Advanced Entertainment Law (INDL9314)
3 credits. Seminar.
This seminar involves an in-depth look at certain areas of the entertainment and media industry introduced in the survey course such as television, music licensing and publishing as well as an in-depth look at areas not dealt with in the survey course, such as independent film production, news gathering, advertising, video games, character licensing, and gambling. Assigned reading, class discussion and presentations by various specialists will be used to explore current legal issues, legislation and litigation.
Prerequisite: Entertainment Law.
back to topAdvanced Intellectual Property Theory (INDL9313)
3 credits. Seminar.
This seminar focuses on the theoretical foundations for patent, copyright, and trademark law, including public goods theory, which is the traditional basis for patent and copyright law, and competition theory and search-cost theory, which are traditional bases for trademark law. This seminar focuses on these theories and the common ground shared by all theories of intellectual property, which is providing incentives for suppliers of intangible creations and preventing free riding by others.
Prerequisites: Intellectual Property, or Patent Law & Practice, Copyright and Trademark & Unfair Competition
back to topAdvanced Topics in Intellectual Property (INDL9308)
3 credits. Seminar.
This seminar will focus on emerging issues in intellectual property law and policy, including digital rights management and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act; peer-to-peer networking; copyright term and online content; international patent policy, access to essential technologies, and indigenous cultural products; gene and other biotechnology patents; and patent policy with respect to generic medicines.
Prerequisite: Intellectual Property or Patent Law and Practice.
back to topAdvanced Topics in Sports Law (INDL9302)
3 credits. Seminar.
This seminar treats both amateur and professional athletics. For professional athletics, the seminar surveys rules concerning league governance, the contractual relationship between player and club, labor relations, antitrust aspects of restraints on player and franchise movement and the relationships among athletes, agents and media.
Prerequisite: Sports Law or Negotiations Skills and IP Issues in Sports Law.
back to top2 credits. Lecture.
In particular, it would examine artists’ rights, such as copyright, moral rights, resale rights and First Amendment rights, as well as the law governing the artist-dealer relationship, auctions and private sales. The course would also discuss the law and practice governing artists’ foundations, estates and museums. It would then examine questions of authenticity in art, and the (sometimes limited) ability of law to aid in resolving disputes about such issues. A significant portion of the class would be spent on the law governing reparations for the wartime plunder and theft of art, as well as on the international trade of art and the national and international law of cultural property (antiquities).
back to topBiotechnology and the Law (INDL9319)
2 credits. Course.
Counseling new or small businesses on intellectual property issues is challenging. They have limited resources, and often have personnel who are not familiar with the intricacies of intellectual property laws. However, without effective counsel, they will fail to maximize the value of their own intellectual property and run the risk of being shut down because they violate someone else's rights. Using a hypothetical biotechnology company, this course will navigate a series of complex intellectual property issues that counsel for a start-up company will likely confront. For each of the topics, students will review the current state of the law and explore ways to respond to the concerns and questions of employees of the hypothetical company.
back to top3 credits. Lecture.
This course covers all phases of common law and statutory copyright including works subject to protection; securing protection; rights of copyright holder and succession to those rights by agreement and inheritance; international problems; and fair use and infringement questions.
back to topCurernt Issues in IP Litigation (INDL9311)
3 credits. Seminar.
This seminar will focus on procedural and substantive developments with which courts and practitioners currently are wrestling in patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret cases. For the writing requirement, students would have an option of producing the "standard" law review-type paper, or a filing-quality brief advocating a position in an ongoing litigation relating to one of the "current issues" we will be discussing (e.g., a brief on the patentability of gene sequences in Myriad).
back to top3 credits. Lecture.
This course will examine the developing field of "Cybersecurity " law. "Cybersecurity" refers to technological, social, and legal controls implemented by government and private entities to secure electronic communications and data networks from manipulation, theft and attack by enemies of the state, terrorists, hackers, competitors, and other adversaries. The course will examine these issues from the perspectives of economic regulatory policy, unfair competition and trade secret law, criminal law, constitutional law and civil liberties law, and public international law.
back to topElectronic Commerce (INDL7307)
3 credits. Lecture.
This course will consider how developments in information technology affect commercial transactions. The course will consider issues related to information (including rules for protecting information, intellectual property and privacy) and various types of transactions in the electronic contexts (sales between businesses and/or consumers, website issues, and payments), as well as cross-border dispute-resolution issues. Particular emphasis will be placed on the social, political, and economic issues underlying those legal doctrines.
back to topEntertainment Contract Negotiation and Drafting (INDL9312)
2 credits. Seminar.
In this seminar students develop contract negotiation and contract drafting skills through mock negotiations and contract drafting. The class will include lecture, material and practical experience, negotiation deal points, and then drafting the final contract. Contracts will be negotiated in the motion picture, theatrical, music, television and publishing fields.
Prerequisite: Entertainment Law.
back to top3 credits. Lecture.
This course is a general survey and analysis of substantive areas of law relating to the production, distribution and exhibition of products and services in the entertainment and media industries. Areas surveyed include music, film, television, cable, publishing, legitimate stage, the online entertainment industry and the regulation of attorneys, agents and managers. It treats the creation, ownership and regulation of entertainment speech with emphasis on the first amendment, defamation, the right of privacy, the right of publicity, copyright, trademark, unfair competition, the law of ideas, moral rights, theories of credit, contract law and sources of regulation of professionals who work in the entertainment and media industry.
back to top2 credits. Lecture.
This course is designed to provide a survey of the often inter-twined legal and business issues encountered when structuring and negotiating transactions for clients in the motion picture and television industry. The material will be presented from the perspective of the practitioner representing clients involved with the production and exploitation of films and programs intended for initial exhibition primarily in theatres and on all forms of television. The course will examine the appropriate business entities to be utilized, and the various structures commonly employed to finance production, including distribution presales, network licenses, bank loans, completion bonds, tax shelters and various governmental subsidies. Major studio versus independent production will be discussed. Sources of revenue will be discussed, and the various forms of contingent compensation, including deferments and net, gross and adjusted gross participations. The course will also introduce the legal and business issues which are commonly encountered in connection with the acquisition of underlying literary properties, agreements for the services of producers, writers, directors and actors (including minors) including the impact of the guilds in connection with compensation, residuals, credit and related issues, and will examine agreements governing talent representation by agents and managers, including the laws under which they function. Various forms of legal protections afforded intellectual property will be examined, including under copyright, implied contract theory, rights of privacy/publicity and other statutory and common law approaches. Typical industry transactions will be discussed and the corresponding forms of contracts examined, with a view towards understanding the key issues involved, the positions customarily taken by each side and the compromises often reached. The goal of the course is to enable students to develop an informed and analytical approach to the practice of entertainment law.
Note: Students cannot apply both the summer course in Entertainment Law (INDL7314) and Entertainment Law (INDL7305) towards degree requirements.
back to top2 credits. Lecture.
The course will give students a guided tour of motion picture law and marketing by tracking the legal life cycle of an independent film though stages of development, pre-production, post-production, and distribution. Class topics include: protecting movie pitches, screenwriting agreements and options, cast and crew contracts, copyrights and trademarks, music licensing, distribution agreements, and other key areas affecting filmmakers.
The class will emphasize hands-on learning by providing students with opportunities to engage in mock negotiation, contract drafting, intellectual property, issue spotting, and dialogues, with industry professional guest lecturers.
Prerequisites: Entertainment Law or Copyright.
back to topFoundations of Intellectual Property Law and Policy (INDL9328)
3 credits. Seminar.
Information Privacy Law (INDL9234)
3 credits. Lecture.
In recent years new information technologies have greatly transformed our everyday lives. The effects of these technologies on our personal privacy have become a particularly pressing matter under constant scrutiny in both the popular discourse and the law-making process. This seminar will focus among other topics on: (1) Internet privacy, including issues related to anonymity, commercial profiling and spam; (2) Health and genetic privacy, including issues relating to medical records, confidentiality of physician-patient relationships, DNA databases and genetic discrimination; (3) Law enforcement privacy, including issues related to wiretapping, surveillance, and counter-terrorism and post 9/11 reactions. In the seminar we will examine the effect of technological change on our social conceptions of privacy and evaluate the legal reactions to these changes.
back to topIntellectual Property (INDL7301)
3 credits. Lecture.
This course is a survey of the law of patent, copyright and trademark. It serves as an introduction to the scope of protection of ideas and creation of legal monopolies and provides a foundation in the area for those who intend to undertake further training in more specialized areas of proprietary rights.
back to topIntellectual Property and Global Public Health (INDL9329)
3 credits. Seminar.
The seminar will consider the intersection of intellectual property rights and global public health. Issues to be discussed may include, for example, the impact of patents on access to essential medicines, compulsory licensing and pandemic preparedness, proprietary and open access publishing models for scientific and technological information, economic incentive theory and healthcare innovation, biodiversity and the protection of indigenous genetic information, and the relationship between intellectual property and healthcare finance. Students will be required to participate in discussions of weekly readings and to submit a paper on a topic, to be approved by the professor, related to the themes of the course.
Recommended: Intellectual Property, Copyright or Patent Law
back to topIntellectual Property Aspects of Pharmaceutical and Biotech Businesses (INDL8310)
2 credits. Lecture.
This course focuses on the recent case law, relevant legislation, and underlying policies, related to intellectual property protection in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. We will concentrate on key patent cases from the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court, and aspects of the FDA law that form the basis for IP protection in these industries. Recent patent cases, including those on enablement, written description, inherent anticipation, infringement under the doctrine of equivalents, inequitable conduct, and research tools, will be reviewed. We will also analyze the Hatch-Waxman Act and competition law that impact both the innovative and generic drug industries, and proposed legislation that is currently being considered by Congress that could dramatically affect these industries.
Prerequisite: Intellectual Property.
back to topIntellectual Property Licensing (INDL8317)
2 credits. Lecture.
The seminar will provide a comprehensive study of all aspects of Intellectual Property licensing and related issues. Students will analyze and draft various trademark, copyright, music, software, patent and technology licenses, and develop related negotiation skills and litigation strategies. The focus will be practical and will show how value can be unleashed in Intellectual Property Assets through licensing.
Prerequisite: Intellectual Property, Copyright or Trademark and Unfair Competition.
back to topInternational and Comparative Intellectual Property Law Survey (INDL7317)
3 credits. Lecture.
This course examines the international intellectual property system and will cover the major intellectual property conventions and treaties, including the Berne and Paris Conventions and TRIPS. Highlighted will be the differences in the philosophy and application of intellectual property principles across various national jurisdictions, with particular attention to differences among the United States, Europe and Asian countries. In addition, the class will examine the various means of securing intellectual property rights across national borders. Finally, social and policy issues raised by the current international structure, including an examination of the WIPO Development Agenda, the proposed Access to Knowledge treaty, and issues relating to patents on essential medicines will be covered.
back to topInternational Litigation and Arbitration (INTL7612)
3 credits. Lecture.
This course covers the main principles of international civil litigation. It focuses principally on United States law, but will occasionally draw comparisons with the laws of other nations. The course first addresses the international dimension of some of the topics covered in the basic course on civil procedure (such as personal jurisdiction, service of process and discovery, subject matter jurisdiction, including federal question jurisdiction, alienage jurisdiction and the Alien Tort Claims Act). It also includes an extensive study of foreign sovereign immunity law, including its history, scope and most important exceptions under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (i.e., the commercial activity and non-commercial tort exceptions). The course then turns to forum selection issues, including the forum nonconveniens doctrine in international litigation and the enforceability of foreign forum selection clauses and arbitration clauses. Students examine a number of treaties governing the law in this area, including the Hague Service Convention and the Hague Evidence Convention. The course concludes by examining the law governing the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards.
Prerequisites: Civil Procedure or Civil Procedure I and II
back to top3 credits. Lecture.
This course surveys legal issues related to the use and misuse of global electronic networks including the Internet. Topics to be discussed include: regulation of digital content; privacy and control of personal data; legal and constitutional implications of public key infrastructure; and regulation of electronic commerce.
Recommended: Intellectual Property.
back to top3 credits. Seminar.
Rapid advances in genetics are having extensive effects on our life both within and outside the medical arena. This seminar will examine the legal transformations taking place in a broad range of legal fields to accommodate these technological innovations. Among the topics to be examined in this course are: (1) genetic testing in the clinical scenario, such as duty to warn issues; (2) Privacy and discrimination related to collection of information by insurers and employers and by the government; (3) Commercialization of genetic research, focusing on gene patents; and (4) Use of genetic information in the courtroom.
back to topLaw and the Life Sciences (INDL9321/HLTH9529)
3 credits. Seminar.
This seminar will examine a variety of legal and policy issues at the forefront of advancements in the life sciences, drawing upon a diverse and interdisciplinary set of reading materials. Topics to be covered include genetics, biotechnology, nanotechnology, neuroscience and synthetic biology.
back to topLaw in the Music Industry (INDL8312)
2 credits. Lecture.
This course focuses on the daily legal issues facing attorneys in the music industry. It will consider the various legal relationships within a musical group and between the artist and his various representatives. It will then discuss the most heavily negotiated agreements in the music industry, beginning with demonstration, sample and producer agreements. The course will next explore legal pitfalls of production company agreements, and will then dissect various provisions of both recording and music publishing agreements. The course will then consider music industry unions and the American Federation of Musicians and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists impact of the artist and the record company. Finally, the course will discuss the legal issues facing music industry attorneys in the 21st century, with specific focus on digital transmission of music, down-loading of music over the internet and alternative methods of music delivery.
Prerequisite: Entertainment Law
back to topLegal Issues in Online Communities (INDL9327)
3 credits. Seminar.
Legal Issues in Online Communities: A survey of major legal issues that
affect online communities, including full scale simulations such as
Second Life as well as social network communities such as Facebook and
Twitter. The seminar will consider problems involving Intellectual
Property [trademark, copyright, right of publicity, Virtual property],
Terms of Service, Cyberbullying, Startup Businesses, and Privacy.
Recommended: Internet Law
back to top2 credits. Lecture.
This lecture surveys the constitutional principles, laws and regulatory policies that shape the mass media. It has two principal goals: to engage students in a critical review of the substantive case law governing the gathering and dissemination of information by print, television and internet; and to facilitate an understanding of the adequacy of the constitutional protection which this body of law affords the nation's major media institutions.
Note: Students cannot apply both Mass Media Law (INDL7319) and The First Amendment in the Twenty-First Century (PUBR9184) towards degree requirements.
back to topPatent Application Preparation and Prosecution (INDL9310)
2 credits. Seminar.
This seminar develops the writing and analytical skills required to draft applications for United States patents. Patent claim drafting skills are not undertaken in this course. Patent prosecution techniques, however, including evaluation of Patent and Trademark Office Official Actions and preparation of responses to these Official Actions are studied. There also is practice in drafting appellate briefs for submission to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences.
Prerequisite: Patent Law and Practice.
NOTE: Students are required to have a degree in engineering or a physical science.
back to topPatent Claim Drafting (INDL9305)
2 credits. Seminar.
This drafting seminar will focus on the "claim" or "claims" appended to a patent specification. The claim defines the scope of the grant, or the technical extent of the exclusive privilege the patent accords to its owner. Claim drafting assignments will be distributed to the students before each class. Each student's work will be reviewed on an individual basis, with rewriting and revision as needed.
Prerequisite: Patent Law and Practice.
NOTE: Students are required to have a degree in engineering or a physical science.
back to top3 credits. Lecture.
This course undertakes an intensive examination of the nature of patents and questions of patent validity and procurement, primarily for those intending to specialize in the patent area in their future practice. It includes: nature of patent property; problems in the procurement of patents including filing date, obtention and maintenance; international practice and problems; patent office practice; problems of validity including novelty, utility and non-obviousness; and transfers of property rights in patents.
back to topPractical Application of IP in Technology Agreements (INDL9320))
2 credits. Seminar.
This seminar is a practical survey and application of technology law, predominately covering patent, copyright and trade secret protection for a critical business asset - the information technology system upon which virtually all commerce rests. After covering essential intellectual property concepts, the course will apply these concepts and focus on how to effectively analyze, negotiate and draft the following types of agreements: software licenses, software development agreements including website/e-commerce development agreements and maintenance/support and technology services agreements from both the acquirer and the provider side. The seminar will also address the fundamentals of resolving disputes arising from those agreements, including intellectual property infringement and failures of performance, with underlying liability theories, vendor defenses and litigation strategy.
back to top2 credits. Lecture.
A survey of the major topics in sports law. Special attention is given to the regulation of professional and amateur athletics, the organizational structure of sports leagues and associations, labor-management relations, international sports regulatory agencies, individual rights of athletes and spectators, and the application of tort and criminal law principles to sports. This course is designed for law students with an interest in the interrelationship of American sports and the legal system and not exclusively for those interested in careers as sports lawyers.
back to topTechnology, Human Rights, and Equality (INDL9235)
3 credits. Seminar
This seminar will focus on recent legal efforts to restrict (and encourage) controversial medical technologies. Case studies will include 1) stem cell and genetic engineering research, 2) global access to "essential medicines" (e.g., AIDS treatments), and 3) Medicare coverage decisions (i.e., how this social insurance program decides whether to pay for advanced procedures). Readings will include basic journalistic and philosophic accounts of the controversies involved, and primary and secondary legal materials. Students with a background in intellectual property law, health care law, or administrative law should find the seminar particularly rewarding. Seminar participants will be expected to write a paper advocating for or against a regulation (or proposed regulation) related to the seminar topic.
back to topTrademark and Unfair Competition (INDL8302)
3 credits. Lecture.
This course treats common law and statutory protection of ideas, trade secrets, and trademarks, including: acquisition and loss of trademark rights; registration and licensing; problems of infringement, dilution, and misappropriation of trademarks; fair use and Internet use of trademarks; and related remedies.
back to topTrademark Registration (INDL9322))
2 credits. Seminar.
Federal registration provides important benefits to trademark owners. Registration work is a staple of many law firm and in-house intellectual property practices. This class will cover the basics of trademark registration practice, from selection of a mark and initial screening through opposition proceedings. Assignments will include hands on drafting of opinion letters, registration papers, and pleadings drawn from real-world examples.
Prerequisite: Intellectual Property or Trademark and Unfair Competition
back to top3 credits. Seminar.
This seminar will discuss the theoretical foundations of trademark law, how the structure of trademark law reflects various goals the law is designed to meet, and how the theory and structure of trademark law compares to the theory and structure of copyright and patent law.
Prerequisite: Intellectual Property or Trademark and Unfair Competition
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