LAW COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

LAW-2907 International Intellectual Property Prof. Leah Chan Grinvald, 3 credits day; 3 credits evening.

WEB-Web course-Courses for which more than one-third of the information is online. Students must have completed 28 credits to enroll in a web course. No more than 15 credits of web courses may be counted toward the JD. The globalization of business has increased the need for an understanding of the differing intellectual property laws around the world and the application of those laws to the exchange of information, workers, goods and services across national boundaries. Technological inventions, creative works, brand equity and the accumulated experience and expertise of the workforce are important assets in the current global economy. Although the intellectual property laws intended to protect and regulate these assets are national, the assets are not readily confined to the country of origin and exploitation is often multi-national. Advising clients in this environment requires an understanding of the sources and application of a variety of laws and policies. This course will begin with a series of classes introducing the relevant legal and trade principles, economic and cultural influences and sources of law. These classes will consider important fundamental principles including territoriality, national treatment, choice of law and cultural property and the role of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and treaties that it manages. The balance of the course will be devoted to a series of problems that will allow the class to examine intellectual property laws, including patent, copyright, and trademark laws, from a comparative perspective, to analyze the influence of treaties and other arrangements that affect the treatment of foreign interests, and to discuss practical approaches for doing business and exploiting and protecting intellectual property assets globally. The class will be taught in an innovative format: the first twelve classes will meet in person, the next twelve classes will be a mix of online lectures with integrated PowerPoint slides (along with a short multiple choice exam at the end), and in-person small group work (for example, simulated negotiations or simulated domain name dispute resolution). The class will also make use of Blackboard features, such as the online discussion board. This class promises to be exciting, and will also offer more flexibility than a traditional course.

Prerequisite: Prior satisfactory completion of one or more of the following courses is strongly recommended: Copyright Law, Intellectual Property, Patent Law, or Trademark Law.

Elective Course

Meets Intellectual Property Concentration Requirements

Meets International Law Concentration Requirements

Final Exam Required

Take Home Exam Required