St. Thomas Law Intellectual Property & Cyberlaw Society at Sixth Annual Patently Impossible Competition

Once again, the St. Thomas University School of Law Intellectual Property & Cyberlaw Society (IPCLS) had a strong presence at the Patently Impossible Project competition on November 5, 2015 at the Bakehouse Art Complex in Wynwood. 

Patently Impossible is an annual fundraising event run by Dade Legal Aid, in which teams race to complete assembly of a machine. Teams were supplied with a box of parts, tools, and a patent. This year, competitors rushed to assemble a wind-powered racecar or “Fan Powered Do Dangle Apparatus.” Over 250 judges, intellectual property attorneys, brand owners, corporate counsel, and engineers attended or participated in the popular fundraising and networking event.
As in previous years, St. Thomas had a strong and vocal presence. This year, over 30 students volunteered to participate in up to 10 teams. A change in the event’s venue to a smaller location, however, limited each organization to only one team. Participating for St. Thomas IPCLS were Eudinio Perez, 2L, Marc Rapaport, 2L, Patricia Pena, 1L, and Michal Amedia, 1L, who all worked together to build the car. Many of their classmates were present to cheer on their friends, including IPCLS President Alexandra Valdes and e-Board member Stephen Koch, along with faculty advisor Professor Nathenson. Also present were IPCLS members Andrea Arauz, Maria Fonseca Chavarro, Anastasiya Sack, and Vianca Canet.

Patently Impossible provides St. Thomas Law students with the opportunity to network with South Florida’s community of intellectual property and entertainment attorneys. Among those attorneys were numerous St. Thomas alums, including Ashley Juchawski and Diana Acevedo, both of Dade Legal Aid’s Venture Law project, as well as Steven Paulson of Dade Legal Aid. Many other alums were present, including former IPCLS member Kevin Cudlipp along with Paola Visbal. Notably, Kevin Cudlipp was not just an alumnus participant, but also a past victor of Patently Impossible, which he won along with several classmates when he was a student at St. Thomas Law. Further thanks are due to Dade Legal Aid Executor Director Karen Ladis and Jaime Vining of Friedland Vining, both of whom were instrumental in helping St. Thomas students to participate.