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Earlier this summer, Professor Crouch served as an invited conference fellow at the prestigious IPIL National Conference, hosted by the University of Houston Law Center’s Institute for Intellectual Property & Information Law in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In that role, he was selected to provide commentary on emerging scholarship in the field, offering critical insights and engaging with leading academics and practitioners from across the country.
Most recently, Professor Crouch presented his own research at the Intellectual Property Scholars Conference (IPSC), held at DePaul University College of Law in Chicago. His presentation, Mentor Factors in Intellectual Property, introduces a conceptual framework for understanding a category of evidence that has broad application across intellectual property regimes.
Drawing inspiration from the figure of “Mentor” in Homer’s Odyssey—a trusted advisor who provided external guidance—Crouch’s “Mentor Factors” describe a set of objective indicia that go beyond purely technical evaluation. While perhaps most familiar from patent law’s obviousness analysis, where they are often referred to as “secondary considerations” (such as commercial success, long-felt need, or industry recognition), these factors also play pivotal roles in trademark, copyright, and trade secret law. Professor Crouch’s research maps how these evidentiary elements function similarly across intellectual property regimes, yet are often treated with disparate standards of proof, nexus requirements, and evidentiary weight. For example:
- In trademark law, commercial success can help establish acquired distinctiveness—paralleling its role in demonstrating non-obviousness in patent law.
- In copyright, evidence of copying by others may support both infringement findings and fair use analysis.
- In trade secret litigation, marketplace validation can help prove economic value and inform damages.
Crouch argues for a more unified trans-doctrinal framework. He notes that while Mentor himself was not infallible, the wisdom provided often revealed truths otherwise overlooked—a metaphor for how courts and policymakers might better integrate these factors into intellectual property jurisprudence.
Beyond his scholarship, Professor Crouch is widely recognized for his influential blog, Patently-O, which is read daily by most U.S. patent specialists and serves as a leading forum for analysis of patent law developments. His work continues to shape conversations in academia, industry, and policy circles.