Survey of Intellectual Property

A comprehensive introduction to the principal intellectual property law areas, including copyright, trademark and patent law, unfair competition, the right of publicity, trade secrets, and related federal and state doctrines. We will examine the basic legal principles independently as well as at their intersections, and in the context of the evolving technologies of the new millennium, including the Internet, computer software, digital broadcasting and music distribution, bioengineering, and industrial design. Themes will include the study of intellectual property as "property" and "commodity," the protection of intellectual property across national borders in a globalizing marketplace, and the complicated governmental objective of promoting and protecting human creativity and ingenuity while not unduly restricting its dissemination to the rest of society.