Mark Edward Blankenship Jr.
Mark Edward Blankenship Jr. is a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Law at St. Thomas University Benjamin L. Crump College of Law. His research focuses on the historical and cultural influences on e-commerce, the creation of intellectual property, and the intricacies involved in the creative process. Blankenship’s work has been published in several notable journals including the South Carolina Law Review, the Nevada Law Journal Forum, the Berkeley Journal of Entertainment & Sports Law, the Wake Forest Journal of Business & Intellectual Property, the ABA Journal of Labor & Employment Law, the Journal of Legislation, and many others.
Before joining STU Law, Blankenship was an Associate at Ott Law Firm in St. Louis, Missouri where he focused on employment, commercial, and privacy litigation. He also represented musical artists and other entertainers in negotiations with various talent agencies, record labels, and producers in and out of St. Louis. During his time in St. Louis, Blankenship held several leadership positions, including Co-Chair of the Music and Performing Arts Committee for the ABA Intellectual Property Law Section, Staff Editor for the ABA IPL Section’s Landslide Magazine, and Chair of the Media Law Committee of The Missouri Bar.
Blankenship earned his Juris Doctor from The University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law, where he served as the Operations Manager for Volume 107 of the Kentucky Law Journal, the Vice President for the UK Sports & Entertainment Law Society, and worked as a research assistant for the Spears-Gilbert Professor of Law, Brian L. Frye. He later obtained his Master of Laws (LL.M.), with an emphasis in intellectual property law, from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University.
Prior to earning his Juris Doctor, Blankenship received his B.A. in Music from the Fred and Dinah Gretsch School of Music at Georgia Southern University. While studying there he participated in various ensembles and became a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Music Fraternity and other honor societies.
Scholarship & Research
Articles:
Reconsidering the “Aesthetic Nondiscrimination” Doctrine in American Copyright Law, 14 BERKELEY J. ENT. & SPORTS L. _ (forthcoming 2025).
Oli London in the Workplace: Transracial Identity and Employment Discrimination in the PostBostock Era, 38 A.B.A. J. LAB. & EMP. L. 195 (2024).
Gastrophysics and Intellectual Property Law: Analyzing the Legal and Market Effects of a Reimagined Form of Culinary Art and Science, 75 S.C. L. REV. 471 (2023).
“Apprenticeship” as IP Metaphor: A Modern & Innovative Natural Law Approach in Intellectual Property Law, 50 N. KY. L. REV. 33 (2023).
Laid to Rust: Proposing Strict Liability in Tort for Prop Firearm Injuries Following the Alec Baldwin Shooting, 7 NEV. L.J. FORUM 76 (2023).
Oh Brother, Where Art Thou Royalties? Reflecting on the Emergence of Bluegrass and Appalachian Folk Music in Promoting the American Music Fairness Act, 49 J. LEGIS. 101 (2023).
Oh Brother, Where Art Thou Royalties? Reflecting on the Emergence of Bluegrass and Appalachian Folk Music in Promoting the American Music Fairness Act, 49 J. LEGIS. 101 (2023).
Dead Frogs, Dissected Jokes, & Thin Copyright: Analyzing Copyrightable Elements and Legal Protection of Stand-Up Comedy, 2 FLA. ENTER. & SPORTS L. REV. 117 (2023).
With Eyes to See and Ears to Beer: Navigating Multisensory Intellectual Property Rights in the Craft Beer Industry, 21 WAKE FOREST J. BUS. & INTELL. PROP. 395 (2021).
A Horse Walks into a Bar: Comparing Easterbrook’s Criticized Cyberlaw Analogy to the Study of Alcoholic Beverage Law & Regulation, 25 ILL. BUS. L.J. 41 (2020).
Harry Potter & the “Chinese” Philosopher’s Stone: Deconstructing Copyright Piracy Through Shanzhai, 19 UIC REV. INTELL. PROP. 101 (2020).