IP Goes Pop

About IP Goes Pop

IP Goes Pop explores the interface between intellectual property(IP) and popular culture. Patents, trademarks, and copyrights are often referenced in popular movies, television and songs, but who owns the rights to creative expression? How long does a patent last? What makes a trade secret truly secret? Is the media getting it right when reporting on intellectual property issues? Hosted by intellectual property attorney Michael Snyder, with guest colleagues, inventors, writers, and creators, this lively, bi-weekly podcast discusses intellectual property with a pop-culture twist.

Publisher

Volpe Koenig Intellectual Property Law

Category

business · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

5 May 2020

Latest episode

9 Jun 2026

Latest episodes

1 of 61 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   9 Jun 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Stuck In the "Middle" of IP Law with You (Patents, Trademarks, and Trade Secrets)

   Hosts Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushe interview each other about the crucial "middle" phase of intellectual property protection, using pop culture to illustrate key strategies and risks.

2. 

   15 Apr 2026

   College Meets IP: The Intellectual Property of Higher Education

   College may be one of pop culture's favorite settings, but behind the scenes, universities are serious intellectual property owners. Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue explore how colleges use trademark, copyright, and licensing to protect logos, mascots, colors, slogans, and other brand assets across athletics, merchandise, and media. Using Rudy, Blue Chips, and The Social Network as touchpoints, they also examine how NIL rights have changed college sports, and where the line remains between an athlete's personal brand and a school's protected IP. In this episode: How colleges use trademark, copyright, and licensing to protect their brands Why quality control and style guides are essential to university licensing programs How college merchandising became a multi-billion-dollar industry The key boundary between NIL rights and school-owned intellectual property Bottom line: college brands are more than traditions. They are carefully managed IP portfolios. Key Moments: (01:07) College Movie Kickoff: Animal House and the Campus Canon (13:52) College IP as Big Business (16:14) How Colleges Protect Their Intellectual Property (17:06) Licensing, Merchandising, and Revenue Streams (18:54) Quality Control, Style Guides, and Brand Consistency (21:30) Mascots as IP Assets (26:35) Urban Legend: No Logos, No Names, No Trouble? (29:18) NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) and the Modern College Athlete (36:00) Final Thoughts For full show notes and to explore more episodes, please visit www.vklaw.com/newsroom-podcasts. 👉Connect with IP Goes Pop! Request episode topics and share your feedback with us using the handle @volpeandkoenig on: Facebook Linkedin Twitter (https://twitter.com/VolpeAndKoenig) Instagram

3. 

   3 Apr 2026

   If You're Not Firsts, You're Lasts: Intellectual Property Lasts

   In pop culture, "last" often just means "for now." In intellectual property law, it means something much more concrete. In this episode of IP Goes Pop®, Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue explore what "last" really means across film, TV, music, and IP law. From The Last Samurai and The Last Jedi to Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Last of Us, "last" builds emotion, but rarely signals the end. In IP law, it does. The hosts explain how rights expire, can be lost early, become generic, or change by statute. Featuring examples like Alexander Graham Bell's telephone patent and It's a Wonderful Life, this episode breaks down why IP rights don't last forever, and why that matters. For full show notes and to explore more episodes, please visit www.vklaw.com/newsroom-podcasts. In this episode: 🎬 Films like The Last Samurai, The Last of the Mohicans, and The Last Jedi—final… or not? 📺 How Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Last of Us use "last" to build tension ⏳ The four ways IP rights end: expiration, early loss, genericide, and statutory change 📞 The expiration of Bell's telephone patent—and what followed 🎄 How a missed renewal helped make It's a Wonderful Life a holiday staple Key Moments: (02:10) Firsts Before Lasts Season 7, Episode 1: We're #1! Intellectual Property Firsts (02:10) Movies With "Last" in the Title (09:33) Television "Lasts" (11:20) Musical "Lasts" (13:40) Four Ways IP Rights Can End (16:40) Patent Expiration: Alexander Graham Bell's telephone patent (21:03) Copyright Renewal Failure: It's a Wonderful Life (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038650/) (28:50) Trademark Genericide (33:34) Legislative Extensions (37:02) Final Thoughts 👉Stay Connected with IP Goes Pop! Request episode topics and share your feedback with us using the handle @volpeandkoenig on: Facebook Linkedin Twitter Instagram

Inside a recent episode

Stuck In the "Middle" of IP Law with You (Patents, Trademarks, and Trade Secrets)

Published 9 Jun 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] And in the IP world, the middle part of trying to obtain intellectual property protection is really the significant or can be the most significant part. So it's not merely filler. It is really a transformational zone, as we're going to talk about. And let's start off with the middle part of obtaining patent protection okay so we've talked in the past about you know making sure you don't disclose things and and getting your patent application prepared but now let's talk about what happens next so this is between filing and between issuance and Joe because I know you do this every day a lot can happen in fact Almost all of the things that can happen do happen in this period. […]

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Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

24 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

7 ratings

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