This course will survey the fundamentals of the three main federal fields of intellectual property law: copyright, patent, and trademark law. Time permitting, we will also discuss some state law theories, such as trade secret law and publicity rights. In addition to the legal doctrines, the course will examine economic as well as other philosophical justifications in order to allow a better grasp of the current law and possibilities for reform. Although new technology is not the main focus of the course, the class will examine some of the more important intellectual property issues raised by recent technological developments, especially in the digital and internet environments.
Bone, Robert G.