S/U grading option not available for first-year students. But other students who have completed any course covering the substance of U.S. copyright, patent or trademark law may receive only S/U grades. Objectives: To introduce basic substantive requirements and procedures for obtaining, maintaining and enforcing patents, copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks and related subject matters such as rights of publicity and domain names. Description: Beyond the basics, the course explores underlying policy goals and conflicts among types of intellectual property, for example, the tension between patent and copyright protection or the tension between federal and state protection. It also considers goals and conflicts with other laws such as free speech. It also considers matters such as the extent to which various types of IP are "property," available remedies, sources of law, and responsibilities of the two main IP agencies as well as those of various courts. Eligibility: Open to all students. Course format: lecture. Grading: other (see syllabus), 100%. This course may be taken for an S/U grade.

This course will focus on general licensing concepts and principles, as well as more creative licensing arrangements involving the licensing of patents, trade secrets and trademarks. The course will provide an emphasis on understanding and drafting key licensing clauses, valuation and royalty determinations, antitrust and misuse problems, international licensing, negotiation strategies including understanding the role of the lawyer and client, and administration of license agreements. The course will address various licensing scenarios including licensing in (your client licenses from a third party), licensing out (your client licenses to a third party), university licensing and collaborative licensing arrangements. The course may involve legal research in select areas and hands-on negotiation as part of the grading. A technological background is not a prerequisite, but preferred. Some knowledge of intellectual property law (patents, trade secrets and trademarks) is necessary for this course. Eligibility: Open to all except 1Ls. Course format: lecture. Grading: other (see syllabus), 100%. This course may be taken for an S/U grade.

Patent systems and patent laws exist to promote investment in and development of technology. The recently-enacted America Invents Act (AIA) and certain U.S. Supreme Court decisions over the last 5 years have brought the most dramatic changes to U.S. patent law in more than 50 years. This course focuses on the fundamentals of U.S. patent law including patentability, infringement, inventorship, and ownership. The course will also explore some of the underlying themes in patent law as well as the purpose of and justifications for a patent system. The course reading includes the patent statute (Title 35 of the United States Code) both pre-AIA and post-AIA and selected case law primarily from the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The course will generally address both the procurement and enforcement of U.S. patents. Although this course will cover the legal principles underlying patent claim drafting and patentability, this course will not focus on patent practice and procedure.

Students will learn to draft patent claims that are acceptable to the US Patent & Trademark Office and to the United States courts. Students will become familiar with the statutes, regulations, practice and customs that guide the drafting of acceptable patent claims.