Graduate Program in Intellectual Property
Course Descriptions

Advanced Copyright Law (2 cr.)
Survey of advanced issues in copyright law including protecting copyrights on the Internet, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act patent/copyright interface for computer software, "fair use" defense and recent developments in copyright law and policy. Prerequisite: Copyright Law.

Advanced Patent Law (2 cr.)
Survey of advanced issues in patent law, interpretation and infringement and examination of major developments and recent decisions by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Prerequisite: Patent Law.

Advanced Seminar in Licensing and Negotiations (1 cr.)
A workshop course designed to provide skills and experience in drafting and negotiating intellectual property license agreements with examples and scenarios from within in all of the core areas including patent, trademark and copyright.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (1 cr.)
A practice skills introduction to alternative dispute resolution and mediation with an emphasis on their application to intellectual property related disputes.

Advanced Trademark & Unfair Competition Law (2 cr.)
Survey of advanced issues including, protection of product configuration, anti-cybersquatting protection and dispute resolution, dilution, parallel imports and grey market goods, and United States Patent and Trademark Office practice including inter partes cancellation and opposition proceedings. Prerequisite: Trademark & Unfair Competition.

Antitrust Law and Misuse of Intellectual Property (2 cr.)
Covers general antitrust and fair trade principles and concerns, the Sherman Act, the Clayton Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act as they relate to acquisition and enforcement of patents, trademarks and copyrights, conspiracy in restraint of trade, predatory pricing and resale price maintenance.

Art, Cultural Heritage, and the Law (2 cr.): Covers freedom of expression, copyright, moral rights, architectural works, and preservation of historic structures, museums, art merchants, quality and authenticity of art, title of art, cultural heritage and war, international trade of cultural property, and exploration and appropriation of indigenous culture.

Biotechnology and Intellectual Property Law (2 cr.)
Examines intellectual property rights in biotechnology research with a particular emphasis on effective strategies for patent protection, management and commercialization.

Business Franchise Law and Practice (2 cr.)
Thorough examination of the fundamentals of business franchising operations including federal and state statutes and regulations, franchiser and franchisee rights, obligations and limitations.

Computer Law (2 cr.)
Examines the nature and scope of the protection of rights in computer software as it relates to traditional intellectual property law concepts of patent, copyright and trade secrets, the limitations of these rights and remedies for infringement.

Copyright Law and Practice (3 cr.)
Examines the historic and modern concepts, principles and scope of United States copyright law. Requirements for copyright protection, formalities of registration, ownership, assignment and licensing as well as other aspects of the practice of copyright law will be explored.

Directed Study (up to 2 cr.)
Provides an opportunity for Master's students to submit a proposal for a Directed Study project to the Department Director. Generally requires 15-20 pages of a written project for each credit hour earned.

E-Commerce Law (2 cr.)
Survey of legal issues concerning cyberspace, on-line services, internet transactions and activities including free speech, intellectual property infringement, jurisdiction, computer crimes, information security and privacy issues.

Entertainment and Media Law (2 cr.)
Analysis of various intellectual property issues relating to the entertainment, motion picture, music, broadcasting and publishing industries including copyright law, rights of publicity, licensing as well as structure and business practices of the entertainment industry.

Expert Witnesses and Technical Evidence (2 cr.)
Focuses on the preparation, use and effective management of scientific and technical information in the context of intellectual property litigation. Various skills to be developed include expert witness selection, preparation, examination and cross examination as well as competencies in the use of technical, scientific, economic, survey research and other specialized knowledge evidence.

Externship (up to 4 cr.)
Offers students the opportunity to practice intellectual property and/or technology law in a supervised setting. Master's students can complete tasks assigned by their attorney supervisors, with their learning guided by a Cooley faculty member. Students must apply and be approved for externship placements and all sites must be pre-approved.

Intellectual Property in China and the Pacific Rim (2 cr.)
Intellectual property protection and enforcement is examined in detail under the laws of the Peoples Republic of China as well as Japan and other Asian Pacific countries.

Intellectual Property in the European Union (2 cr.)
Provides a thorough review of commercial, competition and intellectual property law in the European Union necessary for advising clients trading in the member states of the EU.

Intellectual Property Capital Management and Financing (2 cr.)
Provides practice oriented insight into pro-active counseling with respect to intellectual property assets as they relate to capital financing. Topics include IP audits, due diligence investigations and IP valuation.

Intellectual Property Due Diligence and Risk Management (2 cr.)
Practice oriented course on a pro-active approach to avoiding infringement of the intellectual property rights of others and effective enforcement and policing of a clients intellectual property assets. Topics include invention record practice, the keeping of trade secrets, outsider inventor and suggestion problems, patent searching and non-infringement analysis.

Intellectual Property Under the Bankruptcy Code (1 cr.)
Explores the key elements of the bankruptcy process and its effect upon the debtor's intellectual property rights. Topics include executory contract assumption/rejection, termination rights, licensee/licensor rights and bankruptcy considerations in drafting agreements relating to intellectual property.

International Copyright Law (1 cr.)
An in depth review of the provisions, application and procedural aspects of the various international treaties and conventions relating to copyright law including Universal Copyright, Berne Convention, WIPO Copyright Treaty as well as issues concerning comparative international copyright law and policy.

International Patent Law (2 cr.)
An in depth review of the provisions, application and procedural aspects of the various International treaties and conventions relating to patent law including the Paris Convention, the Patent Cooperation Treaty, as well as the relevant provisions of NAFTA, the TRIPS Agreement and GATT.

International Trademark Law (2 cr.)
An in depth review of the provisions, application and procedural aspects of the various international treaties and conventions relating to trademark law including the Paris Convention, Nice Agreement, Madrid Protocol, Trademark Law Treaty and others. Topics will also include issues relating to international trademark law harmonization efforts and the Community Trademark in the European Union.

Licensing of Intellectual Property (3 cr.)
Extensive examination of express and implied licenses, validity and enforcement of license provisions, rights and obligations of parties to license, transfers and assignments of intellectual property and public policy considerations.

Patent Law (3 cr.)
Thorough coverage of substantive patent law, including standards for patentability, fundamentals of patent validity, acquisition and maintenance of patent rights, as well as the law governing patent infringement and applicable defenses and remedies.

Patent Office Practice I - Patent Prosecution (2 cr.)
Covers practice before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office in detail with particular emphasis on the preparation and prosecution of the patent application, including formal requirements and claim drafting.

Patent Office Practice II - Advanced Patent Prosecution (2 cr.)
Provides extensive instruction designed to enhance skills in claim drafting and patent prosecution including reissue, reexamination and interference practice.

Patent Litigation (2 cr.)
A practice oriented skills course relating to the enforcement of patent rights, construction of patents, patent infringement, contributory infringement, patent invalidity defenses, unenforceability, practical considerations including jurisdiction, venue, pretrial and trial practice.

Privacy Laws and Rights of Publicity (2 cr.)
Course examines the protection of publicity and privacy rights.

Taxation of Intellectual Property (2 cr.)
Considers the tax treatment of various intellectual property assets, issues concerning capitalization of expenditures in developing in intellectual property, amortization, and examines tax implications of transactions including the sale and licensing of intellectual property both domestic and international.

Trademark & Unfair Competition (3 cr.)
Investigates the statutory and common law framework of trademark and unfair competition law, including creation and protection of trademark rights, trademark registration, infringement, defenses, loss of trademark rights and remedies.

Trade Secrets Law (2 cr.)
Course examines various aspects of law relating to trade secrets and proprietary information.

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This Page was last updated on: 03/23/2004