Martin Skladany

I strive to educate not just the law student but also the whole person. This involves (i) teaching students how to think like attorneys, (ii) educating students in all aspects of the law, (iii) instructing students on how to learn in general, (iv) discussing how to be an ethical professional, and (v) fostering a love of the law, community, and helping others.

I research issues in intellectual property, internet law, law and technology, and law and development. I examine how the laws that govern the creation of culture and technology also influence individual fulfillment and the fundamental principles we value both domestically and abroad. My investigations into intellectual property’s effects in developing countries are related to another research interest I have in examining how to reduce corruption and improve governance within poor countries. Thus, I am exploring how to spark reform by maneuvering around the fact that those most capable of addressing corruption are the very individuals who have a vested interest in maintaining the dysfunctional system.

I encourage students to view law as a powerful tool that should be used to help others. It is also a daunting challenge that is a privilege to take up—to dedicate their careers to inch the law closer to the ideals of justice, equality, and opportunity. 

I aspire to instill in students that they are part of a community that genuinely cares about everyone’s development—that they are members of a life-long partnership between every individual who enters the law school. 

I have had the opportunity to work in the private, intergovernmental, and nonprofit sectors. From being a member of the legal team at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP that represented the Association of American Publishers in their copyright suit against Google over Google Books to interning at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, I have always been surprised how I have gotten more out of the experience than I could possibly contribute. Someday I hope to turn the tide.

I am married with three kids, whom I love dearly, and at some point in the distant future I look forward to returning to my interests in art, music, and architecture. 

Copyright Versus the People: How Major Content Providers Are Destroying Creativity and How to Stop Them, Cambridge University Press (2018)

“Macro Aid: Applying Microcredit’s Group Liability Principle to Foreign Aid,” L. & Dev. Rev. (2018)

“Foreign Aid Reciprocity Agreements: Committing Developing Countries to Improve the Effectiveness of Aid When They Become Donors,” 10 L. & Dev. Rev. 577 (2017)

“Technology Unions: How Technology Employees Can Advocate For Internet Freedom, Privacy, Intellectual Property Reform, and the Greater Good,” 98 J. Pat. & Trademark Off. Soc’y 821 (2016) 

“A Commons Exchange: Aiding the Commons through Facilitating Website and Digital Art Adoption,” J. L. & Pol'y Info. Soc'y (2014) 

“Bespoke Recordings: The Limits of Intellectual Property and the Revival of the Music Industry,” J. L. Tech. & Pol’y (2014)

“Throwing Dough over Castle Walls: Improving the Rule of Law with Foreign Aid Challenge Commitments,” Transnat’l L. & Contemp. Probs. (2014)

“The Revolutionary Influence of Low Enlightenment: Weakening Copyright in Developing Countries to Improve Respect for Human Rights and the Rule of Law,” 95 J. Pat. & Trademark Off. Soc’y 285 (2013)

“Unchaining Richelieu’s Monster: A Tiered Revenue-Based Copyright Regime,” 16 Stanford Tech. L. Rev. 131 (2012)

“Copyright Corvée: Inverting the Ancien Régime,” 34 Eur. Intell. Prop. Rev. 741 (2012)

“Buying Our Way Out of Corruption: Performance-Based Incentive Bonuses for Developing Country Politicians and Bureaucrats,” 12 Yale Hum. Rts. & Dev. L.J. 160 (2009)

“The Executive as Executioner and the Informed Governance Principle,” 3 Crim. L. & Phil. 289 (2009)

“Alienation by Copyright,” 55 J. Copyright Soc’y U.S.A. 361 (2008)

Assistant Professor of Law Martin Skladany The Hill Op Ed: “Trump’s net neutrality blunder is alarming for US foreign policy”

Assistant Professor of Law Martin Skladany The Hill Op Ed: “The least bad resolution of the latest North Korean crisis”