Patented teaching: Making the abstract concrete--and joyful

Joe Miller is fascinated by paradox. His specialty is a modern area of law that traces its known history to 1474, assigns tangible rights to intangible constructs, establishes controls that encourage people to push beyond boundaries, and must be careful and deliberative in responding to rapid and unpredictable technological changes.

Miller teaches patent law and intellectual property law at Lewis & Clark Law School. In wrestling with legal theory, his students play to his penchant for paradox: "They think about things concretely and how the law applies to everyday life. They are very engaged with real-world meaning and impact.

They won’t let us get lost in legal abstractions even if we wanted to." And Miller works to impart his own love of learning. "I hope my students become lawyers in ways that give them joy about what they do so they will want to continue learning. The law changes constantly and demands constant study. Learning is wonderful and easy when it’s something you enjoy. My wish for my students is that they will discover that joy."