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Summer 2015 Business and Corporate Law Class Descriptions

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Corporate Counsel Internship (LWVL591)

Instructor(s): Beth Baier

1-3 credit(s), P/F Graded
Requirement(s): Skills
Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (JD), Intellectual Property (JD), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Business and Corporate Law (LLMUS), Intellectual Property (LLMUS), Intellectual Property Law (LLMG)

The Corporate Counsel Internship Program consists of a work component and a class component. The Corporate Counsel Internship Program allows students to receive academic credit for working in the legal department of a corporation, company or other business entity. Students may also work in other departments of a corporation as long as they are supervised by a licensed attorney. The goal of the Program is to provide students with the opportunity to observe first-hand the operations of a corporate legal department and to gain an understanding of the legal issues addressed by corporate counsel. The student must not receive monetary compensation or any outside funding for or related to the work and must be supervised by an on-site lawyer. Students can secure their own internship placements or meet with the Internship Director or Career Services for guidance. Placements qualify for the Program only if the organization requires that a student receive academic credit as a condition of the internship. Organizations willing to pay students or to have them work on a volunteer basis do not qualify for the Program. After a placement is found, students must complete an Application Form to have their placement approved for the Program. Employers who participate in the Program must commit to the requirements of the Program. Students work a minimum of 60 hours per unit of credit and may receive 1-3 credits. Students participate in primarily on-line class sessions involving small group discussions, prepare weekly summaries of their work and complete a writing assignment. If you have been accepted into an internship placement and want to apply for the internship course, fill out the Corporate Counsel application. The internship is graded on a Pass-Fail basis.

For questions about finding a field placement or eligibility, contact the Office of Career and Professional Development at 619-260-4529 or email lawcareers@sandiego.edu. For academic related questions, contact Professor Margaret Dalton, Faculty Director, Clinical and Placement Education at 619-260-7664 or mdalton@sandiego.edu.

Note: There are limitations on JD concentration eligibility. Please check the JD concentrations web pages for more information. Contact Law Student Affairs to find out if your work in this clinic qualifies for the concentration.
Additional Information: JD Concentrations Web Page, Email Law Student Affairs

Intellectual Property & Business (LWIP572)

Instructor(s): Ted Sichelman

3 credit(s), Letter Graded
Requirement(s): Writing
Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (JD), Intellectual Property (JD), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Business and Corporate Law (LLMUS), Intellectual Property (LLMUS), Intellectual Property Law (LLMG)
Recommended Class(es): IP Survey or any course in patent law

The best intellectual property and tech-focused corporate lawyers have a thorough understanding of the ways clients use and are affected by IP in their daily business. This seminar will provide an introduction to how patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets (1) are used by IP owners to further their business strategies and (2) affect non-IP owners, who must often license IP rights at substantial cost. Specific topics include: the role of trademarks in promoting product “branding”; the use of patents in commercializing inventions; the effects of trade secrecy on R & D investment and employee mobility; IP and the emerging field of “microinnovation”; the effects of copyright on Internet business models; the use of IP by startup companies; private markets for buying, selling, and licensing IP rights; the role of patents in biotech deals; copyrights in the entertainment industry; and trademarks and “luxury” goods. The course will be co-taught by a law professor (Sichelman) and a business school professor (Saucet). The majority of the course will consist of lectures and classroom discussions. The only assignment is a paper, which students will present at the end of the course. Prerequisites: None. Either a course in intellectual property law or some work experience at a technology company is recommended, but not required.