Examine legal issues related to intangible assets.
View Intellectual Property LLM Program Learning Outcomes
Our expansive intellectual property law curriculum offers a range of courses and seminars examining the economic, ethical, and social issues arising from the creation and ownership of intangible assets. All LLM in Intellectual Property Law students must complete the following required courses:
1. Three of the following four foundational classes:
Copyright Law: LAW JD 952
4 credits
Copyright law is a federal statutory regime that connects to crucial issues in culture, competition, and science. Copyright's rules deeply affect literature, music, visual art, software, information, entertainment, and how the internet operates. In addition to its substantive coverage, the course will train you in how to interpret and apply a complex statute and its judicial overlay. The course covers several topics. (1) A central issue is how to construe the exclusive rights that federal copyright law grants to creators of "original works of authorship". These include rights over copying, rights to control public performance, and rights over the public's ability to adapt existing works to new purposes. The course will also address (2) the subject-matters eligible for federal copyright, including the special difficulties posed by works that-- like computer programs or furniture design -- have 'functions' beyond conveying information and affecting human perceptions. Also on offer will be investigating (3) the nature of an infringement action, (4) the policies served and dis-served by copyright, and (5) the limitations and exceptions to copyright (such as the doctrine of "fair use") which can protect free speech and other goals from copyright over-reach. The course also examines some state rights, such as the 'right of publicity' and 'hot news misappropriation'. The course particularly explores how these state-law doctrines interact with, or are pre-empted by, federal copyright law. GRADING NOTICE: This class will not offer the CR/NC/H option.
Intellectual Property: LAW JD 857
4 credits
In our modern information economy, the law of intellectual property has taken on enormous importance to both creators and users. This course introduces students to the principles of trade secret, patent, copyright, and trademark law, and explores the ways in which those principles are shifting and adapting in response to new technology. The course is open to all upper level students, without prerequisite. No scientific or technical background is required.
FALL 2022: LAW JD 857 A1 , Sep 7th to Dec 7th 2022Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mon,Wed | 8:30 am | 10:30 am | 4 | Samantha Zyontz | LAW | 103 |
Patent Law: LAW JD 870
3 credits
The basic questions in patent law are: why should society grant inventors a right to exclude others from using a patented invention? Who should be given the right? What is the scope of the right? How should the right be enforced? What disclosure duties should be placed on the patent holder? We will concentrate on these legal issues without getting mired in discussions of the technical details of particular inventions. Students without a technical background are welcome and encouraged to enroll.
SPRG 2023: LAW JD 870 A1 , Jan 17th to Apr 25th 2023Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tue,Thu | 9:00 am | 10:30 am | 3 | Michael J. Meurer | LAW | 101 |
Trademark and Unfair Competition: LAW JD 780
3 credits
This course will examine the precepts of trademark and unfair competition law. We will investigate issues of ownership, protectability, and infringement in the context of words, symbols, slogans, product design and trade dress. The course also will handle related issues, depending on class interest, such as: trademark's common law roots, false and comparative advertising, parody, the right of publicity, the First Amendment, a comparison of how copyright and trademark treat 'functional' designs, the influence of misappropriation law and fears of free riding, and the challenge of applying trademark laws in the Internet context. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
FALL 2022: LAW JD 780 A1 , Sep 6th to Dec 8th 2022Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tue,Thu | 9:00 am | 10:30 am | 3 | Stacey Dogan | LAW | 103 |
2. The Intellectual Property Workshop Seminar
Intellectual Property Workshop (S): LAW JD 776
3 credits
This seminar examines topics from the frontiers of intellectual property law. The class provides students with the opportunity to meet and interact with cutting-edge IP scholars who will be invited to speak. Students will read the speakers' works in progress, critique those writings in papers and oral give-and-take discussions with the authors, and will be provided additional reading as appropriate. The goals of this workshop are three: for students to deepen their substantive knowledge of IP law, for students to increase their abilities to participate in scholarly debate, and for established scholars to improve their working papers through the input of the workshop group. COREQUISITE/PREREQUISITE: Ideally, students should have taken or be concurrently enrolled in a course in IP, Copyright, Patent, or Trademark. Students who have not taken such a course (or who are not enrolled currently in such a course) must obtain the permission of the instructor. Students in the seminar will write several short papers commenting on the papers presented in the workshop. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: Class of 2024 -- This class may be used to partially satisfy the requirement. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
SPRG 2023: LAW JD 776 A1 , Jan 23rd to Apr 24th 2023Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mon | 4:20 pm | 6:20 pm | 3 | Samantha Zyontz | LAW | 410 |
3. Foreign-trained lawyers must also take:
Introduction to American Law: LAW AM 700
2 credits
The class covers the basic structure and function of US legal institutions: the congress, the president, and regulatory agencies, and, especially, the federal courts. It examines the role of state law and state courts in the American system of federalism. The course also studies the American judicial processes of constitutional analyses, interpretation of statues, and development of common law. Some attention is paid to court procedures, including trial by jury. Finally, students study a few topics that are illustrative of the treatment of individual rights in American law, such as freedom of speech, anti-discrimination law, and protection of private property. The class grants two credits towards the American Law degree.
Research and Writing Seminar for LLMs: LAW AM 704
2 credits
This two-credit Legal Research and Writing seminar is required for LL.M. students in the American Law program and optional for students in the LL.M. programs in Banking and Financial Law and Taxation. It is specifically designed to introduce foreign lawyers to the basic principles of American legal writing. In small class settings and individual conferences, students receive guidance on drafting and editing memoranda and agreements. Their work is critiqued and rewritten. The research component of the seminar trains students to locate cases, statutes and secondary material through indexing systems and the latest computer technology. Research assignments are integrated into writing assignments -- exposing students to the methods of US legal analyses -- so that by the end of the term, students obtain the skills needed to write memoranda appropriate for submission to US law firms.
4. Electives
While the required “core” courses are offered annually, electives change each year as new professors join the faculty, some take sabbaticals, others visit, and new courses are added. During the academic year, LLM in Intellectual Property Law students will earn the 24 credits required for the degree by completing the required courses listed above, and selecting their remaining courses from the following electives:
Antitrust Law: LAW JD 838
4 credits
The antitrust laws reflect a conviction that competition in the marketplace will yield the best outcomes for consumers and the optimal allocation of resources in our economy. Beginning with the Sherman Act of 1890, the antitrust statutes condemn a variety of acts -- from mergers to agreements among competitors to monopolists' exclusionary business practices -- that restrain trade or contribute to monopoly power. The statutes, however, are written in general terms, leaving it to the courts to draw the line between lawful competition and unlawful restraints of trade or monopolization. Early on, the Supreme Court established that the law reaches only "unreasonable" restraints, which only begs the question of how to draw the line between "reasonable" competition and "unreasonable" interference with competitive markets. Over the course of the twentieth century, the courts struggled to fix this line; as the century closed, they had settled on an economically-oriented normative framework that largely deferred to firm decisions and doubted the value of government intervention in markets. In recent years, however, a cacophony of voices -- ranging from activists to scholars to politicians of all stripes -- has begun to call that framework into question and to call for renewed enforcement of antitrust laws. This course will explore the principal statutes and common law that have shaped antitrust law over the past century-and-a-quarter since Congress passed the Sherman Act. We will also examine the standards and procedures that the antitrust agencies use to evaluate mergers and to challenge conduct as anticompetitive. As we critically evaluate the case law, we will also reflect on current calls for reform. While we will engage rigorously with economics, all of the economic principles necessary to understand the case law and debates will be explained in the course; formal training in economics is not a requirement.
SPRG 2023: LAW JD 838 A1 , Jan 18th to Apr 26th 2023Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mon,Wed | 10:40 am | 12:40 pm | 4 | Keith N. Hylton | LAW | 101 |
Contract Law Practice for LLM Students: Understanding the US Lawyer's Perspective: LAW AM 813
2 credits
This is an introductory course on US contract law specifically designed for foreign-trained LLM students from civil law traditions. Its goal is to prepare non-common law lawyers to work effectively with US counsel when structuring and negotiating contractual terms and provisions. The class brings a practical perspective to the topics covered in a traditional first-year contracts course: the fundamentals of contract formation, enforceability, defenses to enforceability, interpretation, performance, conditions, third party rights, damages, and other remedies. In addition to receiving foundational exposure to the main U.S. contract law topics, students will examine how contract law principles affect real-world US legal practice in a range of settings. Comparisons to civil law traditions will be made to elucidate doctrinal concepts and practice considerations. As a result, students will gain a deeper understanding of the practical and cross-cultural issues to consider when working with (or against) US counsel. Enrollment is limited to LLM students from non-common law backgrounds who have not taken the fall semester four- credit JD or LLM contracts class.
Contracts: LAW JD 813
4 credits
Legal and equitable remedies for enforcing contracts, determining what promises are enforceable, elements of assent, standards of fairness and restrictions on bargaining processes, and tests for performance and breach
Corporations: LAW JD 816
4 credits
Course about the legal structure and characteristics of business corporations. Topics include the promotion and formation of corporations; the distribution of power between management and shareholders; the limitations on management powers imposed by state law fiduciary duties and federal securities laws; shareholder derivative suits; capital structure and financing of corporations; and fundamental changes in corporate structure, such as mergers and sales of assets. The course serves as a prerequisite to advanced courses. PREREQUISITE: Business Fundamentals. GRADING NOTICE: The CR/NC/H option is not offered in Professor Tung's section.
FALL 2022: LAW JD 816 A1 , Sep 7th to Dec 7th 2022Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mon,Wed | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 4 | Scott Hirst | LAW | 103 |
Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mon,Wed | 10:40 am | 12:40 pm | 4 | Pierluigi Matera | LAW | 103 |
Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tue,Thu | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 4 | Frederick Tung | LAW | 414 |
Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mon,Wed | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 4 | Kevin Outterson | LAW | 414 |
Corporations for LLMs: LAW AM 815
4 credits
Course about the legal structure and characteristics of business corporations. Topics include the promotion and formation of corporations; the distribution of power between management and shareholders; the limitations on management powers imposed by state law fiduciary duties and federal securities laws; shareholder derivative suits; capital structure and financing of corporations; and fundamental changes in corporate structure, such as mergers and sales of assets. The course serves as a PREREQUISITE to advanced courses. GRADING NOTICE: This class will not offer the CR/NC/H option.
Creative & Innovative Economies (S): LAW JD 770
3 credits
This IP seminar studies the complicated relationship of access and ownership in the development and sustainability of IP-rich communities in the internet age. Students read intensely for the first half of the semester about particular creative and innovative communities and their IP practices, e.g., video game developers, graffiti artists, biomedical engineers, podcasters, photographers, chefs, jewelry designers, app developers (the list is endless!). In this first part of the course, students write short response papers and discuss the material. They will also begin formulating a plan for the second half of the semester, in which they will choose their own a creative or innovative community to study in depth. The second half of the semester supports the student in that research project, identifying the community, gaining access to evidence about that community, analyzing the evidence, and developing legal analysis of intellectual property issues for that community. We workshop the individual projects as a group, read proposals together, and continue with our reading on intellectual property issues that relate to the chosen projects. The final project is a combination of (1) facts/evidence about the community, (2) a written analysis of the facts, (3) legal proposals to aid the achievement of its goals as a creative or innovative community, and (4) a short presentation to the class of the findings/analysis. COREQUISITE/PREREQUISITE: Intellectual Property, Copyright, Trademark, or Patent Law. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: A limited number of students may use this class to satisfy the requirement. **A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
SPRG 2023: LAW JD 770 A1 , Jan 17th to Apr 25th 2023Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tue | 4:20 pm | 6:20 pm | 3 | Jessica Silbey | LAW | 702 |
Digital Evidence Use in Law Enforcement (S): LAW JD 953
3 credits
This course will consider how the evolution and global reach of technology in the areas of criminal practice and privacy rights has created an environment and area of the law that is frequently enacted only to be outpaced, eclipsed, and rendered irrelevant almost immediately by the very thing it seeks to regulate. This course provides an overview of cybercrime, privacy rights, and digital evidence practice; focusing on the current legal and technical landscape facing investigators and prosecutors in our justice system as they respond to the now commonly overlapping digital, cloud, and physical crime scenes. This course will give students the ability to assess current issues in this space using real- world examples. Students will examine the various constitutional protections afforded to users in the digital space, the law and policies that govern detection and prosecution, using this evidence in investigative practice, understanding the principles of digital search and seizure, and privacy rights vs. privacy protections. This course provides a summary of this fast-growing area of the law arising out of digital evidence investigation as it is used in criminal law as well as in areas of collateral civil practice. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: A limited number of students may use this class to satisfy the requirement. **A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
FALL 2022: LAW JD 953 A1 , Sep 12th to Dec 5th 2022Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mon | 6:30 pm | 8:30 pm | 3 | Luke Goldworm | LAW | 417 |
Drugs, Devices, and Diagnostics: New Challenges, Strategies, and Execution: QST HM 717
3 credits
This course will examine issues and opportunities in life sciences focused on the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical devices sectors and the life sciences service industry supporting these sectors, through the eyes of the CEO. The course will investigate who manages these companies and what are the strategies that are used to build successful enterprises. Students will be introduced to individuals and institutions at every stage of the development cycle from idea generation and start-up fundraising to manufacturing, commercialization and global expansion. We will specifically look at key elements of strategy and the execution by examining companies, that have either succeeded or failed, by discussing the pros and cons of different approaches and teasing out the lessons one can derive from leaders in the field and case studies examining their approaches.
REMINDER: This is a QST course. Students cannot register through WebReg. Students who register for the class and want law credit must add the course to their law transcript by completing an add form at the Law Registrar's Office before the end of the add/drop period for that semester.
FALL 2022: QST HM 717 E1 , Sep 8th to Dec 8th 2022Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thu | 6:30 pm | 9:15 pm | 3 | ContiConti | HAR | 406 |
Thu | 6:30 pm | 9:15 pm | 3 | ContiConti | HAR | 414 |
Economics of Intellectual Property Law (S): LAW JD 900
3 credits
This seminar will explore the economics of intellectual property law. There are no prerequisites. The readings for the seminar will consist of Cass and Hylton, Laws of Creation (2013), and several cases and articles. The seminar will emphasize understanding the policy justifications for the major doctrines in intellectual property. The topics studies will include patent law, copyright law, trademark law, trade secret law, and the intersection of antitrust and intellectual property. ENROLLMENT LIMIT: 14 students. GRADING NOTICE: This class will not offer the CR/NC/H option. **A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
FALL 2022: LAW JD 900 A1 , Sep 7th to Dec 7th 2022Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wed | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 3 | Keith N. Hylton | LAW | 417 |
Entertainment Law (S): LAW JD 905
3 credits
This seminar will focus on the varied legal doctrines that influence both the business and practice of Entertainment Law. Some of the primary topics include issues involving publicity rights and the use and control of image, celebrity and promotion issues, defamation and free speech, invasion of privacy, copyright including infringement and dispute and other general contractual relations surrounding the entertainment field. The course will also explore the practical aspects of entertainment law such as complicated litigation issues involving jurisdictional and venue concerns, client counseling and negotiations and other ethical concerns raised in the course of representation of your client. This course will not focus on sports entertainment or any other specific labor-related organizations. There will be no final exam. Grades will be based upon papers and class participation. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: This class may not be used to satisfy the requirement. **A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
SPRG 2023: LAW JD 905 A1 , Jan 19th to Apr 20th 2023Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thu | 10:40 am | 12:40 pm | 3 | Schreyer | LAW | 418 |
First Amendment: LAW JD 839
3 credits
This course will examine the free speech, free exercise and establishment clauses of the First Amendment. About two-thirds of the course will focus on speech, including such topics as political speech (including campaign finance regulation), commercial speech, and expression in the public forum. The final one-third of the course will focus on religion, including such topics as freedom of religious practice, religion in schools, and religious displays and symbols.
First Amendment & the LGBTQ Movement (S): LAW JD 911
3 credits
The seminar will examine the role of the courts in both enabling and hindering the remarkable social/political/cultural shifts that have made it possible for many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans to participate more fully in our common life while being as open as they choose about who they are, shifts impossible to have imagined a just a few decades ago. The First Amendment will be the focus, although the questions posed will inevitably spill over into considerations of the Due Process and Equal Protection provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment. In particular, we will examine the tension between liberty of expression and the twinned rights of free exercise of religion and expressive association, and the possible reasons why one might be privileged over the other. We will use the Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade case (Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, 515 U.S. 557) as a particular prism for our study of this issue. The plan is to begin with the unlikely emergence of the First Amendment as a friend to LGBT+ folk in the otherwise hostile legal landscape of the Fifties. Then, we will track how, fertilized by the civil rights and feminist movements of the Sixties and early Seventies, the right to speak burgeoned into the right to participate openly in civic venues that were formerly off limits. We will look at how, and to what extent, the role of the state as guardian of morals lost much of its power to impede openness and equality for people who had regarded as simply beyond the pale of community. We will examine the "red lines" that queer people were forbidden to cross if they were open, like the scouts, the military, athletics, parenting and marriage; and the extent to which those lines have eroded. We will assess the "blowback," the increasing use of the Free Exercise Clause and the right of associative expression to carve out exemptions to public accommodation laws, when the reach of such laws was viewed by the courts as a form of "compelled speech." Finally, from this perspective, we will think together about the implications of the LGBTQ+ experience for the larger struggle for human liberation and the creation of an environment that makes it easier for the planet and its inhabitants to thrive. There will be final paper in lieu of an examination. Grades will be based on the paper and class participation. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: A limited number of students may use this class to satisfy the requirement. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
FALL 2022: LAW JD 911 A1 , Sep 12th to Dec 5th 2022Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mon | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 3 | Ward | LAW | 417 |
Food, Drug and Cosmetic Law (S): LAW JD 802
3 credits
This seminar examines the Food and Drug Administration as an administrative agency combining law and science to regulate activities affecting public health and safety. Topics include testing and approval of pharmaceuticals and medical devices; food safety and nutritional policy; biologics and biotechnology regulation; cosmetic regulation; pricing of and reimbursement for drugs and devices; global aspects of pharmaceutical regulation, US and foreign patent issues, and FDA practice and procedure; jurisdiction and enforcement. A writing project involving research on food and drug issues will be required. ENROLLMENT LIMIT: 14 students. RECOMMENDED COURSES: Health Law or Public Health Law, Administrative Law. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: This class may be used to satisfy the requirement. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, will be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
FALL 2022: LAW JD 802 A1 , Sep 7th to Dec 7th 2022Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wed | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 3 | Frances H. Miller | LAW | 513 |
Information Risk Management (S): LAW JD 934
2 credits
Businesses and organizations handle information every day to conduct business, process transactions, and deliver goods and services. They do so in the context of legal, regulatory, and contractual obligations relating to their possession and use of this information. In the age of "Big Data" and "Advanced Persistent Threats," these entities can no longer focus solely on developing and implementing procedures to govern information processing. Instead, they must implement governance that allows for the optimization of risk while facilitating core management decision making in order to create real value. This is the new world of "knowledge governance." Legal counsel must ensure compliance with the legal and core requirements for security, privacy and data breach prevention, in a way that aligns with the strategic objectives of their firm. Designing a robust compliance program is a critical part of this task, but the big-data environment requires skills that go beyond devising a formal compliance program. In particular, lawyers operating in this environment must consider the value of data and information, understand the nature of their organization's collection, use, and disclosure of that data, and appreciate the relationship between risk optimization and their organization's strategic objectives. This course will explore the lawyer's role in devising and implementing a policy and culture of knowledge governance within a firm. It will focus on information, especially personal information. It will introduce students to the core principles of information risk management -- the privacy attributes of collection, use, and disclosure married with the security concepts of confidentiality, integrity, and availability -- while providing a framework for governance around information risk management. This course will also serve in part as preparation for the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: A limited number of students may use this class to satisfy the requirement. **A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
SPRG 2023: LAW JD 934 A1 , Jan 23rd to Apr 24th 2023Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mon | 4:20 pm | 6:20 pm | 2 | Kenneth P. Mortensen | LAW | 420 |
Intellectual Property Law Research: LAW JD 733
1 credits
This course begins with an overview of basic legal research skills, processes, and resources using intellectual property subject matter. The course then proceeds to specific research strategies in copyright, patents, and trademark law, providing students an increased understanding of advanced legal research skills using: secondary sources, legislative history, administrative materials, and more. Students will gain an even deeper understanding of the context and framework of legal resources and how they are applied to real-world research from practitioner guest lecturers. Classes combine instruction and hands-on exercises, with an emphasis on exposure to databases beyond Lexis and Westlaw. Students are evaluated on weekly research assignments and a final research project. PREREQUISITE: Intellectual Property. NOTE: Students may not add this course after the first class is held. NOTE: This class counts toward the 6-credit Experiential Learning requirement. ENROLLMENT LIMIT: 15 students. ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENT: Students who fail to attend the first class or obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, will be administratively dropped from the class. Students on the waitlist are required to attend the first class meeting for enrollment eligibility. Meeting dates TBD.
Intro to Analytic Methods for Lawyers: LAW JD 997
2 credits
Lawyers in almost every area of practice (litigation, corporate, government, public interest) deal routinely with problems that are usefully illuminated by basic business and economic concepts. This course is designed to teach the most important analytical methods to law students, in a manner that will be fully accessible to those with no prior quantitative training or background in the subjects covered. Using text, classroom activities, and written exercises, we will explore how these tools may be used to analyze concrete problems that arise in a wide range of legal practice settings. Covered topics will include: decision analysis, games and information; contracting; accounting; finance; microeconomics; law and economics; and statistics. GRADING NOTICE: This course will not offer the CR/NC/H option.
Law & Regulation Of Online Platforms (S): LAW JD 791
3 credits
Technology platforms -- the intermediaries that enable (and shape) our communications with friends, consumption of content, product purchases, game-playing, and more -- have come under increasing scrutiny in recent years. In the early years of the internet, Congress and the courts approached tech platforms with cautious deference, concerned that any government interference with innovation would thwart technological progress to the detriment of the public. Policymakers and courts largely left platforms to their own devices in setting the terms of their relationship with advertisers and consumers, which enabled the collection of vast troves of personal data that fueled the growth of today's tech giants. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, moreover, gave platforms almost complete immunity for the misuse of their networks by third parties. Only in the area of intellectual property -- where well-funded interest groups provided a powerful counterweight to the presumption against interference -- did a compromise emerge between rights-holders and platforms. The platforms made good use of their freedoms, building innovative networks whose popularity fueled their data collection, which enabled their extraordinary growth and -- at least arguably -- gave them the power and incentive to snuff out competitors through acquisition or exclusionary conduct. Despite warnings that the platforms were engaged in "killer acquisitions" and other exclusionary behavior, however, antitrust regulators showed little interest in blocking mergers or bringing monopolization claims against them. In short, across a wide range of substantive areas of law -- from privacy to data security to defamation to antitrust -- policymakers, regulators, and courts put a thumb on the scale for technology platforms through at least the mid-2010s. Over the past several years, however, the tide has begun to turn. A rising chorus of critics has argued that online platforms are causing a range of harms for which they should be held legally responsible. Some of these harms relate to the platform's own behavior -- such as the collection of personal data, the deployment of harmful algorithms, and the use of exclusionary practices to thwart potential competitors. Some of the harms result from third party behavior -- like election interference, revenge porn, and defamation -- that takes place on technology networks. Advocates argue for a variety of different legal reforms, including (but not limited to) robust privacy laws, repeal of section 230, increased antitrust enforcement, and regulatory oversight of algorithms. This seminar will introduce these debates by exploring the history of platform law and regulation since the mid-1990s. We will cover a range of topics, including: intermediary liability under trademark and copyright law (including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act); the history and current role of section 230; debates over (and changing federal policy with respect to) net neutrality; state and federal laws governing privacy, data protection, and consumer protection; and antitrust litigation and reform efforts. Given time constraints, we'll cover some of these topics in passing, and others in greater depth, but students should come away with an understanding of the key legal and policy debates across the different areas of law. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: Class of 2024 -- This class may be used to partially satisfy the requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This class does not offer the CR/NC/H option. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
FALL 2022: LAW JD 791 A1 , Sep 7th to Dec 7th 2022Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wed | 8:30 am | 10:30 am | 3 | Stacey Dogan | LAW | 417 |
Law and Algorithms: LAW JD 673
3 credits
This cross-cutting and interdisciplinary course, taught alongside a graduate-level course with BU's new faculty of Computing and Data Sciences, investigates the role that algorithms and automated decision-making systems play in law and society. The course connects legal and technical concepts of transparency, fairness, bias, privacy, and trust, though a series of case studies that present recent applications of technology to legal and regulatory situations and explore the challenges in regulating algorithms. Legal concepts explored will include evidence and expert witnesses, anti-discrimination law concepts of disparate impact and disparate treatment, sectoral information privacy regimes, and public access and transparency laws. Technical concepts explored will include artificial intelligence and machine learning, secure multi-party computation, differential privacy, and zero-knowledge proofs. Grades will be based on a series of assignments that correspond with each case study, to be completed collaboratively in mixed teams of law and computing/data science students. No prior technology experience is required. GRADING NOTICE: This class will not offer the CR/NC/H option.
SPRG 2023: LAW JD 673 A1 , Jan 19th to Apr 20th 2023Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thu | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 3 | Andrew SellarsCanetti | LAW | 203 |
Law and Sports (S): LAW JD 886
3 credits
This seminar will survey a range of legal issues presented by sports in America. There are no pre-requisites. However, students should be prepared to learn and apply basic principles of antitrust law and labor law. Intellectual property law, constitutional law, administrative law, anti-discrimination law, contract law and tort law also will be applied. Topics will include the legal, contractual, and economic relationship between professional sports franchises and the sports and entertainment venues in which they play, and the ownership of athlete identity and its utilization by athletes, teams, sponsors, and equipment manufacturers. The course also will treat the regulation of agent representation of athletes, the regulation of sports franchises and sports leagues. Grades will be based on client-directed writing and on oral class participation, including an advocacy presentation. There is no examination. OFFERING PATTERN: This class not offered every year. Students are advised to take this into account when planning their long-term schedule. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, will be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
SPRG 2023: LAW JD 886 A1 , Jan 17th to Apr 25th 2023Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Tue | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 3 | Wall | LAW | 418 |
Patent Litigation: LAW JD 964
2 credits
This course will examine all aspects of U.S. patent litigation, beginning with pre-filing considerations such as standing, venue, and jurisdiction, and ending with the appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Particular attention will be given to pleadings, claim construction, discovery, and motion practice, as well as the methods of proving invalidity, unenforceability, infringement and damages. The course will also consider trial preparation techniques, trial practice, the role of technical experts, and the remedies available in patent cases. Although the focus will be on patents, we will explore the similarities and differences between patent cases and other types of IP cases, such as copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets. The first portion of each class will cover case law and statutes, and the second portion of each class will include student presentations to allow a discussion of practice skills. Students will be evaluated based primarily on a final exam and their written submissions with respect to at least two in-class presentations that each student will be assigned throughout the semester (e.g., a Markman presentation or mock argument on a motion to transfer). No scientific or technical background is required to enroll in this seminar, and there are no formal prerequisites, although prior or concurrent exposure to civil procedure and to patent law (such as through the Patent Law course or the Intellectual Property course) will be helpful.
Patent Trial Advocacy: LAW JD 933
3 credits
This course introduces the student to the structure of the patent trial process and the skills used by patent trial lawyers. This is a simulation course. Students will act as trial counsel in a federal civil action. The case will model a hypothetical patent case, from filing of the complaint to trial. The students will simulate motion practice, claim construction, depositions, as well as trial. The course will include some substantive instruction on patent law, but the focus of the course will be on experiential learning. Students will receive instruction on general litigation techniques relevant to presenting complex science and technologies to a judge or fact-finder. For example, students will learn how to utilize technology to facilitate their presentations during oral argument and in examining witnesses (e.g., through use of demonstratives). Students do not need to have a background in science or technology. Similarly, students do not need to have taken prior coursework in patent law. Enrollment will be limited to 12 students, who will be divided into plaintiff and defendant teams. Grades will be individualized and based on the following: participation in class discussion, simulations, and workshops; motion to dismiss argument; claim construction argument; deposition; and trial. PREREQUISITE Evidence (may be a corequisite for 3Ls). RECOMMENDED COURSES: Patent Law, Patent Litigation NOTE: This class counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This class does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
SPRG 2023: LAW JD 933 A1 , Jan 23rd to Apr 24th 2023Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Mon | 4:30 pm | 7:30 pm | 3 | Prussia | LAW | 518 |
Problems in Anti-Discrimination Law (S): LAW JD 795
3 credits
Antidiscrimination law is broadly viewed as a vehicle to redress and ameliorate racial inequality across domains of social, economic, and political life. And yet, all too often, this body of law reinforces and reproduces racial hierarchy and stratification. The tension between antidiscrimination law's egalitarian aspirations and racially subordinating effects is not new. Nevertheless, our current cultural moment invites renewed attention to the forces that hinder antidiscrimination law's remedial promise and potential. To further this inquiry, the seminar will interrogate contemporary battles over racial justice through a lens that draws on critical theory, history, and social science. To further ground the seminar to current events, the class will put students into conversation with scholars, practitioners, and/or activists engaged in work "on the ground." This is a reading and writing intensive course. NOTE: This class does not satisfy the upper-class writing requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This class will not offer the CR/NC/H option. **A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
Representing Life Sciences Companies: Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices (S): LAW JD 907
3 credits
Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals are two of the fastest growing industries in the U.S., and the legal issues that arise in connection with representing them are complex and evolving. This seminar will focus on the transactional, intellectual property, and regulatory legal issues that challenge lawyers working with clients in these industries. We will begin with an overview of these industries, including a basic review of the sciences underpinning them (intended for non-scientists). We will then delve into complex legal issues such as licensing, collaborations, and consortium building; academic-industry interactions; the drug and biologic regulatory approval process; issues arising in clinical trials; and legal issues arising in the manufacture and distribution of life sciences products. If time permits, we will also examine the medical device industry and the ways in which that industry differs from the biopharmaceutical industry. In lieu of an exam, students will prepare a 25 page, journal-worthy article addressing a legal topic of the student's selection. PREREQUISITE: No scientific background will be required, but students will benefit from prior or contemporaneous coursework in intellectual property. LIMITED WRITING REQUIREMENT OPTION: A limited number of students may be permitted to satisfy the upper-class writing requirement with the approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option. OFFERING PATTERN: This class is not offered every year. Students are advised to take this into account when planning their long-term schedule. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
SPRG 2023: LAW JD 907 A1 , Jan 18th to Apr 26th 2023Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Wed | 6:30 pm | 8:30 pm | 3 | Ghassab | LAW | 702 |
Structuring Intellectual Property Ownership: LAW TX 944
2 credits
Intellectual Property is the engine for the modern world economy. This course will look at US and international tax strategies implemented by individuals and companies owning IP to minimize the tax costs and maximize the economic benefits. The course will examine the tax consequences, and appropriate strategies, for developing intellectual property, acquiring intellectual property from another party, transferring intellectual property rights in the most cast effective manner. The course will have a strong emphasis on international tax, including the effects of bilateral tax treaties, related party transaction rules (such as Code 482), U.S. rules governing transfer of intellectual property out of the United States (Code 367), cost sharing arrangements under Code 482, and other sophisticated transactional issues such as charitable contributions and intellectual property in order to claim contribution deductions. Prerequisite: International Tax I: Taxation of International Trade Investment and Finance. Recommended: Taxation of Intellectual Property I.
Taxation of Intellectual Property: LAW TX 955
2 credits
Intellectual property- from sophisticated aerospace technology to computer software and web applications to music and video rights- is one of the most important, challenging, and sophisticated areas of modern commerce. However, because the IP revolution has occurred in only the last 25 years, many of the traditional principles of income taxation are not easily applied to IP assets. This course will explore the tax aspects of creating intellectual property, buying intellectual property, exploiting IP through leases and licenses, and strategies for selling valuable IP rights with the best tax results. The course will also explore important international tax issues, including the so called "migration" of IP offshore, cost-sharing arrangements, and other mechanisms that seek to "locate" IP and the associated tax liabilities in tax-favorable jurisdictions. The course will teach the tax differences between copyrighting and patenting a software program, the right and wrong ways to license and sell a trademark, and the mechanisms for turning a "license" into a "sale" and thereby converting ordinary income into capitol gains.
FALL 2022: LAW TX 955 A1 , Sep 8th to Dec 8th 2022Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Thu | 4:20 pm | 6:20 pm | 2 | Joseph B. Darby | LAW | 101 |
Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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ARR | TBD | TBD | 2 | Darby |
The Language Of Law (S): LAW JD 719
3 credits
This course examines the historical underpinnings of language with a focus on how the prestige dialect affects understanding of and access to the law and legal system at all levels. The course will examine the language of law through four modules: (1) How language affects access to the American legal system; (2) How language affects outcomes in the American legal system; (3) How silence (what is not said or not written) affects access and outcomes; and (4) How language influences the attorneys' professional identities, including the students' own. Students will read a variety of cases and articles and listen to excerpts from podcasts and hearings in court to evaluate the role of language in shaping the law. Topics may be driven by student interest, but will center around issues of race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, ability, religion, age, and socioeconomic class. Students will also draw upon recent and current events to analyze how or if the language of law is changing and the impact therefrom. Students will choose an area where language impacts law to focus on and will use this topic for a research paper and presentation. Some shorter reflections may also be required. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: Class of 2024 -- This class may be used to partially satisfy the requirement. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
FALL 2022: LAW JD 719 A1 , Sep 12th to Dec 5th 2022Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Mon | 10:40 am | 12:40 pm | 3 | Hodo Walker | LAW | 419 |
The Role of In-House Counsel: LAW JD 978
2 credits
Practicing law in-house is often done at the tension point of enterprise growth and risk mitigation. This course explores the unique aspects of working as a lawyer within an organization's internal legal department. In order to provide a realistic appreciation and understanding of the role of in-house counsel, the course will utilize scenario-based group tutorials and simulations in which students will act as in-house counsel for a fictitious company in a specific industry. Areas covered may include contractual and employment matters, regulatory, compliance, internal investigations, enterprise risk questions and advising the Board of Directors and senior management. While the course will involve the substantive law of various areas relevant to the fictitious company's business and operations, the focus of the course will be on practicing and building lawyering skills that are critical for effective and ethical in-house practice. These include identifying and analyzing legally viable alternatives, and making recommendations, for the company to pursue to carry-out its business strategy and mitigate risks, as well as written and oral communications and presentations reflecting the same. As an overarching theme, the course will consider how to balance the important role of lawyer and trusted business advisor with the backdrop of the ever-present ethical and reputational considerations of the enterprise. This course is designed to provide students with practical skills (as well as opportunities to use and apply them) as they learn to identify and navigate the day-to-day challenges of the modern corporate counsel. Grades in the course will be based on scenario-based responses (presentation and/or written), a collaborative final group presentation, and in-class participation. CLASS SIZE: Limited to 12 students. NOTE: This course counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option. ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENT: A student who fails to attend the first class or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar will be administratively dropped from the course. Students who are on the wait list are required to attend the first class to be considered for enrollment. Because the course involves regular in-class exercises, some of which are done in teams, and class participation is a significant component of a student's final grade, regular class attendance is essential and thus the course normally does not accommodate flexibility in attendance.
SPRG 2023: LAW JD 978 A1 , Jan 19th to Apr 20th 2023Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Thu | 6:30 pm | 8:30 pm | 2 | Layo | LAW | 416 |
Trade Secrets and Restrictive Covenants: LAW JD 793
2 credits
This course will examine the theory, practice, and interrelationship of trade secret law and the law of restrictive covenants, including laws governing the use and enforceability of noncompetition agreements. We will explore what a trade secret is, what it is not, how it differs from other types of intellectual property, and how something secret can constitute protectable property. We will investigate how trade secrets can be misappropriated, including misappropriation through one's memory; whether and in what circumstances trade secrets will be protected, including through the use of noncompetition agreements, nondisclosure agreements, and other restrictive covenants; the other purposes served by those agreements; and the strengths and weaknesses of the various laws governing the protection of trade secrets and the use of restrictive covenants. Depending on class interest and time, we may discuss related issues such as the current debate over the use of noncompete agreements and their putative effects on innovation. OFFERING PATTERN: This class is not offered every year. Students are advised to take this into account when planning their long-term schedule.
SPRG 2023: LAW JD 793 A1 , Jan 23rd to Apr 24th 2023Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Mon | 6:30 pm | 8:30 pm | 2 | Russell BeckCorvini Daly | LAW | 209 |
Trademark and Unfair Competition: LAW JD 780
3 credits
This course will examine the precepts of trademark and unfair competition law. We will investigate issues of ownership, protectability, and infringement in the context of words, symbols, slogans, product design and trade dress. The course also will handle related issues, depending on class interest, such as: trademark's common law roots, false and comparative advertising, parody, the right of publicity, the First Amendment, a comparison of how copyright and trademark treat 'functional' designs, the influence of misappropriation law and fears of free riding, and the challenge of applying trademark laws in the Internet context. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
FALL 2022: LAW JD 780 A1 , Sep 6th to Dec 8th 2022Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Tue,Thu | 9:00 am | 10:30 am | 3 | Stacey Dogan | LAW | 103 |
Transaction Simulation (LLM): Forming and Financing a Start-Up Business: LAW AM 787
3 credits
This course is a semester-long transaction simulation offered exclusively for LLM in American Law Program and LLM in Intellectual Property Law students. The simulated transaction is the formation and initial financing of a privately- held company in the software industry. The course will expose LLM students to the principal issues involved in counseling U.S.-based entrepreneurs as to their emerging businesses, including choice of entity and entity formation, equity compensation for founders and employees, intellectual property protection of company assets, capital raising through preferred stock financing, and negotiation of financing-related contracts based on industry- standard models. Through in-class discussions, homework assignments and graded writing assignments, students will simulate the work of both junior and senior practicing attorneys who counsel start-ups and their founders and investors. Students will review sample agreements related to start-up businesses such as formation and financing documents, draft and revise such agreements and conduct negotiations for the financing of an emerging business. While the simulation is based on a start-up transaction, many of the principles and concepts will be applicable to a broader range of business deals. The course grade will be based on homework assignments, class participation and graded writing assignments. CLASS SIZE: Limited to 12 students. PREREQUISITE(S): Contracts and Corporations, unless otherwise waived by the instructor. Prior work experience in transactional business law is neither required nor expected. ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENT: A student who fails to attend the first class or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, will be administratively dropped from the class. Students who are on the wait list are required to attend the first meeting to be considered for enrollment. GRADING NOTICE: This class will not offer the CR/NC/H option.
Transaction Simulation: IP Counsel for New Music Streaming Service: LAW JD 787
3 credits
Practice Areas: Intellectual Property and Corporate Finance This course is one of the semester-long transaction simulations offered as part of the Transactional Law Program and satisfies the Transaction Simulation requirement of the Transactional Practice Concentration. The course will cover matters and transactions engaged in by a startup company (the "Company") seeking to disrupt the music industry with a new music streaming platform. During this course, students will play the role of a transactional intellectual property attorney, advising the Company on several key strategic intellectual property decisions and matters in connection with launching its music streaming service. Some of these lawyering tasks will be foundational, such as advising the Company in selecting a strong trademark and deciding which open source software to use as the base of its otherwise proprietary software. Other tasks will focus on the key music licensing hurdles for the Company, including advising the Company on music licenses it will need to stream music and launch an advertising campaign. Later in the semester, students will work on a proposed equity investment in the Company, representing either the Company or the investor. The course also addresses various ethical issues that may arise in connection with these types of matters and transactions and in transactional practice generally. CLASS SIZE: Limited to 12 students. PREREQUISITE: IP Survey Course OR at least two of the following courses; Patent Law, Copyright Law, or Trademark Law. Contract Drafting is recommended, but not required. NOTES: This course counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement and also satisfies the Transaction Simulation requirement of the Transactional Practice Concentration. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option. ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENT: A student who fails to attend the first class or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar will be administratively dropped from the course. Students who are on the wait list are required to attend the first class to be considered for enrollment. Because the course involves regular in-class exercises, some of which are done in teams, and class participation is a significant component of a student's final grade, regular class attendance is essential and thus the course normally does not accommodate flexibility in attendance.
(S) Denotes seminar
Subject to change