Enrollment is limited. A study of the legal, economic, and technological forces that stimulate Congress to enact or revise intellectual property laws, the complex legislative steps necessary to enact such laws, and their statutory interpretation after enactment. Topics will include specific examples of past Congressional enactments, pending federal legislation, the need for future action by Congress, and the legislative process generally as it affects intellectual property law. Enrollment is limited. Survey of the theoretical justifications for the institution of property, and consideration of how they apply to patents, copyrights, trademarks, and other forms of intellectual property.
Enrollment is limited.
A study of the ways in which authors of creative works are able to customize their rights, and their readers' privileges, in their works by the use of contractual and technological protection measures. We will begin by studying the balance that copyright law traditionally has established between authors' rights and the limitations imposed on these rights. We will then examine authors' use of contractual measures, such as shrinkwrap and clickwrap licenses, to augment their rights and limit readers' privileges in their works. We will also consider authors' use of technological protection measures, such as encryption technology, to control access to and copying of their works, as well as the recently-enacted provisions of the Copyright Act that grant authors the right to prevent the circumvention of such technological protection measures. How different legal regimes attempt to facilitate and regulate electronic commerce, and how the application of different national rules to transactions creates problems for e-merchants.