UC Berkeley School of Law was included in a list of the top music law schools of 2018, released by Billboard on Monday. In its article, Billboard said many of the music industry’s “most accomplished” lawyers graduated from Berkeley Law.
According to Peter Menell, a campus professor of law and co-director of the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, Billboard is one of the most famous music magazines. The Berkeley Center of Law and Technology researches and trains students to advance intellectual property law and other areas of law that intersect with business and technology.
In Billboard’s article, 11 other law schools are mentioned, including Harvard Law School and specialized programs such as the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law’s FAME Center.
“Peter’s been the driving force behind the music law curriculum at Berkeley Law, and the recognition from Billboard is a real credit to him,” said Daniel Schacht, Berkeley Law lecturer and head of the Music and Entertainment Practice Group, in an email.
Berkeley Law occasionally offers music law classes to students, and the general curriculum includes topics that are applicable to music law such as intellectual property law classes, according to Carla Shapreau, a lecturer at Berkeley Law. Billboard’s article said Berkeley Law offers a “perennially popular course” on entertainment law and added a class that focuses on social justice issues in entertainment and media law this fall.
Music law is a part of entertainment law and encompasses copyright laws, “representing artists and entertainers,” according to Menell. Menell said in an email that UC Berkeley has had the No. 1 law and technology program in the U.S. since 1998.
“I am proud of our successful integration of digital technology and entertainment law. Both are critical to our economy and cultural evolution,” Menell said in an email. “Berkeley Law students get remarkably deep and broad exposure to the forces shaping society. Many go off to impactful careers advising technology and entertainment companies and shaping public policy.”
