IP Overview assignments [archive of summer 2017, not current]

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OVERVIEW: ASSIGNMENTS (SUMMER 2017) 

Note: this is an archive of a previous semester. Go here to access current syllabi and assignments.

CLASS 1 – THURS., JUNE 1: INTRO TO IP; COPYRIGHT

Course syllabus, available here.

Chart comparing four main areas of IP protection (copyright, patent, trade secret, trademark)

Copyright readings in McJohn E&E:

• 1-5 (intro to main areas of IP)
• 9-25, 48-59 (subject matter of copyright)
• 69-73 (excluded subject matter)
• 109-19, 157-59 (ownership, duration)
• 161-66, 168-76, 194-213 (infringement, exclusive rights, defenses)

Copyright statutes, available below or in statutory supplement:

• 17 U.S.C. § 102
• 17 U.S.C. § 106
• 17 U.S.C. § 107
• 17 U.S.C. § 109(a)
• In class I will also point to relevant provisions of 17 U.S.C. § 101 (copyright definitions)

Explore: go to the Copyright Office website at http://www.copyright.gov. Explore. See how you can search registrations, file applications for registration, and find information of interest such as the Fair Use index. Note the existence of helpful Circulars.

New: other helpful materials:

• Copyright infringement basics (handed out in class)

CLASS 2 – THURS., JUNE 8: PATENTS

We will start with a short quiz on the first two weeks’ readings. We will then finish any remaining copyright materials and then move onto patents.

Patent readings in McJohn E&E:

• 233-61 (subject matter, exclusions)
• 263-71, 282-85, 290-300 (novelty, nonobviousness)
• 327-45 (infringement)

Patent statutes, available below or in statutory supplement:

• 35 U.S.C. § 100
• 35 U.S.C. § 101
• 35 U.S.C. § 102
• 35 U.S.C. § 103
• 35 U.S.C. § 271

Explore: here are two interesting patents. Look through them. Using the readings, figure out what is claimed. What types of patents are they? Products or processes? Do you believe them to claim patentable subject matter? Are they novel, non-obvious, and useful? Why or why not?

• I will note this one briefly in class: Method of exercising a cat (5,443,036)
• We will do an exercise in class, so read this one and try to understand it: Coffee or tea filtering press (7,849,784)
• Not required but fun to look at: Musical instrument support (4,656,917 Eddie Van Halen)

New: other helpful materials (shown in class):

• Types of patents (utility, design, plant, plant variety) (shown in class)
• What is unpatentable subject matter? (shown in class)
• Section 102 timing hypos (shown in class)
• Section 103 order of analysis (shown in class)
• Parallels between 102/103 vs. literal/equivalence infringement (shown in class)

CLASS 3 – THURS., JUNE 15: TRADEMARKS

We will start with a short quiz on today’s new readings. We will then finish any remaining patent materials and move into trademarks.

Note (added 6/12): you will get credit for the best of your two quiz scores. The lower-scoring quiz will not count.

Trademark readings in McJohn E&E:

• 365-77 (subject matter)
• 385-414 (spectrum of marks, unprotectable symbols)
• 415-23, 431-40 (searching, acquisition, priority, assignment, loss of rights)
• 441-62 (infringement)
• 471-75 (dilution)

Trademark statutes, available below or in statutory supplement:

• 15 U.S.C. § 1052 (Lanham Act § 2)
• 15 U.S.C. § 1114 (Lanham Act § 33)
• 15 U.S.C. § 1125 (Lanham Act § 43)
• In class I will also point to relevant provisions of 15 U.S.C. § 1127 (Lanham Act § 45) (trademark definitions)

NEW: Materials that have been displayed or may be displayed in class:

• Examples of marks
• Types of trademarks
• Spectrum of marks table
• Descriptive vs. suggestive marks: examples
• Deceptive and misdescriptive marks
• Distinctiveness and functionality
• Section 2 bars: the case of OBAMA BIN LADEN

Note (added 6/12): the portion of the assignment below is not required. It’s left in in case you’d like to do it. Instead, what I’ll be looking for is this: please invent a trademark (word mark) and determine what the goods and services are. On the quiz, I’ll ask you what your mark and goods/services are.

Explore: Go to the Trademark Office website and:

• Find a trademark. Click here and then click on the link for the Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS). Use the Basic Word Mark Search and find a famous trademark that you know of.
• Invent a trademark. Create a trademark and goods and then use TESS to search for it. Has somebody already filed an application for your trademark?

CLASS 4 – THURS., JUNE 22: TRADE SECRETS

We will start with a short quiz on today’s new readings. We will then finish any remaining trademark materials and move into the new materials.

Required: Trade secret readings:

• McJohn E&E: 481-500 (trade secret subject matter)
• McJohn E&E: 501-11, 513-23 (trade secret reasonable security measures, public disclosure)
• McJohn E&E: 525-32, 535-41 (trade secret misappropriation)
• PatentlyO: Where we Stand with Trade Secret Enforcement in Federal Courts

Note (added 6/12): the portion of the assignment below is not required. It’s left in in case you’d like to do it.

Right of publicity readings:

• McJohn E&E: 553-58 (right of publicity)
• Florida’s Right of Publicity statute, Florida Stat. Ann. § 540.08

NEW: Materials that have been displayed or may be displayed in class:

• Trade secret misappropriation hypos

FINAL EXAMINATION: THURS., JUNE 29

Final examination, in class, at 9AM in our normal room.

Examination will be open book for printed materials only (You cannot access anything on your laptop besides essay answers, as limited by ExamSoft or similar STU-assigned examination software).

I would suggest that you bring, at a minimum, the following paper or printed materials:

• McJohn’s E&E
• Any statutes that have been assigned
• Your notes
• Your outline
• Any handouts I have given you or that you found on the course website

You may bring other materials as well, so long as they are in paper or printed form.

Format of exam [tentative]: The exam is written as a two hour exam, but you will be given 2.5 hours to complete it. You should complete all parts of the exam. There is also an optional multiple-choice activity that follows one of the short written-answer questions. The [tentative] breakdown of the exam is noted below:

• Fill-in-the-blank (5 questions, 30 minutes): Write your answer in the exam itself using a pen. Blanks and spaces are provided in the examination for your answers.
• Short written-answer (3 questions, 30 minutes): Write your answer either in a bluebook (using a pen) or using a laptop or tablet, subject to compliance with STU’s laptop exam procedures regarding ExamSoft or the equivalent. The short-answer questions include an optional extra credit activity worth up to an additional five (5) points.
• Multiple-choice (20 questions, one hour): Use a # 2 pencil to enter answers on a scantron sheet. The only answers that matter are those on the scantron.