Intellectual Property Law

Catalog description

This course will introduce students to the theory, doctrine, and institutions behind intellectual property regimes in the United States, including copyright, patent, and trademark. Intellectual property protects a host of human activity, often the things we seek out in our free time or use to make our lives better: music, books, movies, technology. Intellectual property law tries to strike a balance between using the law to encourage this creativity activity while not overly stifling other socially beneficial activities that build on this output. Students will learn what is protectable under each intellectual property regime; the steps required to protect a creative work, brand, trade secret, or invention; the judicial tests for infringement of intellectual property rights; and the defenses, both judicial and statutory, to infringement.