College of Law — Faculty

Acclaimed Legal Educators

Vincent Chiappetta

Vincent Chiappetta

Professor of Law

  • J.D. University of Michigan, magna cum laude, Order of the Coif
  • B.S.E.E. (Computer Science) Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tau Beta Pi

Faculty Profile

Education

  • Diplome 2eme degree, 1972, Universite de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.
  • BSEE (Computer Science) 1973, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
  • J.D. magna cum laude, 1977, University of Michigan Law School.

Honors

  • BSEE 1973: Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu, Sigma Xi
  • 1999: College of Law Teacher of the Year
  • 2002: Jerry E. Hudson Award for Excellence in Teaching

Teaching Positions

  • 2002-present: Professor, Willamette University College of Law
  • 1997-2002: Associate Professor, Willamette University College of Law
  • Adjunct Professor, Arizona State University College of Law
  • Adjunct Professor, Lewis & Clark University Northwestern College of Law
  • Visiting Positions: Center for the Study of Law, Science and Technology, Arizona State University College of Law; Indiana University School of Law
  • Director, Certificate of Concentration in Business Law Program
  • Summer 2001: China Program, Willamette University, Shanghai, China

Professional Experience

  • 1993-1997: Vice-President and General Counsel; Tektronix, Inc., Portland, OR. Managed Law and Trade Administration Departments
  • 1992-1993: Associate General Counsel; Levi Strauss & Co., San Francisco, CA. Managed group responsible for worldwide intellectual property matters
  • 1987-1991: Associate General Counsel, Europe, Africa, Middle East; Apple Computer, Inc., Paris, France. Managed group responsible for all legal matters concerning the region

Other Activities, Memberships, etc.

  • 2000-present: Oregon State Bar, Computer and Electronic Information Workgroup, Member
  • 2000-2001: Oregon Internet Commission, Chairman Submitted the Final Report to the Seventy-First Legislative Assembly, December 2000
  • December 1999 - March 2000: Governor’s Joint Board Working Group on Economic Development-Intellectual Property and Profit Sharing Task Force

Recent Presentations

  • “Emerging Internet Issues,” State of Oregon Executive Briefing: Managing Operational Risk (November 29, 2001)
  • “Report on the Oregon Internet Commission,” Oregon State Bar Computer and Internet Section (November 28, 2001)
  • “Internet Issues,” Oregon Attorney General’s Public Law Conference, Salem, OR. (November 7, 2001 and November 14, 2001)
  • “Recent Legislative Developments,” Computer Law in the New … new Economy, Oregon State Bar, Portland, OR (November 2, 2001)
  • Moderator, “Anthropological and Historical Foundations” panel, Comparative Dispute Resolution Conference, Willamette University College of Law (October 5, 2001)
  • “Privacy in Internet ‘High Tech’ World,” Spotlight Series, Owen Panner Inns of Court, Portland, OR (September 27, 2001)
  • “UETA/E-Sign and UCITA Updates,” 18th PACIFIC RIM COMPUTER AND INTERNET LAW INSTITUTE, Portland, OR (June 1, 2001)
  • “Emerging Internet Risks”, Workers’ Compensation Board Spring CLE (April 13, 2001).
  • Moderator, “Racism - What is it?” Willamette Law Review Symposium: Race, Culture and the Law (April 7, 2001)
  • Guest speaker, “The Future of Privacy in Cyberspace,” Owen M. Panner American Inn of Court (March 13, 2001)
  • Special Information Session, E-vent Joint Comm. on Advancing E-Government (March 3, 2001)
  • Guest lecturer, “Internet Patents,” Univ. of Wash. IP and Innovation Seminar (March 1, 2001)
  • Moderator, “The Impact of the Patent Gold Rush on the Pharmaceutical Industry,” Health Care and the Law Symposium (February 2, 2001)
  • Testimony, various committees of Oregon Legislature during the 2001 session
  • “Internet Patents,” Oracle Symposium: George Washington University, Washington D.C. (October 27, 2000)
  • Moderator, “Role of Public Investment,” Public Policy Center Symposium: Willamette University (October 18, 2000)
  • “Key Intellectual Property Issues,” OREGON LAW INSTITUTE (May 25, 2000)
  • Panelist, “Thinking outside the box Innovations in DR Education in Law School Setting,” ABA DR Section Legal Educator’s Colloquium (April 8, 2000)
  • Guest lecturer, “E-commerce considerations,” Business Marketing course, Willamette University, AGSM (March 6, 2000)
  • “Law and the Internet,” Software Association of Oregon E-novation Conference (December 9, 1999)
  • “Legal Issues on the Internet,” State of Oregon Managers Conference (October 15, 1999)
  • “Sherman Act Section 2,” Oregon State Bar Annual Meeting, Antitrust Section (September 1999)
  • “Passing off on the Internet,” Business Torts CLE (May 18, 1999)
  • Panelist, WUCL Professionalism Seminar (March 5, 1999)
  • “Copyright Law and Music Education,” NATS Music Conference (January 1999)
  • “Developments in ADR,” Business Torts CLE (May 19, 1998)
  • “Patentability of Computer Software,” Oracle Symposium: George Washington University, Washington D.C. (March 26, 1998)
  • “Dealing with In-house Counsel,” Oregon State Bar Patent Section (March 1998)
  • “Software Patents,” Oregon State Bar Patent Section (October 3, 1997)
  • “Intellectual Property Law,” WUCL Alumni CLE (September 1997)

Publications

  • “Tripping over Business Method Patents,” VAND J. TRANSNAT’L L. (2004)
  • “Trademarks - More than Meets the Eye?,” U. ILL J. OF L. TECH. & POL. (2003)
  • “Maximizing Value in the Digital World,” (with Maltz), 43 MASS INST. OF TECH., SLOAN MANAGEMENT REV. (2002)"
  • “Defining the Proper Scope of Internet Patents: If We Don’t Know Where We Want to Go, We’re Unlikely to Get There,” 7 MICH. TELE. AND TECH. L. REV. 289 (2000-2001)
  • “The Impact of E-Commerce on the Laws of Nations - Foreword,” 7 WILLAMETTE J. INT’L L. AND DISP. RES. 1 (2000)
  • “The Desirability of Agreeing to Disagree: The WTO, TRIPS, International IPR Exhaustion and a Few Other Things” 21 MICH. J. INT’L L. 333 (Spring 2000)
  • “Rights and Wrongs” (Patents on the Internet), Oregon Business (May 2000)
  • “User Beware” (Copyright on the Internet), Oregon Business (April 2000)
  • “Ruling Your Domain” (Internet domain names), Oregon Business (March 2000)
  • “Myth, Chameleon or Intellectual Property Olympian? A Normative Framework Supporting Trade Secret Law”, 8 GEORGE MASON L. REV. 69 (1999)
  • “Rules of the Road: Traffic Control at the Trademark-Internet Intersection,” 60 Oregon State Bar Bulletin 21 (1999)
  • “Patentability of Computer Software Instruction as an ‘Article of Manufacture;’ Software as Such as the Right Stuff,” 17 J. MARSHALL J. COMPUTER & INFO. L. 89 (1998)
  • “Focus - Intellectual Property Law,” The Business Journal (November 7, 1997)
  • Chapters 1 to 4, Arizona Legal Forms, Volume 8, Business Organizations, Corporations, West Publishing Company 1991. (Draft chapters; edited by Thomas H. Curzon volume author)
  • “Bernacchi on Computer Law,” Book Review, 1987 Jurimetrics, 333
  • “United States Nuclear Energy Policy after Pacific Gas and Silkwood,” 1985 ARIZ. ST. L.J. 79 ; reprinted 17 Land Use and Environ. L. Rev. 659 (selected by peer review as one of the best environmental articles of the year) and 27 Corporate Practice Commentator 582. Cited in American Jurisprudence (1985/86)
  • “Congressional Power under the Appointments Clause after Buckley v. Valeo,” Note, 75 MICHIGAN L. REV. 627