Seattle Intellectual Property American Inn of Court

This is Jeopardy! — Seattle IP Inn edition.

October brought one of the most anticipated evenings on the Seattle IP Inn of Court calendar: our annual IP Jeopardy! night. Equal parts trivia showdown, legal review session, and flat-out fun, IP Jeopardy! has become a beloved tradition that manages to be genuinely educational without feeling like it. And this year’s edition did not disappoint.

The Format

For the uninitiated: yes, it is exactly what it sounds like. Members compete head-to-head in a full Jeopardy!-style tournament, complete with categories, dollar values, Daily Doubles, and the pressure of Final Jeopardy. The room divides into teams, the host reads the clues, and the race is on to ring in first with the correct — and properly phrased — response.

This year’s game board was built entirely around the Inn’s core training areas, giving every round a purpose beyond the competition. Whether you walked in as a patent specialist or a trademark generalist, there was a category waiting to humble you — or let you shine.

The Competition

Teams were drawn from across experience levels — by design. A law student paired with a senior partner makes for better Jeopardy! and better mentorship, and the format proved it once again. Some of the night’s most impressive answers came from first-year students who had clearly been paying close attention during Inn programming. Some of the most entertaining wrong answers came from people who absolutely should have known better, and were happy to laugh about it.

Final Jeopardy this year asked teams to identify the legal standard applied in a landmark IP ethics ruling — and the wagering strategies alone were worth the price of admission.

More Than a Game

IP Jeopardy! works because it does what the Inn does best: it brings people together around substantive legal content in a way that builds real connections. The competitive format lowers the barrier to engaging with difficult material, and the team structure reinforces the mentorship relationships at the core of our mission.

Plus, it is genuinely a great time. The energy in the room during a tightly contested Daily Double is unlike anything else in the Inn calendar.

Congratulations to this year’s IP Jeopardy! champions — and to everyone who played, we will see you next year. Start studying.

Who are the Seattle IP Inn members? That is correct. You get the points.

There is something undeniably energizing about the start of a new Inn year — and this September, the Seattle Intellectual Property American Inn of Court kicked things off in style with our annual New Member Orientation. Whether you were a first-year law student stepping into the world of IP practice for the first time, or a seasoned attorney joining our community for a fresh professional connection, the message was the same: welcome home.

The evening brought together new and returning members in one of our favorite traditions — an informal but informative gathering designed to answer every question a newcomer might have, and a few they hadn’t thought to ask yet.

What Is the Seattle IP Inn, Anyway?

For those brand new to the Inn, orientation opened with an overview of who we are and what we do. The Seattle Intellectual Property American Inn of Court is a chapter of the American Inns of Court, a national organization dedicated to excellence, civility, professionalism, and ethics in the legal profession. Our chapter focuses specifically on intellectual property law — patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, licensing, and the ethical dimensions of modern IP practice.

We are a community of law students, associates, partners, academics, and judges — all at different stages of their careers, all committed to growing together. That mix is not accidental. It is the heart of what makes the Inn model so effective.

How the Inn Works

New members learned about the structure of our monthly meetings, which run throughout the academic year. Each gathering features substantive programming — think mock arguments, panel discussions, case studies, and deep dives into emerging areas of IP law — followed by informal networking. Attendance is not just encouraged; it is part of what makes membership meaningful.

Members are organized into small groups, which rotate responsibility for planning and presenting the evening’s program. This structure gives every member — from law student to federal judge — a real stake in the quality of our programming and a genuine opportunity to lead.

The Commitment to Ethics

One theme that came through clearly during orientation: the Inn takes professional ethics seriously. It is baked into everything we do. From how we structure our programs to how we engage with one another across experience levels, the expectation of civility, integrity, and professionalism is ever-present. New members heard directly from current leaders about what that looks like in practice — and why it matters now more than ever in a rapidly evolving legal landscape.

A Community Built on Mentorship

Perhaps the most exciting part of the evening was the introduction of our mentorship connections. One of the Inn’s greatest strengths is the direct access it provides to practitioners at every level. New members left orientation with names, faces, and a genuine sense that the doors of this community are open to them.

If you missed orientation or are curious about membership, we encourage you to reach out. The 2025-2026 Inn year is just getting started — and it is going to be a great one.

See you at the next meeting!

The Inn kicked off the 2023-2024 year in reverse — by celebrating the same way we closed out the 2022-2023 year with a boat cruise social on Lake Union and Lake Washington. We were fortunate to have beautiful weather and a gorgeous sunset as our backdrop as teams discussed plans for this year’s programming and met new members.

Please click the link below to access the 2023 – 2024 Welcome Letter from Inn President Lori Tonnes-Priddy. The letter includes the tentative schedule of Inn Meetings for this year.

https://seattleipinn.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Welcome-Letter-to-Members-2023-2024-Inn-Season-16August2023.pdf