About Intellectual Property (3 credit doctrinal)

About Intellectual Property

Intellectual property, or “IP,” is at the center of some of today’s most important legal disputes, such as YouTube videos, cybersquatting disputes, the smartphone wars, and more. This course will focus primarily on the three main areas of federal intellectual property protection: trademarks, copyrights, and patents, as well as other areas, such as trade secrets and right of publicity (also known as “name, image, likeness” or NIL). In so doing, we’ll study historical and modern IP disputes with the goal of an integrated understanding of IP doctrine, theory, policy, and practice. Studies will go beyond mere cases and statutes into the real world of IP practice through selected experiential IP activities.

Finalized Aug. 17, 2025; office hours and formatting revised Jan. 30, 2026