Here's American's course listings for IP:
LAW-623 Copyright (3 hrs.) An examination of the legal protection afforded the fruits of literary and creative endeavor, the Federal Copyright Act of 1976, the nature of copyright protection, types of works covered, mechanisms of securing protection, and procedures for enforcement. Topics include the history of copyright; the relationship of copyright to other forms of protection for intellectual property; and the interaction between new technologies, including data processing and copyright law. Jaszi (Fall)
LAW-646 International and Comparative Trademark Law (3 hrs.) Focuses on the international system regulating the protection of trademark rights. Introduces students to the principal international conventions in the field of trademarks and some bilateral treaties. The course will consider current problems in the international trademark arena in light of recent tendencies towards greater reciprocity; the emergence of new jurisdictional issues raised by the Internet; and such new rights as the right of publicity, anti-dilution, and appellations of origin. It will briefly consider comparative trademark law in terms of the differences in the registration process and problems in priority of rights and pay particular attention to trademark law in the European Union and efforts toward harmonization. Prerequisite(s): U.S. Trademark Law (LAW-609) or Intellectual Property Law (LAW-670) or Unfair Trade Law (LAW-689) or permission of the instructor. Farley (Spring)
LAW-670 Intellectual Property Policy and Law (3 hrs.) Explores how the law deals with information as a commodity. The course examines the fundamental policies animating intellectual property jurisprudence and the extent to which "intellectual property" is "property." The course explores the underlying policy goals and conflicts internal and external to intellectual property. It also considers the responsibilities of various intellectual property agencies and courts and the relationship between state and federal governments, including the extent to which the efforts of state judges and legislatures to regulate intellectual products might be preempted by federal law. Primary emphasis is on the interrelations of all intellectual property protections; however, students also will study the basic principles and legal rules governing idea protection, the right of publicity, trade secrets, unfair competition, copyrights, trademarks, and patents. In addition, the course treats important areas of proprietary rights such as dilution and moral rights. Protection for computer programs as well as character rights are specifically covered. Farley (Fall, Spring)
LAW-681 International Wildlife and Biodiversity (3 hrs.) Considers the fate of the world's wildlife and biological heritage, from whales and bacteria to rain forests and coral reefs. This course surveys the most important international agreements on the protection of species, habitats, and ecosystems, such as the new Convention on Biological Diversity. It reviews the international implications of selected domestic laws, which will be examined within their scientific, economic, political, and cultural contexts. Students also explore the relationship these laws have to other fields of law, including human rights, indigenous peoples' rights, trade, and intellectual property. Hunter (Spring)
LAW-688 Patent Law (3 hrs.) Consideration of the philosophical underpinnings of the U.S. patent system, the definition of patentable subject matter in the United States, the granting and enforcement of U.S. patents, the relationship of U.S. patents to principles of competition, and the enhanced status of U.S. patents in the 1980s, particularly in view of the creation in 1982 of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Sarnoff (Spring)
LAW-692 Antitrust Law (3-4 hrs.) Basic antitrust law, with no involvement in general regulatory matters, monopolization, vertical and horizontal restraints, and
merger analysis. J. Baker, May (Fall)
LAW-693 Advanced Antitrust (2-3 hrs.) Recent Supreme Court developments; assessment of federal agenda; application to regulated industries, the professions, intellectual property, trade associations, and franchising; application in international markets and vertical restraint guidelines. J. Baker, May (Spring)
LAW-698 International and Comparative Copyright (3 hrs.) A survey of the multinational and bilateral agreements which govern the enforcement of copyrights across national boundaries. Explores the similarities and differences which exist between U.S. copyright and other developed countries, copyright in developing countries, and the problems of enforcing the rights of American copyright owners overseas Prerequisite(s): Copyright (LAW-623). Jaszi (Spring)
LAW-920 Biotechnology and the Law (3 hrs.) Considers the state of biotechnology, its successes, problems, and promise. It presents an overview of regulatory, legal, political, and ethical considerations of this new technology based on the manipulation and transfer of genes. The focus will be on both the coordinated regulatory framework in the United States and possible overlapping and occasionally conflicting activities of the Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, and Department of Agriculture. The course will consider developing case law. Also, it will examine the international regulation of biotechnology; the human genome project, including issues of privacy, confidentiality, and genetic information; and the implications of biotechnology for intellectual property/patent law. The course will examine the legal and regulatory complexities in the United States because biotechnology is not regulated by any single law or any one federal agency. W. Cohen (Fall)
LAW-924 Advanced Copyright Law (2 hrs.) Should an Internet parody of the presidential candidates be entitled to use a famous folk song without permission? Should the Recording Industry sue users who download music? Should the Federal Government prosecute these users? Should services that facilitate downloading be liable for the actions of their users? Should printer and garage door manufacturers be able to use copyright law to prevent consumers from purchasing interoperable parts? Should companies be allowed to market software and devices that allow consumers to remove unwanted material from movies? Should users be entitled to backup copies or works they purchase? Should consumers and artists be entitled to rip, mix, mash, and morph copyrighted music or other media to create new works? These are just some of the questions to be discussed in this year's class. Technological innovation and the Internet are creating dramatic tensions within copyright law. The class will consider the proper direction for copyright law in light of its purpose, history and the rapidly changing technological landscape. Student interests will guide the subject matter to be covered in the course, but emphasis will be on hot topics in the press, current litigation, recent decisions and proposed legislation. Evaluation will primarily be based on a student research paper on a copyright- related topic of the student's choosing. J. Baker
LAW-925 Intellectual Property Management (3 hrs.) Encompasses a broad range of disciplines, including copyright, trademark, trade secret, commercial, and contract law. Basic principles of intellectual property (IP) formalities, infringement, licensing, and the use of copyrighted material on the Internet are addressed in the context of the problems under discussion. The course considers topics through an organizational IP audit, economic, and transaction-based approach, rather than legislative and judicial analysis. Wimbly-Martin (Fall)
LAW-926 Patent Acquisition & Exploitation (3 hrs.) Patent law is not the exclusive domain of the technically trained. Any lawyer appropriately trained to understand and evaluate a patent can participate in significant aspects of the patent system. This course will introduce students to the full range of legal issues that arise concerning the acquisition of patent assets, including creation, purchase and in-licensing, and the subsequent exploitation of such assets, including sale, out-licensing and litigation. Topics to be covered include the historical development of the patent system, how patents are drafted, prosecuted and maintained, how a patent should be read to discover its strengths and weaknesses, the purchase and sale of patent assets on a stand-alone basis and within the context of a corporate transaction, the licensing in and licensing out, and the two sides of patent litigation. A major theme running throughout the course will be the role that public policy considerations play in shaping the development of the patent system and the practice of patent law in the real world. Students will either draft a simple patent application or short license agreement based on identical facts, and describe some of the issues they faced and choices they made during a short interactive presentation. The grade will be based 50% on an end-of-course essay exam, 45% on the application/license and related presentation, and 5% on class participation. There are no pre-requisites. Casey (Fall)
Definitely more than what most law schools offer.
at1234
