Spring term, Block C
M,T,W 10:20 AM - 11:40 AM
Professor William W. Fisher
4 classroom credits LAW-41415A
2, 3, or 4 optional clinical credits Fall or Spring, or 2 Winter LAW-41415C
This course is intended for students who are already familiar with the
main contours of intellectual-property law and would like to explore
the subject further. We will examine in depth a series of topics that,
in recent years, have proven especially controversial or troublesome:
trademark dilution; the right of publicity; intellectual-property
protection for fashion; fair use; possible solutions to the crisis in
the entertainment industry; patent pools and standard-setting
organizations; reverse-payment settlement agreements; claim
construction; the relationship between copyright and freedom of speech;
how legal reform might help address the health crisis in the developing
world; exhaustion; remedies for intellectual-property violations; and
the possibility that extralegal norms will provide substitutes for
intellectual-property rules. Each student will be expected to
participate in the discussion of these issues (both in the classroom
and online) and to write a short research paper addressing an aspect of
one of them. Group projects are encouraged. There will be no exam.
Enrollment is limited to 50.
(The syllabus is available at http://cyber.harvard.edu/people/tfisher/Advanced%20IP%202009.html).
Completion of at least two of the following courses: Copyright Law;
Patent Law; and Trademark Law -- or completion of one of those courses
plus the permission of the instructor
Students who would like to participate in the optional clinical must
enroll through clinical registration. Clinical placements are with the
Cyberlaw clinic at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society. Please
refer to the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs website (http://www.law.harvard.edu/academics/clinical) for clinical registration dates, early add/drop deadlines, and other clinical information.