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Fall 2019 Intellectual Property Class Descriptions

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Corporate Innovation & Legal Policy (LWIP528)

Instructor(s): Ted Sichelman

3 credit(s), Letter Graded
Requirement(s): Writing
Concentration(s): Intellectual Property Law (MSLS), Intellectual Property Law (LLMG), Intellectual Property (LLMC), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Intellectual Property (JD)

What are the optimal policy ingredients and business strategies for managing innovation? How can business leaders, inventors, lawyers, and policymakers benefit from the connections between corporate success, intellectual property, and human capital? The course will introduce foundations of intellectual property law and employment and organizational practices. We will examine corporate policies and disputes over the control of ideas, secrets, skill and intellectual property. In particular, we will analyze non-compete contracts, trade secrets and non-disclosures, information privacy, economic espionage, employee duties of loyalty, including prohibitions on customer and co-worker solicitation and raiding for competitive endeavors; and employer ownership over inventions and artistic work, including pre-invention patent assignment agreements and work-for-hire disputes. In the past few years, the black box of innovation has been pierced with a plethora of new interdisciplinary research and practice. At the same time, industry and policymakers in the United States, like other countries around the world, are debating the benefits of existing EIP laws. In the course, we will bring together these various developments to identify how companies can sustain their innovative capacities, commercialize science, and manage creativity, and to assess how differences in regulatory and contractual arrangements in the employment relationship can impact key aspects of innovation, such as the rate of patent filings, the level of network participation in intellectual and creative endeavors, individual motivation to innovate, organizational behavior, and talent mobility.

Corporate Technology Externship (LWVL570)

Instructor(s): Ted Sichelman, Anthony Mauriello

1-6 credit(s), P/F Graded
Requirement(s): Experiential
Concentration(s): Intellectual Property Law (LLMG), Intellectual Property (LLMC), Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Intellectual Property (JD), Business and Corporate Law (JD)

This course places students at local law firms and companies to provide legal assistance to technology companies in the areas of corporate formation and transactions, contracts, employment, and related areas. Students will be supervised by attorneys at the local law firms and companies as well as the professors. Students begin work during the first week of the semester with companies and law firms, and meet one-on-one with the professors on a regular basis. Additionally, the course begins with 6-7 week “bootcamp” covering the core types of transactions encountered in technology companies. There are no scheduled classes during the remainder of the semester. An application process will be used to select students for the course. Students who registered for the course in previous academic years may not apply for the course for 2019-2020 without the permission of the Professors. Applications are available here and are due Friday, April 5th.

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

Entrepreneurship & IP Law (LWIP534)

Instructor(s): Orly Lobel

3 credit(s), Letter Graded
Requirement(s): Writing
Concentration(s): Intellectual Property Law (MSLS), Intellectual Property Law (LLMG), Intellectual Property (LLMC), Intellectual Property (JD)

How can law, policy, and strategy support successful new ventures? How do our laws and court system support competitive markets, inventive talent pools, great leaders, and smart regulation? How should policy regulate new digital platforms like Uber, Airbnb, Venmo, and Instagram? Are our intellectual property laws, employment and labor laws, privacy laws, and antitrust laws supporting or impeding new entry into competitive markets? We will examine corporate practices and litigation over news ideas, technologies, secrets, skills, and ownership of inventions. We will also analyze non-compete contracts, trade secrets and non-disclosures, economic espionage, invention assignment agreements, and work-for-hire disputes – all on the rise in every industry. We will analyze the special role of entrepreneurship and start-ups in a healthy economy. How is the success of Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and Biotech Beach (here in San Diego!) aided by California’s law and policy? This paper-based course will bring together new interdisciplinary research ranging from economics, business, psychology, organizational behavior, geography studies and sociology. The students will have an opportunity to select, analyze, and write about a range of topics from how to commercialize science and technology to how manage innovation and creativity, how to regulate autonomous cars or protect against revenge porn, help artists and inventors protect their creativity and help regions draw the best talent and investors, and explore hot topics in the fields of emerging technologies, new business models, digital platforms, and creative ventures.

Intellectual Property Survey (LWIP550)

Instructor(s): Lisa Ramsey

4 credit(s), Letter Graded
Concentration(s): Intellectual Property Law (MSLS), Intellectual Property Law (LLMG), Intellectual Property (LLMC), Intellectual Property (JD)

This course provides a broad overview of intellectual property law. After discussing the policies underlying the protection of intellectual property rights, we will cover trade secret, patent, copyright, and trademark law, and related doctrines such as the right of publicity. These topics will be examined with a focus on new technologies, but a science or technical background is not required. This course provides a foundation for advanced intellectual property courses and is also appropriate for students who seek only a general understanding of intellectual property law. 

IP Externship (LWVL532)

Instructor(s): Ted Sichelman

1-6 credit(s), P/F Graded
Requirement(s): Experiential
Concentration(s): Intellectual Property Law (LLMG), Intellectual Property (LLMC), Intellectual Property (JD)

This course places students at local law firms and companies to provide legal assistance to local individuals (inventors, artists, musicians, and others) and tech and media companies in the areas of patent prosecution, patent searching, trademark prosecution, filing of provisional and utility patents, intellectual property litigation, intellectual property transactions, and related areas (including copyright and trade secret law). Students will be supervised by attorneys at the local law firms and companies as well as the professors. Students begin work during the first week of the semester with companies and law firms, and meet one-on-one with the professors on a regular basis. Additionally, the course begins with 6-7 week “bootcamp” covering the core practical aspects of patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret law. In the boot camp, students will be given sample office actions and draft responses, as well as IP litigation pleadings, motions, and discovery. There are no scheduled classes during the remainder of the semester. An application process will be used to select students for the course. Students who registered for the course in previous academic years may not apply for the course for 2019-2020 without the permission of the Professor. Applications are available here and are due Friday, April 5th.

Note: There are limitations on JD concentration eligibility. Please check the Intellectual Property Concentration web page for more information.
Additional Information: here

Patent Law (LWIP570)

Instructor(s): Joseph Reisman, Maria Stout

2 credit(s), Letter Graded
Concentration(s): Intellectual Property Law (MSLS), Intellectual Property Law (LLMG), Intellectual Property (LLMC), Intellectual Property (JD)

The purpose of this course is to prepare students to understand the law and analyze the problems involved in protecting inventions under U.S. Patent Laws and in protecting trade secrets under the common law and the California Trade Secret Statute. Although the protection of state-of-the-art technology, including software and biotechnology, is included in portions of the course, technical or scientific expertise of the student is not a prerequisite.

Patent Litigation I (LWIP568)

Instructor(s): Michael Amon, Staff

2 credit(s), H/P/L/F Graded
Requirement(s): Experiential
Concentration(s): Intellectual Property Law (MSLS), Intellectual Property Law (LLMG), Intellectual Property (LLMC), Intellectual Property (JD)
Prerequisite(s): Patent Law or concurrent enrollment

The patent litigation course provides substantive patent law knowledge with a focus on the practical application and litigation skills. This course is appropriate for students who have taken or are taking patent law and other intellectual property courses and who are seeking to deepen and refine their understanding of how patent litigation actually works. This course will be of particular interest to students who envision practicing in the areas of patent litigation or patent prosecution. Grading will be based on written assignments, participation in classroom discussions, and participation in the various in-class exercises. Previous coursework in general patent law is recommended but not required. Patent Law is a pre-or-co-requisite.The course is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis

Trademark Law (LWIP580)

Instructor(s): Lisa Ramsey

3 credit(s), Letter Graded
Concentration(s): Intellectual Property Law (MSLS), Intellectual Property Law (LLMG), Intellectual Property (LLMC), Intellectual Property (JD)

This course provides an overview of trademark and unfair competition law. We will discuss the purpose of these laws, the requirements for trademark protection, and the scope and enforcement of trademark rights. Specifically, we will cover the concepts of distinctiveness, functionality, and use of a trademark; the procedural and substantive aspects of trademark registration; geographic limits on trademark rights; trademark infringement, dilution, cybersquatting, counterfeiting, false advertising, false endorsement, and the right of publicity; and defenses and remedies in trademark actions.