Sean M. O’Connor specializes in intellectual property and business law involving biotechnology, cyberspace/information technology, and new media/digital arts. He is Associate Professor, Faculty Director of the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic, and Associate Director of both the Program in IP Law & Policy and the Center for Advanced Studies and Research on IP (CASRIP) at the University of Washington School of Law. Professor O’Connor is Of Counsel to Seed IP. He holds a J.D. from Stanford Law School, M.A. (Philosophy) from Arizona State University, and B.A. (History) from University of Massachusetts, Boston.

Professor O’Connor lectures and publishes on IP and business law around the world, including India, Japan, Korea, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Canada. His articles have been translated for publication into multiple languages. He began practicing law at major international business and technology law firms in New York and Boston, and was General Counsel to Rhizome.org from 2000-2006. Professor O’Connor began his academic career at the University of Pittsburgh before joining the faculty at the University of Washington School of Law in 2003, where he was promoted to Associate Professor with life tenure in 2006. He was Visiting Professor and Kauffman Fellow in Law & Entrepreneurship at University of California Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall) in 2007. Professor O’Connor is also a faculty fellow at the Institute for Public Health Genetics, the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and the Economics Policy Research Center, all at University of Washington. He has written numerous articles and book chapters, and is co-author of Genetic Technologies and the Law (with Patricia Kuszler & Katherine Battuello; Carolina Academic Press 2007).

Professor O’Connor is admitted to practice in Washington, New York and Massachusetts. He is a member of the Order of the Coif, Washington State Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, Massachusetts Bar Association, American Intellectual Property Law Association, American Bar Association, and the Licensing Executives Society.

« back to Attorneys and Staff