship and the support it represents for our intellectual property program. Alan Fisch has helped set the bar for excellence in patent litigation across his professional career, and we’re grateful that Alan and Louise are partnering to ensure that Tulane plays the same leadership role in IP scholarship nationally.”

Louise Fisch, a Tulane history graduate and published author, also emphasized the importance of supporting academic research, noting, “There’s never been a more important time to support academic research and scholarship. We’re delighted to be able to help do so.”

The Fisch Professorship arrives amid a period of expanding visibility and influence for Tulane Law in intellectual property. Since recruiting Bock in 2018, the law school has introduced new courses and learning opportunities in IP law. In 2017, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office designated Tulane as a regional hub for intellectual property expertise, facilitating pro bono patent and trademark legal services to micro entities.

Further underscoring its IP credentials, Tulane hosted U.S. Patent Office hearings in 2018 related to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) proceedings, including educational sessions where Board judges shared advocacy strategies. The law school also offers a patent practicum, enabling students to represent clients seeking patent and trademark protection under expert faculty supervision.

Professor Bock remarked on the timeliness of the professorship, stating, “The support this professorship will provide for teaching and research in the area of intellectual property is particularly timely, as this field has been actively undergoing change over the past decade. Several pieces of new legislation and multiple Supreme Court rulings have dramatically changed the legal landscape in recent years.”

Bock’s background makes him a natural fit for the Fisch Professorship. He earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before working as a patent agent. He then attended the University of California at Berkeley School of Law. Following law school, he clerked for The Honorable Alan D. Lourie of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Before joining academia, Bock practiced patent law in private practice. Since entering academia, his teaching and scholarship have covered a broad spectrum of patent law topics. He joined Tulane Law from the University of Memphis School of Law and quickly gained national recognition as an intellectual property scholar. One of his papers, later published in the Minnesota Law Review, was selected through a blind competition for presentation at the prestigious Harvard-Stanford-Yale Early Career Scholarship Workshop.

Bock was awarded tenure at Tulane Law in 2020, further cementing his role as a leading figure in intellectual property scholarship at the institution.