Intro. to Intellectual Property Law, Trademarks & Unfair Competition

3 units

This course will introduce students to the state and federal law of intellectual property and unfair competition, concentrating primarily on state and federal trademark law (the field of intellectual property law having the broadest application, as it applies to virtually all businesses), but will also explore how the law of trademarks relates to the larger law of unfair competition, and to other fields of intellectual property law (namely, patents, copyrights, trade secrets, and a variety of other sui generis forms of intellectual property protection). Students interested in exploring intellectual property law are encouraged to enroll in this course first, and then to take either Patents & Trade Secrets or Copyrights & Related Rights, or both. The grade for this course will be based (in whole or in part) on a timed final exam, which will include both objective (i.e. multiple choice and true/false) questions and an essay question. The course grade may also be based in part on an outside writing or drafting exercise. Regular class attendance and preparation is required; failure to meet this requirement will result in disenrollment.