Intellectual Property Rights and Commerce in the Global “Cloud”

LAW JD 978

This course, open to LLM in American Law and LLM in Intellectual Property Law students, will help participants appreciate and understand how the Internet or "Cloud" has introduced into everyday life an ever-expanding and evolving range of proprietary claims on digital information and its communication. We will cover the role of traditional industrial property (patents and trademarks) and of authors' rights (copyrights), as well as of internationally expanding rights in "confidential" information (trade secrets) -- which are amplified by the primacy of online "contracts" and licensing. We will also explore the extended range of quasi-proprietary interests such as privacy, publicity and "freedom of speech" and regulating factors such as consumer protection, e-commerce, competition and telecommunications policies (standards, Internet governance, Net Neutrality). While the subject matter will be examined in systemic appreciation from the perspective of U.S. and international transactions and enforcement, foreign-trained students will be encouraged to share insights on the national laws of their home countries. Grades will be based on a take-home final examination with a reasonable choice of covered subject matter, along with consideration of class participation. PREREQUISITE: None, as the course is directed to systemic understanding, but exposure to any of the mentioned subject matter would be helpful. GRADING NOTICE: This class will not offer the CR/NC/H option.