Rebecca Tushnet
Frank Stanton Professor of the First Amendment
Rebecca Tushnet is a professor of law at Harvard Law School. After clerking for Chief Judge Edward R. Becker of the Third Circuit and Associate Justice David H. Souter on the Supreme Court, she practiced intellectual property law at Debevoise & Plimpton before beginning teaching. Her publications include “Worth a Thousand Words: The Images of Copyright Law” (Harvard L. Rev. 2012); “Gone in 60 Milliseconds: Trademark Law and Cognitive Science” (Texas L. Rev. 2008); and “Copy This Essay: How Fair Use Doctrine Harms Free Speech and How Copying Serves It” (Yale L.J. 2004). Her work currently focuses on copyright, trademark and false advertising law. Her blog, at tushnet.blogspot.com, has been on the ABA’s Blawg 100 list of top legal blogs for the past three years. Professor Tushnet helped found the Organization for Transformative Works, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting and promoting fanworks, and currently volunteers on its legal committee. She is also an expert on the law of engagement rings.
Education
- A.B. Harvard College, 1995
- J.D. Yale Law School, 1998
Clerkships
- Edward R. Becker, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 1998 - 1999
- Justice David H. Souter, U.S. Supreme Court, 1999 - 2000
Representative Publications
- S. Sean Tu & Rebecca Tushnet, Free Speech Challenges to the Inflation Reduction Act, JAMA (2023).
- Rebecca Tushnet, Oregon SCt rules on "ascertainable loss" in false discount case, Rebecca Tushnet's 43(B)log (July 5, 2023).
- Rebecca Tushnet, no predominance of common issues where many consumers would still have taken the drug at issue, Rebecca Tushnet's 43(B)log (July 3, 2023).
- Rebecca Tushnet, Trade mark law dodges free speech challenges in the Jack Daniel’s case, J. Intell. Prop. L. & Practice (2023).
- Rebecca Tushnet, The fact/opinion divide: threat or menace? 9th Cir revives suit against Malwarebytes, Rebecca Tushnet's 43(B)log (June 6, 2023).