Intellectual Property (LAW) (LIP)
LIP 801 - Graduate Legal Research and Information Literacy
Credits: 1
This required one credit course introduces graduate students to the basic research tools and strategies a beginning intellectual property or commerce and technology professional needs to work in their practice area and engage in lifelong learning to keep their education current. The course focuses on: primary and secondary legal authority with lesser coverage on fact research, current awareness and practice tools and strategies; mandatory and persuasive authority; accessing, evaluating and updating secondary legal sources, court decisions, statutes and administrative rulemaking; developing a coherent research strategy including cost effective research; and appropriate choice of electronic formats. Students will be exposed to LEXIS, Westlaw and free web sites. At the end of the first semester students should be able to take a legal issue and determine the extent of legal information needed; access the needed legal information effectively and efficiently; evaluate legal information and its sources critically; incorporate the selected legal information into their understanding of the issue; understand the economic, legal and social issues surrounding the use of legal information; access and use information ethically and legally. Classes involve a mix of lecture, discussion and the opportunity to work directly with relevant print and electronic resources through assigned problems. In additional to a graded research midterm and final, students must successfully complete weekly research assignments. This course cannot be taken for an S/U grade.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP #802 - Intellectual Property, Technology Transfer and Global Development
Credits: 2
With an open seminar format for discussion and exploration of emerging topics in the field of IP and global development, this course is open to all students, does not have a formal prerequisite, but students are expected to understand the fundamental principles of IP covered and conduct rigorous interdisciplinary research: as such, this course will contribute to the students' overall information literacy. Students are therefore expected to be diligent, professional, independent and responsible for their project deliverables. Topics to be covered in this course include, but are not necessarily limited to, the WIPO Development Agenda, WTO TRIPs, International Technology Transfer and Access to medicines. Assigned readings will not be reviewed in class via recitation, but rather as a springboard for informed discussion and formulation of concepts which add to the knowledge base in this complex and rapidly evolving field of study. Specific, measurable, student learning outcomes include greater knowledge of the role of IP in economic development, skills in performing complex interdisciplinary research and values related to formulating policy and strategic options which foster equitable and sustainable application of IP to the development of emerging economies. Students will be graded on an S/U/O basis. Evaluation will be based on equal weighting of 1) Attendance and thoughtful participation, 2) Professional presentation of a project paper to the class, 3) Final project paper of approximately 25 pages. Project subjects will be determined during the initial several weeks of the course, in consultation with the professor. This course cannot be taken for an S/U grade.
Grade Mode: Law Master's Grading
LIP 894 - American Legal Process and Analysis I
Credits: 3
This course introduces UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law LL.M. and Master's students to American common law and statutory legal reasoning, predictive legal writing, and some aspects of American civil procedure. Through a combination of lectures, group work, periodic guest speakers, and written assignments, students gain a working knowledge of common law legal analysis. Students will be exposed to various aspects of American civil procedure and will learn helpful study skills, such as how to read and brief a case, how to outline, and how to organize an essay exam. The course enhances the practical legal skills students need to think, write, and work effectively in their studies at UNH Law and in subsequent careers. This course cannot be taken for an S/U grade.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 895 - American Legal Process and Analysis II
Credits: 2
This course builds upon the work begun in American Legal Process and Analysis I. Students continue to develop their analytical skills regarding American common law and statutory legal reasoning. Students gain a working knowledge of client advocacy through working on short assignments related to or involving intellectual property issues. The course enhances the practical legal skills students need to think, write, and work effectively in their studies at UNH Law and in subsequent careers. This course cannot be taken for an S/U grade.
Grade Mode: Law Master's Grading
LIP #905 - Valuation and Intellectual Property
Credits: 1
Intellectual property is an increasingly important asset in the modern economy. Recent examples of infringement litigation resulting in multi-million dollar awards have only served to further emphasize this observation. The positive and negative reactions of the market to the e-commerce euphoria are a reflection on the importance of IP. Today’s successful attorney or business person must be able to assist in the identification, preservation and use of valuable knowledge and information assets. One important skill needed to help meet these objectives is an ability to understand the elements that drive IP value and the business enterprise and to understand the economic impact of various IP exploitations.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 912 - Copyright Law
Credits: 3
This course will introduce students to fundamental principles of U.S. copyright law. The legal protection of "creative" content as an intangible property right has been statutorily recognized in the U.S. for over 200 years. While legal rights in such works are often seen as rooted in economic rationale, the law has changed over time, in response to technological challenges and international developments. The course will therefore also provide students with an understanding of how U.S. copyright law functions and adapts in this changing environment. Students with an interest in any branch of modern intellectual property law and how it responds to modern challenges will benefit from this course. Hybrid Juris Doctor students cannot take this course for an S/U grade.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 913 - International and Comparative Intellectual Property
Credits: 3
This graduate course examines select issues of intellectual property law in both an international and comparative context. The course introduces the basic contours of international principles, treaties and institutions regarding IP, including significant substantive and procedural differences between the United States and other countries (with a focus on the U.S., Europe, and Asia). The course explores why and how international and regional IP regimes have been created, and how they have been implemented, interpreted, and enforced. Students will become familiar with some of the most significant of these regimes in each area of IP. While the course assumes a general background in IP law, in-depth knowledge of IP law in the U.S. or in any other country is not required.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 914 - Amateur Sports Law:Legal Issues in Youth, College and Rec Sport
Credits: 2
This course examines legal issues in interscholastic and intercollegiate sports. Topics include: Title IX gender discrimination; antitrust (including combinations of competing schools/conferences); constitutional law (including freedom of speech/association/religion); contract law, land use and environmental law issues for recreational sports; the regulatory authority of high school athletic associations; regulation of private educational institutions and sports associations; torts and insurance-related issues of schools for injuries suffered by athletes and spectators; the evolving conception of college athletes as professionals; athletic participation in taxpayer funded youth sports by home-schooled students; drug testing; legal responsibilities of coaches to safeguard amateur players (including from concussions and unsafe practice conditions); and participation in sports by disabled athletes. Pursuit of careers in sports law, especially compliance positions at universities and colleges, is also covered.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 915 - Entertainment Law
Credits: 2
This seminar will examine current issues in entertainment law. We will approach entertainment law through a combination of materials that may include statutory and case law; pending legal disputes and current events; problems and hypotheticals; sample transactional documents; and research projects. Topics will include some or all of the following: rights of publicity, trademark, copyright, misappropriation of ideas, life rights, privacy rights, defamation, advertising and endorsement, constitutional issues, representation, insurance, labor and employment, and contracts. As we discuss individual doctrines in the context of entertainment law, we will consider how the doctrines relate to one another and how industry norms shape practices and outcomes. The industries we will consider include motion pictures, television, music, radio, theater/dance, publishing, advertising, video-games, apps, and other interactive digital media.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP #917 - Federal Trademark and Copyright Registration Practice
Credits: 2
Master the fundamentals of trademark and copyright prosecution, learn about international trademark registration practice, and learn about practice before the U.S. PTO Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Simulation exercises on trademark searching, trademark application filing, responding to office actions, and filing a copyright application will be assigned. The final exam will cover the connective tissue of strategy decisions, client counseling, and international filing. The course additionally addresses the reason and process for the recordation of instruments at the USPTO and the Copyright Office.
Prerequisite(s): (LIP 944 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of D- or (LIP 977 with a minimum grade of D-.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 918 - Trade Secrets Law
Credits: 2
The focus of this course will be on understanding the nature and impact of trade secrets law in the US on domestic and global business practices. The course will examine: (a) the theory behind trade secret protection; (b) comparisons with approaches to the protection of valuable commercial information in other jurisdictions; (c) the definition of a “trade secret” in the US; (d) elements of the misappropriation of trade secrets tort at the state level; (e) the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 and the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 at the federal level; (f) scope of civil and criminal liability for trade secret misappropriation; (g) duties of confidentiality in relation to trade secrecy; (h) loss of status of a trade secret; (i) trade secrets as a(n) (intellectual) property right; (j) defenses to trade secret actions; (k) remedies for misappropriation of a trade secret. Hybrid Juris Doctor students cannot take this course for an S/U grade.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 919 - Advanced Patent Litigation
Credits: 2
This course will develop skills necessary for effective trial advocacy using the framework of a patent case. The course will cover generating a theory of a case, opening statements, direct and cross examination of lay and expert witnesses, and closing arguments, as well as other trial skills such as voir dire, impeachment, and handling adverse witnesses. Students will also focus on patent-specific trial skills such as arguing claim construction and questioning a technical expert witness. The students will primarily "learn by doing" and so the course will focus on oral advocacy and trial practice. Students will receive individual feedback on their performances. The course will culminate in a full patent mock trial. Instructor permission required to enroll.
Prerequisite(s): LGP 924 with a minimum grade of D- and LIP 954 with a minimum grade of D-.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 920 - Copyright Policy
Credits: 2
Current copyright law became effective over 40 years ago and many of its provisions were drafted a decade or more before that. Congress has made piecemeal adjustments since that time, but many of the law’s staple doctrines have become strained. In this seminar, students will examine the range of challenges facing the copyright system and the perspectives of the various stakeholders involved in discussions about how to solve them.
Prerequisite(s): LIP 912 with a minimum grade of D-.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP #922 - Video Gaming & Intellectual Property
Credits: 1-3
The U.S. video game industry generated $90.3 billion in annual economic output in 2019 while supporting nearly 429,000 U.S. jobs. New Hampshire has at least 11 video game related companies, 4 college programs, and 2 varsity Esports teams adding over $83 million to the local economy. The video game market could easily become a $300 billion industry by 2025, and the need for lawyers versed in video game law will similarly grow. This issue-spotting overview course covers the essential intellectual property (IP) issues encountered in the gaming industry: content creation, content acquisition, and content protection. Topics are explored from the position of Copyright, Trademark, Patent, and Trade Secret protections, as well as the intersection of IP issues in context with business formation and employment law issues. Broader legal topics surrounding distribution, revenue generation, and player management will be introduced as well.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 923 - Trademark Searching
Credits: 1-3
This course will introduce students to the principles of searching trademarks records at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, underscoring the connection between trademark prosecution practice and trademark law theory. The course will provide students with strategies for navigating Trademark Office records from a former Trademark Examining Attorney and with an understanding of how the U.S. trademark registration process functions under the Lanham Act. Students with an interest in trademark prosecution, litigation and transactional practice will benefit from this course.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 924 - Cannabis & Intellectual Property
Credits: 1-3
Cannabis (marijuana) is listed on Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, and the possession, sale, and use of marijuana remains unlawful at the federal level. Meanwhile, cannabis legalization is sweeping the nation on a state-by-state basis. This federal and state divide presents unique challenges to businesses serving patients and consumers in the cannabis industry and the lawyers who advise them. This one-unit course will provide an overview of the current state of the cannabis industry, identify key legal and business challenges, and explore how lawyers are helping their clients address these challenges. The course will lay the groundwork for the type of issue spotting and creative thinking required to navigate the legal and business landscape of this emerging legal field.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 925 - Fashion Law: The Legal Side of the Runway
Credits: 1-2
Students will study the main subject areas that comprise “Fashion Law”, including licensing, privacy and security, international intellectual property portfolio management, domain portfolio management, sustainability and claim substantiation, anti-counterfeiting, social media/advertising, virtual goods and use of AI. Through in-depth exposure to each of these areas, students will be able to navigate complex real world brand issues, manage risk analysis, and have a working understanding of how intellectual property interfaces with fashion brands. Students will also be given an infrastructure and step-by-step guide with which to establish or improve an existing brand protection program. In class hours will be satisfied through topic specific presentations with outlines and summaries of pertinent law and its application along with the review and discussion of recent case law, administrative guidelines, and cutting-edge fact patterns currently in the news. Each topic will be analyzed and presented from the perspective of US based outside counsel, followed by the corporate perspective from the US (Americas), EMEA and APAC, as applicable. Out-of-class hours will be dedicated to the review of case law, white papers, Green Guidelines, FTC and US Customs regulations, and industry/trade association articles.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 926 - Monetizing Intellectual Property: Strategies and Techniques Utilized by Leading Companies
Credits: 1-2
This course considers how companies with varying business models use their intellectual property to create value for their respective company. The course will cover patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret (data) monetization, illustrating how IP is used to create revenue. More specifically, the course will cover patent licensing monetization, trademarks and franchising, music licensing, and generative artificial intelligence. The course will have industry speakers from companies such as Qualcomm, Nokia, Spotify, YUM Brands, Pepsi, Microsoft and others.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 927 - Intellectual Property Taxation
Credits: 1-2
Students will learn the principles of federal income taxation that are relevant to the creation, acquisition, exploitation, disposition, and infringement of different kinds of intellectual property. Upon completing the course, they will be able to identify tax issues arising from a client’s activities related to intellectual property, explain the relevant principles to clients, and advise clients on the necessity of obtaining expert tax advice regarding those activities.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 928 - Intellectual Property Management
Credits: 1-2
Intellectual Property (IP) Management is intended for third year law students as a "capstone" course building on IP courses taken in the second and third years of law school. It is a practical, hands-on course designed to bridge academia and real-life private or corporate practice and is meant to provide the IP professional with a solid foundation in proactive counseling in the area of intellectual property. Exemplary topics include invention harvesting or extracting; invention records and disclosures; inventorship and ownership issues; laboratory notebook practice; patent searching; criteria and procedures for determining type of IP protection, particularly whether to file for patent protection or maintain as trade secret; trade secret policies and protection; IP education; IP audits and due diligence investigations; outside submissions; trademark practice (searching and clearance); international filing considerations, agreement practice, and other aspects of corporate IP management including understanding, developing, executing and/or managing IP strategies, IP committees, and IP budgets consistent with overall business objectives. Eligibility: Open to all except 1Ls. Course format: lecture. Grading: other (see syllabus), 100%. This course may be taken for an S/U grade.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 931 - Media Law
Credits: 1-3
This course offers broad exposure to various legal issues confronted by mass media enterprises, ranging from traditional broadcasters and similar internet-based services, to the major internet platforms and the new class of “media enterprises” that they spawned, such as YouTube influencers and TikTok stars. By examining current issues and events, students will navigate areas of law including defamation, rights of publicity and privacy, newsgathering and right of access, advertising, broadcast and internet regulation, intellectual property, and antitrust – to understand how the law’s staple doctrines apply to the business of producing and distributing news, information, and entertainment for mass audiences.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP #932 - Name, Image & Likeness in Sports
Credits: 1-3
This course centers on the rights of athletes to control their identifying characteristics. Legal reforms call for college athletes to be able to hire agents and negotiate the use of their names, images and likenesses with video game companies, apparel companies, trading card shows, athletic camps and other industries. The NCAA regards these reforms as unlawful and has lobbied Congress for a federal solution. This course examines NIL rights and their relationship to other legal conventions, including rights of publicity, media law, agency law, video game law, trademark law, copyright law, labor law, antitrust law and “influencers” and the law.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 934 - Intellectual Property & Entrepreneurship
Credits: 1-3
This course concerns the intersection between intellectual property and entrepreneurship, and how overlaps and conflicts regarding stakeholder interests create both opportunities and responsibilities for attorneys. This course explores the realms of creativity and innovation, ethical considerations, research & development, idea evaluation, intellectual property protection, business plans, sales & marketing, licensing contracts, and other topics to understand the entrepreneurial process and considerations for legal practice. This course consists of lectures, presentations, readings, notes, discussions, resources and experiences designed to introduce the concepts associated with examining the entrepreneurial process.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP #935 - Doing Business in China
Credits: 2
China has presented unprecedented business opportunities as well as unique challenges over the past few decades. And this dynamic landscape will further intensify in the new normal of COVID-19. This two-credit course will provide an overview of the underlying policy, economic and legal frameworks, highlight recent developments on IP protection and enforcement, antitrust and other regulatory compliances in particular. Guest speakers (in-house counsel and law firm practitioners) will share their experiences from doing business in connection with China, as well as offer best practices on culture intelligence and negotiation skills needed to be successful. The course will also explore growing areas that may lead to robust opportunities in China.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP #936 - IP Colloquium
Credits: 1-3
Companies are using traditional forms of intellectual property in non-traditional ways – this is especially true for companies in new business areas, as well as established businesses that find themselves in new frontiers. This one-credit course will examine different companies in transformational situations to see how they are using intellectual property. Each of the lectures will bring the legal leader from each company, sharing their experiences, challenges and issues of first impression. In addition to how each business uses copyrights, patents and trademarks, the course will also explore the challenges and nuances with privacy, antitrust, trade secrets and contracts.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP #938 - Intellectual Property Issues Faced by Today's Industry
Credits: 2
This course will address recent IP issues faced by corporate America by going through the patent infringement suits caused by converging technologies, privacy concerns, and the implications of artificial intelligence. The course will also lay the ground work for thinking about potential upcoming intellectual property battles. The course will focus on legal and business strategy, and how they fit together.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 941 - From The Silver Screen to Broadband Streams: Media and Entertainment In An Era of Change
Credits: 2
This course examines the legal and business issues that have arisen in the media and entertainment industries –film, television, music, sports, and video games – arising from rapid improvements in technology that have, in turn, led to significant shifts in the way entertainment and media is produced, distributed, and consumed. Students will be exposed to the business and legal implications of the transition from traditional intermediary - driven distribution models to direct-to-consumer streaming offerings, strategic considerations surrounding expansions into ancillary businesses such as sports and video games, and the importance (and challenges of) protecting intellectual property in an era of content ubiquity.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 944 - Fundamentals of Intellectual Property
Credits: 1-3
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. This course cannot be taken for an S/U grade.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 948 - Pharmaceutical Patents: Drug Wars: Patent Protection in the Life Sciences Industry
Credits: 1-3
In the life sciences industry, which encompasses pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals, patent protection and exclusivity rights are of critical importance. For industry innovators, patents and exclusivity rights are essential for companies and academic institutions to protect and recoup the very substantial research and development investments that are made to discover and develop new medicines and biologics that can treat and cure ailments, diseases, and other medical conditions. For generic drug and biosimilar manufacturers, challenging those patents—and the financial incentives to do so—allows them to manufacture and market affordable medicines with relatively small investments. The Federal Courts, U.S. Congress, and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have created a body of case law, statutes, and regulations that are tailored to this industry. These laws and regulations provide both incentives to innovators to bring new products to market, and also incentives to those who seek to market generic equivalents or biosimilars of the products before the innovators’ patent rights and exclusivities expire. This course will delve into many of the laws and regulations that should be understood by anyone who is interested in patent litigation, prosecution, or licensing in the life sciences industry.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 950 - Copyright Licensing
Credits: 2
This course will cover the principal international conventions, namely, Universal Copyright, Berne, Rome, and Geneva, WIPO Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, including current problems in the international copyright arena in light of recent tendencies toward greater reciprocity and the emergence of new kinds of works -- computer programs, data bases, multi-media works, etc.-- and new rights, --digital transmission right, etc.-- involving, in particular, problems due to new technologies. It will also deal with WTO/Trips, NAFTA, bilateral treaties and unilateral measures as a new mechanism in international copyright relations. The last part of the course will cover copyright within the European Union (EU) including European Court of Justice jurisprudence and EU harmonization measures. Comparative copyright law in terms of principles, methods and problems as well as the differences between the system of copyright and the system of droit dauteur will also be covered. Format: Lecture.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 951 - Technology Licensing
Credits: 2
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.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 952 - Technology Transfer
Credits: 1-3
This course is an overview of the fundamentals of university technology transfer as practiced in the USA. Topics include policy, statutes, case law, best practices in intellectual property management, patent strategy, licensing, valuation, equity and startups. Technology transfer office operations, including management, staffing, organization and marketing are covered. In addition, important representative agreements are reviewed including Non-Disclosure Agreements (“NDAs”) and Material Transfer Agreements (“MTAs”).
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 954 - Patent Law
Credits: 3
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. Hybrid Juris Doctor students cannot take this course for an S/U grade.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP #960 - Art Law
Credits: 2-3
This course will cover legal issues related to the production, distribution, exhibition and sale of works of visual art. Topics will include copyright issues, moral rights, branding concerns, theft, counterfeiting and the unique legal challenges posed by museums and galleries, including corrupt practices, deaccessioning, and discrimination based on race, gender, sexual and gender identities, nationality, religion and other personal characteristics. Students will be required to author at least one work of visual art themselves using ordinary household objects.”.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 961 - Patent Practice and Procedure I
Credits: 1-3
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.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 962 - Patent Practice and Procedure II
Credits: 3
Students will build on their basic claim drafting skills by learning the rules, regulations, customs, and practices for dealing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) when filing and prosecuting patent applications. Students will draft one complete patent specification and claims as well as responses to two USPTO Office Actions. Students may also prepare additional documents for filing with the USPTO. The course format is 2 hours per week of traditional lecture and discussion to cover theory and general principles plus regularly scheduled small group section meetings with a local practicing attorney. During the small group section meetings, the practicing attorney will discuss and provide feedback on the patent application and responses prepared for the course. This course cannot be taken for an S/U grade.
Prerequisite(s): (LIP 954 with a minimum grade of D- and (LIP 961 with a minimum grade of D-.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 963 - International Trademark Registration
Credits: 2
This practice-based course covers international treaties governing trademark protection, national level trademark examination rules and practices, oppositions and cancellations, maintenance of trademark registration, worldwide portfolio strategizing including a comparison of national filings and Madrid Protocol filings, assignments of trademarks and related issue of differing national laws banning the trafficking of trademarks, ethics, legal representation rules, and information literacy for attaining and assessing national law changes.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 964 - Intro to Digital Brand Protection
Credits: 1-2
This course will offer an overview of how trademarks are represented in the digital world, from domain names and websites to cutting-edge technologies such as NFTs, AI and the metaverse, and the specialized strategies needed to protect them across all online spaces. The course will also offer practical guidance on developing holistic intellectual property portfolios that integrate digital brand protection, exploring the specific needs of a variety of industries and business concerns.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 973 - Advanced Patent Law Seminar
Credits: 1-2
The America Invents Act (AIA) is the most significant reform of US patent law in over sixty years. It brings in its wake numerous procedural changes that will transform how patent attorneys approach their filing and litigation strategies, in addition to difficulties that are certain to arise due to the continuing application of the current patent law. Case law from the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC), which has exclusive jurisdiction over patent cases emanating from all the district courts, already illustrate some of the issues that the AIA is likely to give rise to. Following the implementation of the AIA, the CAFC will have an even greater influence over the development of patent jurisprudence. This course will examine some of the more significant changes under the AIA through the use of statutory interpretation and in-depth analysis of CAFC case precedents. It will complement the existing doctrinal patent law courses and develop students' awareness of the intricacies of patent practice as well as their skills in statutory analysis and case law interpretation.
Prerequisite(s): LIP 954 with a minimum grade of D-.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 977 - Trademarks and Deceptive Practices
Credits: 3
This course will examine the precepts of trademark and unfair competition law. We will investigate issues of ownership, registration, goodwill, misappropriation, infringement, and dilution in the context of words, phrases, symbols, slogans, product design, and trade dress. The course will also explore related issues such as false and comparative advertising, rights of publicity, and fair use. Hybrid Juris Doctor students cannot take this course for an S/U grade.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 979 - Intellectual Property Enforcement at the International Trade Commission
Credits: 1
This course examines the role of the International Trade Commission (ITC) in investigating allegations of unfair trade practices relating to intellectual property rights. While up to 90% of the ITC's cases revolve around patents, the ITC also investigates cases relating to copyright, trademark and trade secret violations. The focus of this course will be on Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which establishes the ITC's jurisdiction, and will cover all aspects of litigation at the ITC, from the institution of an investigation under Section 337 to available remedies. The course will also review recent ITC decisions and appeals from the ITC to the Federal Circuit.
Prerequisite(s): LIP 954 with a minimum grade of D-.
Grade Mode: Law Satisfactory/Unsatisfactry
LIP 980 - E-Commerce and The Law
Credits: 2
E-Commerce and the Law is designed to encourage examination of the rapidly evolving areas of the law that seek to resolve the issues of ownership, privacy, liability, and access (among others) as they relate to information and knowledge technologies. Commerce, the sum of individual transactions that drive our society and create value, has been molded and sometimes disrupted by the opportunities and challenges presented by advances in information technology. One could say that this course is an overview and look into the future of law for the ever-changing digital and information age economy, and the legal environment that will define and shape legal practice in the coming decades. In many ways this course supplements and builds on the subjects in the classical legal curriculum with examples of how changes in technology are manifesting themselves in new legal problems and issues for the economy and society.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 983 - Intellectual Property Issues in Sports and Entertainment Law
Credits: 2
This course approaches sports and entertainment law through the lens of intellectual property. By studying cases, current events, and controversial disputes, students will expand their substantive doctrinal knowledge of the major IP rights regimes, including copyright, trademark, trade secret, right of publicity, and patent law, all in the context of the sports and entertainment industries. Over the course of the semester, they will learn about how each regime factors into the legal challenges that arise within the sports and entertainment industries, and will consider how each set of rights can be used to protect the various entities that comprise each industry.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 987 - Internet Law
Credits: 2
The internet has changed almost every area of modern life, and the law is no exception. This course studies the computer and network technologies underlying the internet, how those technologies are challenging the assumptions underlying pre-internet law, and how judges, policy makers, and private actors have responded to those technologies. Topics covered typically include jurisdiction, online speech, intermediary and platform liability, privacy, computer abuse laws, and net neutrality.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
LIP 997 - Mining Patent Information in the Digital Age
Credits: 2
This course is a cross platform "consumer" survey course to search, mine and manipulate patent and non-patent literature data for legal and business applications. It is taught in collaboration with patent data vendors and related guest speakers. This is a hands-on course. The work product is a novelty/prior art report. Themes of this course include: multiplicity of sources, types of sources, multiple access points to same data, who uses patent data sources, why use patent data sources, factors to choose access points, search approaches, who drives the dollar chain for searches, free, low fee and premium patent sources, in house and/or outsource searches, considerations as to who performs differing types of searches, what is the standard of care for patent searches and how to deal with questions of lack of integrity in patent documents.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading