Special Collections
Intellectual Property
The Franklin Pierce Law Center is consistently rated among the top five intellectual property training school in the nation. The Intellectual Property Library opened January 1, 1995, after several decades of collection development of traditional IP topics. The IP Library now develops the collection far beyond traditional IP topics to include all subjects offered in the IP curriculum such as entertainment, e-commerce, sports, publishing, multimedia, cyberspace, information technology, art and music and computer law.
One mission of the IP Library as a most comprehensive source of intellectual property, commerce and technology information is the acquisition of information both of historical and current importance, scholarly and practice oriented, in all formats-from the dustiest law book to the most far off database! The Library occupies the third floor of the Library facility but the collection goes far beyond the four walls of the physical space to include many premium Web based services. The Library has been the recipient of many unique collections of practitioner materials donated by intellectual property attorneys and corporate IP departments. These collections of materials from IP professional organizations add a unique depth beyond most academic collections. The IP Library is a proud depository of most publications of the World Intellectual Property Organization adding a strong foreign and international part of the collection. The IP Library has an active outreach policy to capture, print and bind Web-based reports of governmental and non-governmental organizations to build this research level collection for the new millennium when many of these important materials may disappear in electronic format.
More information about the IP Library is contained in this Adobe Acrobat publication.
Brock Impeachment Trial (2000)
In 2001, Franklin Pierce Law Center Library was selected by both a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives and a New Hampshire State Senator to house papers from the Impeachment Trial of Chief Justice David A. Brock in the year 2000. Sen. Sylvia Larsen (D-Concord) donated her files from the Senate trial while Rep. Janet G. Wall (D-Madbury) donated her trial records as well as records of the legislative investigation. According to newspaper reports at the time, Wall said her House records are more complete because they date back to the original investigation phase. "It is my hope and expectation that these historic files will provide a substantive record at the Law Center in the future for scholars who study this sad, but significant period in New Hampshire 's history," she said.
The records, which were bound and indexed include original legislation that led to the impeachment, notes from hearings and committee work by the House Judiciary Committee and notes pertaining to procedural issues, including the hiring of legal counsel to press the House case. Wall was one of six House Managers to work on the Senate impeachment trial. The collection is housed in the Kenison Room.
Judge Harry Edwin Trapp Collection
Seventeen rare English law books from the 17th and 18th centuries form the Judge Harry Edwin Trapp collection. Most of the books are "nominative" or named reports published in England between 1659 and 1799. The collection is housed in the Kenison Room. Patrons must be accompanied by library staff when using this collection.