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Summer 2016 Class Descriptions

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Corporate Counsel Externship (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 Externship Program consists of a work component and a class component and allows students to earn academic credit 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 an on-site licensed attorney.

Students work a minimum of 50 hours per unit of credit and may receive 1-3 credits. Academic requirements include: mandatory orientation, journals between student and professor relating to the field placement; a three-five page reflective paper at the end of the semester; an example of work product for professor review; and, satisfactory completion of work experience. The Externship is graded on a Pass-Fail basis.

If you have been offered and have accepted a field placement, meet the eligibility requirements, agree to meet the course obligations and want to register for the Externship course, fill out the Field Placement Form. The Office of Career and Professional Development will then confirm your placement and instruct you on registering for the course.

Contact lawcareers@sandiego.edu with placement questions. Contact Professor Margaret Dalton, Faculty Director, at mdalton@sandiego.edu with academic questions.

Students must attend a mandatory orientation on Saturday, June 11 at 10:00 a.m. in WH 3C.

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): Staff

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.