Science and innovation are crucial drivers of economic growth and provide some of humanity’s best hopes for addressing a variety of social, political, and even existential problems. This seminar considers the ways in which different legal regimes and proposed reforms to legal regimes, including IP laws, might help or hinder innovation and scientific progress. Assigned readings will include background material on IP as well as leading articles by legal scholars. Each student will be expected (1) to participate in class discussion; (2) to complete short writing assignments of a couple hundred words that respond to assigned readings; (3) to write a term paper to satisfy the seminar writing requirement; (4) to provide written comments on a classmate’s draft term paper; and (5) to make an in-class presentation of the student’s own paper project. Neither technical training nor any specific course is a prerequisite.
Golden, John M.