Deborah R. Gerhardt
Professor of Law, Reef C. Ivey II Excellence Term Professor of Law
Areas of Expertise
- Advertising and Marketing Law
- Art Law
- Copyright Law
- Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law
- Entrepreneurship and the Law
- Intellectual Property Law
- Trademark Law
Biography
Deborah R. Gerhardt joined the UNC law faculty in 2009 and serves as the Reef C. Ivey II Excellence Fund Term Professor of Law. She specializes in intellectual property law, with a particular focus on the intersection of law and creativity. Gerhardt teaches Arts Entrepreneurship, Art Law, Copyright Law,Trademark Law and Contracts. In 2018, Gerhardt was awarded UNC’s Distinguished Teaching Award for Post-Baccalaureate Instruction. She has written many influential essays and articles on copyright, trademark and law and entrepreneurship. Her work has appeared in the Notre Dame Law Review, the Journal of the Copyright Society and Slate.
Prior to joining the faculty at UNC, Gerhardt clerked for the Honorable Judge John M. Manos in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and practiced in the intellectual property section at Jones Day Reavis & Pogue in Cleveland, Ohio. She earned her A.B. degree from Duke University and her J.D. degree cum laude from Case Western Reserve School of Law where she was the Executive Notes Editor of the Law Review.
Education
- J.D. (cum laude), Case Western Reserve University (1990)
- A.B., Duke University (1987)
Selected Publications
Copyright Publication on the Internet, 60 IDEA 1 (2020).
Westlaw | Lexis/Nexis | Hein
A Masterclass in Trademark's Descriptive Fair Use Defense, 52 AKRON L. REV. 739 (2018).
Westlaw | Lexis/Nexis | Hein
Beware the Trademark Echo Chamber: Why Federal Courts Should Not Defer to USPTO Decisions, 33 BERKELEY TECH. L.J. 643 (2019).
Westlaw | Lexis/Nexis | SSRN | Hein | BEPress | Document Link
Owning Colors (with Jon McClanahan Lee), 40 CARDOZO L. REV. 2483 (2019).
Westlaw | Lexis/Nexis | SSRN | Hein | BEPress
Trademarks as Entrepreneurial Change Agents for Legal Reform, 95 N.C. L. REV. 1519 (2017).
Westlaw | Lexis/Nexis | SSRN | Hein | BEPress
Copyright at the Museum: Using the Publication Doctrine to Free Art and History, 61 J. Copyright Soc'y U.S.A. 393 (2014).
Westlaw | Lexis/Nexis | SSRN | Hein
Lexmark and the Death of Initial Interest Confusion, LANDSLIDE Sept.-Oct. 2014 at 22 (2014).
Westlaw | Hein
Do Trademark Lawyers Matter? (Jon P. McClanahan and Deborah R. Gerhardt), 16 STAN. TECH. L. REV. 583 (2013).
Westlaw | Lexis/Nexis | SSRN | Hein | BEPress | Document Link
Social Media Amplify Consumer Investment in Trademarks, 90 N.C. L. Rev. 1491 (2012).
Westlaw | Lexis/Nexis | SSRN | Hein | BEPress
Copyright Publication: An Empirical Study, 87 NOTRE DAME L. REV. 135 (2011). [Data]
Westlaw | Lexis/Nexis | SSRN | Hein | BEPress
In the Media
- As Racist Brands Fall, Will Some Try To Revive Them? D. Gerhardt Quoted (Law360)
- D. Gerhardt comments on family's slaveholding defamation case (Washington Post)
- D. Gerhardt Comments on 2020 Candidates Lifting Policy Material (Politico)
- D. Gerhardt Comments on Louboutin's Efforts to Trademarking Red-Soled Shoes (Knowledge @ Wharton)
- University Teaching Award Winners like Deborah Gerhardt Come with Impressive Resumes (Daily Tar Heel)
- Op Ed: D. Gerhardt Writes about Silent Sam and the Center for Civil Rights (Charlotte Observer)
- More Brands Should Convey Political Values and Take a Stand on Divisive Issues, D. Gerhardt Research Suggests (World Trademark Review)
- D. Gerhardt: 'Game of Thrones' Plot Leaker Risks Criminal Copyright Infringement Charge (U.S. News and World Report)
- D. Gerhardt on Trump's Right to Play Adele's Songs (US News & World Report)
- D. Gerhardt on Lexmark and the Death of Initial Interest Confusion (Landslide Magazine)