Intellectual Property Law (IPLAW)

This course presents the range of legal issues arising from the emergence of cyberspace. The course considers how the law has reacted to challenges posed by the Internet as well as how the law is shaping its future. Specific areas covered include jurisdictional analysis, First Amendment/free speech, digital copyrights, trademarks and domain names, electronic privacy, e-commerce, and Internet governance.

This course will survey the protection of proprietary rights in inventions, writings, creative expression, trade secrets, and other intangible intellectual products by federal patent, copyright, trademark and unfair competition law, and by state trade secrecy and unfair competition law. A central theme will be the challenges to traditional legal paradigms posed by new technologies and the shift to an information-based economy. The course is intended for all students who anticipate having corporate clients and seek a basic understanding of the laws applicable to key assets of most businesses, as well as for students interested in becoming intellectual property specialists. This course does not replace (and is not a prerequisite for) Copyrights, Patent Law, Trademarks, or any other intellectual property course.

The course addresses the legal protection afforded to authors and artists under common law and statutory copyright. It considers the rights granted, procedure for their procurement, and protection through litigation. The course also deals with international rights, conveyancing, and interface with the antitrust laws.

This course is an examination of the legal requirements for obtaining patent protection for an invention. The statutory foundations of United States patent law are examined through an analysis of patent prosecution practice and patent litigation. The course also considers United States patent practice in the context of international intellectual property law.

The retention of the intellectual property or the absolute transfer of such interests to other for purposes of economic exploitation is, however, declining in use and popularity. Rather, it has evolved that maximization of the holder's value in the intellectual property may, in some circumstances, be better achieved by sharing some of the rights, while retaining others. This is the topic of the course in the licensing of intellectual property. The offering explores the myriad business, legal, and negotiating issues involved in the drafting and use of intellectual property licensing agreements.

The law of trademarks is central to the concept of fair dealing in the commercial environment. The history of common law and statutory trademarks is explored as well as registration, conveyancing and foreign rights. The course deals with the duty of the merchant to compete honestly and remedies for failure to do so.

Special Topics