Viva R. Moffat
Professor of Law
Co-Director, Intellectual Property and Technology Law Program
303-871-6508 (Office)
Canvas: Online Course Materials
Office 407H, Frank H. Ricketson Law Bldg., 2255 East Evans Ave. Denver, CO 80208
Specialization(s)
Contracts, Intellectual Property
Professional Biography
Viva Moffat began her academic career at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law as an assistant professor after seven years in private practice and one year as a visiting professor. While in law school at the University of Virginia, Professor Moffat was editor-in-chief of the Virginia Law Review. After graduation, she clerked for Judge Robert R. Beezer of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in Seattle. Following the clerkship, Professor Moffat was an associate at Keker & Van Nest LLP in San Francisco. After moving to Colorado in 2000, Professor Moffat’s practice focused on intellectual property litigation and transactions, sparking her interest in teaching and writing in the field of intellectual property and contracts.
Degree(s)
- JD, University of Virginia School of Law, 1996
- MA, American History, University of Virginia, 1993
- AB, History, Political Science, Stanford University, 1991
Featured Publications
- Copyright and the University, 72 J. Copyright Soc’y 58 (2025).
- The Free Exercise of Copyright Behind Bars, 80 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 741 (2023).
- Cannabis, Consumers, and the Trademark Laundering Trap, 63 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 1939 (with Sam Kamin and Tim Maffett) (2022).
- Human Capital as Intellectual Property? Non-Competes and the Limits of IP Protection, 50 Akron L. Rev. 903 (2017).
- Trademark Laundering, Useless Patents, and Other IP Challenges for the Marijuana Industry (with Sam Kamin), 73 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 217 (2016).
- The Copyright/Patent Boundary, 48 U. Rich. L. Rev. 611 (2014).
- Borrowed Fiction and the Rightful Copyright Position, 32 Cardozo Arts & Ent. L.J. 389 (2014).
- Making Non-Competes Unenforceable, 54 Ariz. L. Rev. 939 (2012).
- The Wrong Tool for the Job: The IP Problem with Noncompetition Agreements, 52 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 873 (2010).
- Regulating Search, 22 HARV. J.L. & TECH. 475 (Spring 2009).
- Super-Copyright: Contracts, Preemption, and the Structure of Copyright Policymaking, 41 U.C. Davis Law Review (2007).
- Mutant Copyrights And Backdoor Patents: The Problem Of Overlapping Intellectual Property Protection, 19 Berk. Tech. L.J. 1473 (2004).
