By Dennis Crouch
The University of Akron School of Law’s Intellectual Property Policy Institute (IPPI) is now accepting applications for the 2026–2027 Thomas Edison Innovation Law & Policy Fellowship—a year-long, non-resident program supporting rigorous scholarship on intellectual property, creativity, and innovation law.
Now entering its twelfth year, the Edison Fellowship brings together a small group of U.S. scholars for three intensive, invitation-only roundtables with senior commentators including Professors John Duffy, Erika Lietzan, Michael Risch, and Mark Schultz. Fellows develop a research project from proposal to near-publication, producing a paper suitable for submission to a law or peer-reviewed journal by the end of 2027.
The fellowship provides travel and lodging for in-person sessions and a $3,000 honorarium upon completion of program requirements. Applications are open to tenure-track or tenured law and economics professors, Ph.D. scholars, and practitioners pursuing research agendas in IP or innovation policy.
Application materials—a research proposal (max 5 pages) and CV—should be submitted as a single PDF to IPPI@uakron.edu by Sunday, November 23, 2025 (5:00 p.m. ET).
More information: https://blogs.uakron.edu/ualawip/edison-fellowship/