Foundations of Intellectual Property

3 units

This course explores the foundations of intellectual property in America from philosophical and historical perspectives. The first module of the course examines a largely philosophical framework for justifying intellectual property by comparing philosophers in terms of their theories on property and identifying legal principles that serve to link the philosophical theories together. The second module of the course examines the history of intellectual property law in America during the early American republic, focusing on Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution in terms of: the laws of England and of the American colonies/states that precipitated the clause; the considerations of the framers when drafting the clause; the post-ratification debates that ensued in the courts regarding how to interpret the clause; the early questions about the nature of rights under the clause; and the challenges that initially arose when defining the interaction of the clause with other clauses of the Constitution. The third module of the course examines some intellectual property concepts of today, with the philosophical and historical perspectives of the course's prior modules in mind. There are no prerequisites for this course. This course is designed for the student who has not previously taken an intellectual property course, as well as the student who has already taken numerous intellectual property courses. This course is not a survey of today's legal doctrine in the various regimes of intellectual property law, and the course is not a deep dive into today's legal doctrine in any particular regime of intellectual property law. Rather, the course is a journey to explore the foundations upon which America's conception of intellectual property is built. Grades are primarily based on a take-home, open-book exam. 3 units.